Friends, Bourbons and Countrymen.


Today I met my friend Stephen for a general catch-up, having not seen him for a few weeks.

The big bit of news on my part was the whole situation with my dad, which was a heck of a lot to fill him in on. At least the upshot is positive at the moment, but I’d still been hesitant and not given Steve the full story via text up to this point, opting for the hastily abridged version instead; it just felt like too much stuff to get across.

We’ve been fortunate in the sense we've managed to see each other a fair amount since he moved away from Herts in favour of Northamptonshire. I’m glad about this as he’s long been the friend I see most regularly and share detail of the ins and outs of my life to; he’s very much my sounding board and my unofficial, unpaid advisor, which is probably a bit of a poisoned chalice.

One thing that’s getting me down of late is the fact I’ve gained a little weight, something I haven’t done to any extent before until recently. This is as much to do with a course of medication I’m on which encourages weight gain as a side effect as it is for propensity for eating biscuits, but whatever the reason, it’s conspiring to make me generally feel a bit shit; there’s nothing more likely to affect your morale and self-confidence than struggling to fit inside your clothing; I’m determined to try and shift some of my extra mass before Edinburgh, if only to make me feel a little more presentable and fit.

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