Week-end with "M"

South Bar and Crowd - Picture by South West Four

Just spent a lovely week-end with friend and fellow activist "M."

Swung by on Saturday afternoon on my way back from a week with my sister and her kids on holiday in pretty pretty Tenby. An hour or two of chat was followed by another hour or three hanging about with John and Peter at Tower Porsche.

Then back to M's place and dinner with her friend and neighbour Simon. We'd met briefly back in January and it was good to meet him properly. The chat ranged from Palestine to MacDonalds to cycling in London and the delights of Stoke-on-Trent...

Sunday M invited me to her Quaker meeting, which was a first, and an interesting one at that. If I was religious I'd probably become a sort of bad Quaker.

After a really quick lunch we headed off to the Metro Weekender mini festival on Clapham Common. I've not been to a festival for over a decade, but our business was strictly business - working behind the bar for the Worker's Beer Company. I've not done bar work since 1985 and even then it was collecting glasses rather than pulling pints.

M had never done bar work either so we were both a bit nervous before the start of our six hour shift at 2:30pm. Fortunately we were with a good team and the prices for the drinks were in round numbers which made the maths easy! The festival crowd were good natured, patient, and friendly and I don't think I made too many mistakes. But it's hard work and today I'm exhausted and a few fingernails are aching from having to open every can we sold.