The call of the wild (and a very pretty dress)

I've just heard Covenant's 'Call the Ships to Port' on digitalgunfire. Very impressed. lareinemisere recommended them to me last time I was down in the Big Smoke and I've been meaning to check them out since. Am now trying to resist ordering Northern Lights from Amazon before I get paid :)
A lovely weekend. Friday night with Lisa, Tarek, Andy and Sandy. Lisa and Andy couldn't get a sitter for the bratling - which, despite all my efforts, they decided to call Matthew rather than Agamemnon, which was my choice ("way too special ...") - so we stayed in and had Indian. I wasn't very lively, having been up since 5am, but it was nice all the same.
Climbing on Saturday afternoon, my first venture in the great outdoors. The plan had been to leave at 8.30 am and take all day over it, but there were various hitches which meant we had to reschedule to midday. Far more civilised.
A beautiful spot just outside Ruthin. To be honest, it was worth going there just to see the place, climbing or no climbing. I'm so used to living in the city that I forget how much I like the country (although I probably wouldn't want to actually *live* there :) ). And good company too - Miranda (who's teaching us), her partner Mick, Cosi and Tam, Gaz, who's lovely, Lee, who's personable enough (although some of the others have issues with him), and Sarah, who's also lovely (although I think I rather exasperate her :) ).
Had time for a couple of abseils - yes, it is as terrifying as it looks - and one climb before the rain made things a little too slippery for comfort. So, to the pub for one - where I had the best beer I've had in ages. Tom Fool, no idea who makes it but it was gorgeous. Although it could have been that we'd been out all afternoon and anything would have gone down well.
So, a rather abbreviated adventure, but as Miranda, sweet hippy that she is, said, the universe will usually see things right, and I think much longer than we had would have been too much of a good thing, for a first effort, at least.
Thence to New Brighton, chill out for a bit (and Cosi gave me the most beautiful black velvet dress that she no longer wears. Bless :) ) and on to the pub, where I did my usual of lingering over a couple of pints as everybody else got progressively more drunk around me - I move from tipsy to nauseous in one easy step, so I avoid the embarrassing possibility of being violently ill in public by the simple expedient of not getting drunk.
And talking with Sarah until about 4 in the morning, which was also nice - and we both got to do the obsessing about other people thing. Nothing changes there :)). And Sarah was rather complimentary about my foot massaging skills, which was sweet, although she'd been on heels all evening, so anything would probably have been a relief.
Late breakfast and very lazy Sunday.
Yes, a good weekend.
And on Wednesday, I'm off down to Dorset for the Larmer Tree. I'll see some wonderful people whom I haven't seen in ages, which mostly counteracts the fact that, strangely, I tend to find festivals lonely. But more on that - and all the positive stuff (and I'll try and make sure that there's more positive stuff than negative) - next week.
And to dakeyras and skorpionuk - enjoy the Evil Clubbing Weekend of Doom :) (my vote for Friday night - in absentia - would be for B-Movie (corone and lareinemisere, in case you missed the publicity for this one, it's "Preaching to the Perverted" this month. I think you should probably get your a*ses down there :) )).
And hi to emiriamml. I hope you're going to update soon ;).