London update

I've been resisting writing about this owing to my embarrasment, but this morning I'm hungover so everything seems like a massive joke at the moment. Last Friday, I finished the job I was doing at lunchtime, and so the client kindly offered to take me out for lunch. The place I was working was a TV company, and little did I realise exactly what "lunch" in TV-world means. Essentially, we arrived at a nice pub-restaurant at around 12.30pm, and didn't leave until around 3.30pm. In the meantime, the Finance Director, a Scottish gentleman who says "f***" every other word, browbeat me into drinking five or six large glasses of wine (by large, I mean a third of a bottle; by five or six, I mean I don't remember!) I staggered back to the office via the tube, where my manager (who knows the client well) generally pointed and laughed at me, although I managed not to make a complete fool of myself. Yet. I then went out to the pub around the corner (traditional on a Friday evening) - I haven't been here long so I figured I should socialise and try to get to know some people I work with. Good plan, and don't think I made too much of an ar*e of myself other than dropping a full pint of beer on the floor (oops!).

The real embarrassing part (which no-one at work knows about) was getting home. Around 9.30pm I decided I really was too drunk, and would have to go home. So I left the pub and walked to Tottenham Court Road tube, which is just along the road. I got on a north-bound train, which would take me on my normal route to Highgate, from where I take a bus to my neighborhood. The train was pretty empty, so I had no problem finding a seat. Next thing I remember is waking up at around 1.30am to hear the words "This station is Balham". What?!?! Balham is SOUTH of where I had started! It turns out I'd gone all the way to the northern end of the line, then all the way to the southern end and then back northwards to Balham. In a panic, I jumped off the train, only to realise it was actually going where I wanted to go, and it was also the last train.

So I left the station, and went about trying to get a bus. Buses in south London are generally a mystery to me, and as I'd never been to (or even through) Balham before it took some doing. I resolved to go to Trafalgar Square (every bus goes there, doesn't it?) and try and find the right one. After several hours of wandering around, I eventually got on the right bus and arrived back at home at around 4.30am. What a nightmare!

This week I avoided a repeat of this incident by not going drinking at lunchtime! I did however go (at last minute notice) to a rather nice dinner in Covent Garden which involved lots of free drink. I made sure to stand up on the train home to minimise the risk of falling asleep, and arrived home safely after a normal-length journey. I did, however, wake up this morning to find I'd slept on my house keys. Ouch!