Anyhoo (yes "anyway" was already taken).

Bugger.

I've just met Mr Sin. Interesting, fun, kind, and insanely confident (I was about ask what it was about gay Americans, then realised he's not quite American). Slight contrast with an infuriatingly timid and indecisive me (hence the bugger comment). Oh, Sin, should have mentioned earlier - it's fairly symptomatic of dyslexia - I'm not great on distinguishing speech against background noise, so those occasional incidences where I just smiled and nodded, and apparently didn't get the joke; that was me simply not physically getting what was said.

Sorry for not recognising you as well, but caps are cheating, and somehow I was thinking shorter. But you should have realised the bedraggled thing was me; I did say "I'll be the panicked looking one who turns up at ten past six, runs round looking for you and missing you, stands waiting for a while, does another circuit of the shop, and only then remembers the modern marvel that is mobile telephony". If only I'd realised I was being prophetic at the time, I might have remembered to put on extra deodorant.

So even though it was fairly brief, and did include me attempting to demonstrate just why communism is not an evolutionary stable strategy (even if I said environmentally sustainable strategy; look it's not like anyone actually listens to all those big words, and it's probably "ecologically steady" anyway), and general this-is-awkward-ness (mostly due to me). I think I'd do it again, if offered the chance. It's not everyday one gets to meet a trade unionist, someone who owns a village and, er, I can't really go into the stuff which doesn't make the blog, because there's probably a reason for that. But I was surprised to discover my random fluky guess was right (read his blog and comments elsewhere). And I thought I was being daft.

So that was different (I've just realised how depressing so; oh well). Oh and completely unrelated, other than in a Northern-Line-is-screwed-again way; anyone else noticed those adverts for activities around London? They're done in bulgy multicolour letters on black, with the blocks of words manipulated to make shapes (think 70s). So the one for Camden Lock features a narrowboat made of words. The first three are "canal barge cruises".

In capitals and with the first letter of the first two words squashed to fit the shape of the boat it reads cANAL bARGE CRUISES. It took me a while to get how "cruises" fits in with the bored ad exe's in joke. It isn't me, is it? That does look like ANAL ARSE, doesn't it? Anyone else suspect they put it in to see how much attention the clients were really paying? And then couldn't quite take it out without making the client aware of their own oversight.

Are the joys of subverting advertising (unless of course they knew people would notice and comment on their foolishness, and so discuss the adverts and promote London by proxy. In which case, well done, and please do come to London; it's a wonderful city. But please, don't get in my way if I'm late).

Anyway, so thank you Sin; I hope there's a next time, preferably a longer next time. But only after your exams, because otherwise I'd just feel guilty (even if you wouldn't). And what are you doing on the 29th (er, just remembered this isn't email)?

Better go and grab food.

Anyhoo,