Easter in Essex + Football

Still aching from Friday's cricket match, I sacrificed sleeping in on Saturday to take the train over to Essex, where I spent the weekend with Penny. The weekend was really laid back and not in my flat and I loved every minute of it. It was as close to being home as I can get here.

We didn't do much, which I loved for all the relaxing I got to do. We did, however, watch THE Boat Race (Cambridge vs. Oxford) on television with tea and biscuits, something Penny and her family used to do when she was younger. At first, I'll admit, not too enthused for a rowing match. With all the build-up, though, I ended up rooting for Cambridge and getting quite into the race. By the end of it, I was ecstatic that Cambridge won and watched as they soaked the team in champagne and the president finally got the trophy (after 3 years of losing, this being his last chance) and the cox got thrown into the Thames. It was great.

We also went to Lakeside, this absolutely humungous mall that, were it in America and the prices in dollars, I would have loved and been bankrupt. But, it was in Essex and everything cost pounds, so I held back and bought nothing. Later that evening, we met her sister Chris, brother-in-law Michael, nephew Doug, and his girlfriend for Indian at a buffet, so the inexperienced me could sample everything without real consequence. I tried almost everything, except for what was labeled "hot" and thoroughly enjoyed it all. (I guess four plates and dessert later proves that.) Penny's family was lovely and funny; I really liked them.

On Easter Sunday, we went to Southend (a fun boardwalk area) to spend the day because it was a typical Essex thing to do. I think almost all of Essex had the same idea because it was packed full. We took the train out to the end of the pier, gambled on the slots (I won a pound and then lost two trying to get it back - oops), had fish and chips for lunch, ate Rossi ice cream, wandered up and down the beach, and had the famous hot doughnuts (yummy). The crowds got to be a little much at the end, but I enjoyed it. I would love to see it at night with all the lights, but that's another time.

Other than those small ventures, the weekend was full of low-key, relaxing at Penny's flat. On Monday morning I had to leave Penny because of football with Jessie, so I took the train back from Essex and got stuck at Edgware Road tube stop for an abnormally long time because the tube hates me. Welcome back to London.

The game was Fulham, featuring Sting as goalie, vs. Mancester City, featuring a very girlie set of light blue uniforms. And the highlight was the free banger sticks we got under our chairs. Now, Sting wasn't really the goalie, but he had the same hair and he was too far away to read the name on the back of his jersey, so he's Sting. And the girlie-ness of the uniforms didn't seem to inhibit their game since they eventually won 2-1. I'm really not being fair to my first football match, but it could have been better. I was cold, the hotdogs ran out and then when we found them they weren't as good as I'd imagined in the long line previous, and also I just wasn't invested. And when I'm not invested, I want the team I pick to win. That's where Fulham dropped the ball. Oh, if only it was cricket.