Poker and House Guests

It's been a few weeks since I updated this thing, so here it goes.

A few weeks ago I found a Pub Poker League so my buddy Jeff and I started to go to a few games. It's a free-roll, and the top players get points; those with the most points at the end of the quarter advance and compete for prizes. The first night was pretty decent, but the times after that were a bit of a disappointment. They play in different pub every night of the week, so it draws a different crowd each time. The last few times many of the players have been absolutely out of their tree, yelling and trying to trash talk more than play cards. I might go back if I am really looking for something to do, but I have just about had my fill of that for now.

For Easter my flatmates planned on taking off for the weekend (Donna to Poland, Sarah to Berlin and Hazel to her Mom's place just outside of Edinburgh). I had been talking to friends of a friend from Victoria and said they could stay at my flat while they were in town. They turned up a few days early after connecting trains/buses didn't quite work out. Molly and Molly (yes, they are both named Molly) toured around the city and I showed them a few of the sights. We took a walking tour of the city that was so good I have to recommend it - I have taken the same tours in Berlin, Munich and Amsterdam as well. Be sure to make them a priority if you go to any of the cities they are run in. Find info at www.neweuropetours.eu

We also did a Ghost Tour - apparently Edinburgh is one of the most haunted cities in the world. After hearing some of the stories, it's not surprising it has this reputation. For example, during the plague one of the streets was severely affected with many of the residents becoming infected. People in the city were so afraid that during the night they bricked up either end of the alley trapping everyone inside, leaving them to die by infection or starvation. Over time the city was built up around the area and the plague, and the people, were forgotten. Just recently the alley was rediscovered and turned into a museum, as the area is a perfectly preserved snapshot of 17th century Edinburgh. It's a bit eerie to walk by these areas now because people leave small toys on the street corners for the kids that supposedly haunt the area.

After the tours we did a bit more of the typical tourist stuff - a few museums, etc. Finally on Easter we had a reasonably large dinner and stayed out of the cold (we actually ended up getting a bit of snow over the weekend). All in all I couldn't have asked for a better weekend - much better than if I had been on my own the whole time. Molly and Molly caught the train down to York on Monday morning and I went back to work.

I just heard from a buddy of mine that he is going to fly via the UK in a few weeks and has worked his schedule out so he can stop by for the weekend. Also, another friend from high school/university is coming out at the start of May, so I should be kept fairly busy as a tour guide over the next month or so.