Brighton versus Shallotte - UK / NC beaches

Its like comparing apples to oranges... really. After the weekend in Belgium for Easter I had some work down in Brighton, a little seaside town south of London. Its a really nice little town but a bit odd. Little did I know, until after my trip, the reason for two things... the overabundance of guys in town and the looks I got from them. You see apparently Brighton is the San Francisco of England. In other words theres a whole lot of gay men around. Guess I know a bit how women feel when they walk around and men stare at them. Anyways, the beaches in Brighton are rocky but it was nice to see the beach after beinging the city so long.


The next weekend I went out to see a play with a friend. If you don't go over to the West End of London its easy to forget how many shows there are actually on here. We went and saw the 39 Steps. It was a really funny comedy with a 4 person cast. Good night out and a bit different then the normal bar hopping and rebel rousing.


Last week I managed to actually pull off a good surprise as I booked a trip back to NC to surprise my brother Andrew for his bachelor party. Thankfully my mom and other brothers helped me get from RDU to Shallotte / Holden Beach for the weekend and carry it off. I flew out of London on Wednesday and then back on the next Monday night (getting in Tuesday morning). It was a long trip for just a few days but good times. There was a bit of golf (so I slept late and enjoyed the sun - don't see it enough in London), few beers and fishing. We also managed (Holden doesn't have a big night life...) to find a bar with karoake... thankfully at least one guy on the trip could sing and you can bet it wasn't me. Fishing is another story... I managed to catch nothing and then had to wear a hat with a pink cammo fronth that said something like yes - I do fish like a girl. Several of the others catch legitimate fish (up to 26 inches) while someone managed to get out of wearing the hat by accidentally hooking (through the side) a fish a kin to an anchovy. The bait we were using could have eaten that fish..

Anyway. I got a few days around NC. Did a bit of shopping, made a few phones calls. Ok. A lot of phone calls. If I didn't tal kto you, sorry. I got to the point I couldn't remember who I called and who I hadn't. So I know I called osme people twice which means I probably forgot some too. Finally made it home to London, crashed for a day and went back to work... exciting.

New thing I hate the most: People who stop at the top or bottom or stairs or escalators. I am in and out of the tube and up/down stairs all the time. Everyday somebody right in fornt of me will get to the top of the stairs and stop. Full dead stop. And then I run into or more likely over them. Sorry, but this level of inertia doesn't just stop on a dime. You know what, if you are lost or need to figure out which train, bus or whatever you need to do next, move to the side. Saves a lot of people a lot of trouble that way.