Engrossed

Somehow or other I managed to tick all the boxes in the to-do list for the day.

Last afternoon stop was the dry cleaner, which is in Fairview, between my place and town. I'd been told yesterday when I left in the stuff not to turn up before 4.00 pm today to collect, so I did as I was told and got there at 4.15. It was a warm day, I'd been rushing about a bit since mid-morning, and I felt like a bit of a rest. Smyth's pub is close to the dry cleaner's, so in I went.

I nearly didn't stay, because TVs were on, rather loudly, and people were watching horse racing. Still, I needed a rest and a bit of refreshment, so I continued on down to the far end of the bar and found myself a guietish spot away from the TV. These two were half of a group of four sitting at the bar in front of me. They seemed to be conducting a what-if betting exercise, judging from what I could hear of their conversation (by which I mean that I got the impression they'd picked a series of winners from the newspaper but hadn't actually placed any bets. They were having fun (though 'fun' wasn't by any means the only word beginning with 'f' that they were using).

Back home, there are still last-minute bits and pieces to be got ready for tomorrow morning's flight to Berlin. One disappointment was learning only yesterday that the apartment we're staying in doesn't have an internet connection, so Berlin blips may have to wait until we get back. We shall see.