Hello, dear reader!
And welcome to an exceptionally wet and dreary day in West Yorkshire.
In fact, on the news this morning, I heard tell that this year has been one of the wettest on record in the U.K which doesn’t surprise me. I’m toying with the idea of building a boat and rounding up some animals.
All of which has nothing in particular to do with today’s blog post. No, that honour goes to yet another special birthday amongst the extended Rankin family. My eldest niece’s 21st, no less.
And was the occasion marked? You bet it was!
Sober Citizen
Admittedly, this was a couple of weekends ago, but I thought I’d finish the bathroom saga before moving on to other, less ablutionary subjects. Nevertheless, as I stayed uncustomarily sober for the night, I think I have a more or less accurate recollection of the events as they unfolded.
No I don’t.
So it was that, as all around me; including Gabby-the birthday girl herself, her sister Holly, my parents, my sisters, uncle and aunt, and, of course, my ever-loving wife, Tina, I stayed clear eyed and very nearly responsible.
You might have noticed I snuck in the word ‘bet’ a little earlier. The reason for that very deliberate inclusion is that, after a few drinks (including one expensive and underwhelming non-alcoholic cocktail and a couple of cokes for me), we moved, en-masse, to a casino! (Bet? Casino? No?)
This was a new establishment to me, not that I frequent a lot of casinos, but there was just about everything you might expect on offer. There were roulette tables, and fruit machines aplenty, although, if I’m honest I didn’t see any card tables. Regardless, there were a host of options for those that wanted to lose a little money (remember, the house always wins, eventually).
Not that anyone spent all that much. The place provided a few tokens to spend on the provided games and I don’t think there was too much more than that invested. For my part, I kept my money in the bank, apart from paying for a cheeseburger and chips. The joys of sobriety, eh?
The main thing was that Gabby had a good time, it was her night, after all; and I think she did. The glamour was turned on, there was an air of grown up extravagance, and for a fleeting moment, I think she actually won a bit.
Would I choose to go again? Possibly not. I’m not a gambling man at heart (my family might suggest I’m too tight for it). It might be worth it for the big screen sports, though, if I find myself in Leeds while there’s a match on. Having endured a couple of weeks of bathroom based disruption it was nice to get the glad-rags on and get out the house, though, and catching up with the fam is always odds on to provide a pleasant time, filled with laughs and banter.
Winner, winner!
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Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
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