Drinky time.

Steve arrived yesterday for a few days in Edinburgh after having flown out from south Africa on the same day as Tamlyn and I. He went over to Ireland to surprise his sister Angie for her 40th birthday.

My Dad is taking us out to see Roslyn chapel as Steve wanted to go and see it. I'm also very interested at the thought of it since reading the Da Vinci Code and also two books by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas called The Hiram Key and The Second Messiah.

After seeing Roslyn Chapel we drive back into town to meet up with my cousin Brian as he has arranged a meal at the Veranda restaurant Beer is drunk and a nice curry is had. After the meal my Dad, Brian, Steve and I walk across the road to Ryries to have a drink while we wait for Tamlyn to arrive from Fife by train. The plan is to meet up with Tamlyn and her boyfriend Scott and then head along to the open mic night at the comedy club. The plan doesn't quite go as it should.

Tamlyn arrives and more drinks are bought. Steve and I get straight onto the double dark rums while Scott and Brian have drink pints of Stella Artois, my Dad has beer and Tamlyn has double long vodka's. All topics are discussed and argued about. Music, Films, Comedy, Authors and Politics are all dissected and stripped down. My Dad claims Dwayne Eddie is the best guitarist that ever lived. We all turn as one and say "Jimi Hendrix." He tries in vain for a second to defend his position but is shouted out by everyone else naming guitarists that make Dwayne Eddie look bad. Stevie Vai, Ry Cooder, Joe Sattriani. Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, Angus Young etc etc etc... Dad gives up and the rest of us try to outdo each other on musical knowledge.

My Dad heads home leaving us all in Ryries.

Tamlyn decides we should all do shots and gets half a dozen Aftershocks. Steve attempts to fit the shot glass in his mouth and swig it over in one, and almost does. If it wasn't for some of it drooling down the front of his shirt. He slurps and slavers with aftershock dripping out his mouth and drinks another normally. I whack back two in the space of ten seconds and Tamlyn drinks one. Brian surfaces, drinks an aftershock and mumbles incoherent shit. Scott sits with a look of shock on his face that we're putting alcohol away so fast.

Scott makes an innocuous comment that we are drinking "hardcore" and Brian tells Scott he looks like a gangster. Scott takes offense to this and begins to try to state his umbrage at Brians comment. I sit laughing as Steve and Tamlyn try to tell Scott to ignore Brian as he's just pissed out his mind.

Ten minutes later Brian is bundled into a taxi because he's out his head. He's had three pints, 3/4's of a bottle of wine, four straight double vodka's and a blue Aftershock.

Later the four of us left walk across the road to get something to eat before Tamlyn and Scott have to get the train back to fife. After taking a piss against the DSS building we stagger across to the train station and wait for the train to arrive. Scott struggles to get through the barrier and stands in frustration as the machine will not accept his ticket. I spot that there is a wheelchair access that is opened and walk through and ask Scott if he has a problem. He looks shocked that I've managed to walk through a row of metal barriers. He's so drunk I don't think he worked out how I did it.

Goodbyes are said and Scott is lead away by Tamlyn down the corridor to get to the platform.

Steve and I go into the Caledonian Ale House for another drink. We have a double rum and a semi-drunk philosophical conversation.

Steve tells me that he sees life as a set of waves. All you have to do is get picked up by a wave and let it take you where it needs to, then you paddle back out and do it again. I agree. Not because I feel I should but because it is the same as I feel.