Hi all! Some of you may have noticed significantly more scheduled tweets over the last week – apologies! I was down in Southampton for Mary’s 21st birthday and we were having too much fun for me to be on my phone!

Now, I had originally planned on travelling down on the Thursday but ended up convincing myself Mary’s Birthday was Thursday and so booked for Wednesday instead, and then booked to go home Monday because it was cheaper than Sunday (sorry Mary!), so I ended up away for 5 and a bit days! 

Wednesday Morning my alarm went off at 6am. I was not at all impressed, but I took myself off to the bathroom and got ready within an hour. The airport was busy, and for once I wasn’t there hours early so there was only a 5 minute wait to find out my gate. The flight was fine, I really don’t like FlyBe’s little planes so can’t describe it as anything else, and Mary was sitting waiting for me when I got through. We met her Mum and went for lunch in her old workplace (which I will return to name after I double check the name of it with Mary) where the food was delicious and I had my first alcoholic drink of the “holiday”! That afternoon we took a trip to IKEA – the greatest place on earth – before going for a drink with Mary’s sister Kathryn when she got out of work. After a lovely dinner and a great evening, we sat on the sofa and fell asleep watching Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

Thursday morning started with us hearing that Nuala had missed her connecting bus from London to Southampton and so we took a slow morning listening to music and getting ready for the day ahead. Once we collected Nuala from the bus and fed her some pizza, we jumped on a train to Portsmouth for the day. We took a walk down to the beach and watched the hovercraft between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight for a while, soaking up the sun. Did I mention how warm and sunny it was? Taking a stroll along the coast, we took in a little of the history before finding ourselves at a pub on time for Happy Hour! Needless to say that four hours later we started to source food and headed back to Mary’s – laughing and joking about the bartender thinking Nuala wanted a picture of him when she asked for a pitcher of a cocktail between us all! I promise it was hilarious.

Friday morning arrived and Mary turned 21! The morning was taken up by opening presents and observing the delights of Mary’s two sisters cooking breakfast – a sight that was almost as funny as the night before. After we were all dressed, Mary and her mum went to get their hair done while Nuala and I delivered decorations to the pub for the night’s party along with Mary’s older sister and her boyfriend. Time passed really quickly and before we knew it it was time to head to The Slug and Lettuce for the birthday party. 

I would say it was a great night! I loved every minute of it! And Mary’s hangover the next morning certainly claims she had a good night. So Saturday was a slower day while Mary tried to sleep off her multiple tequila slammers and Nuala and I watched TV. When Mary felt a little more human, we went to The Stable for pizzas before putting Nuala back on the bus home. Chinese food was ordered, and we’d a great night back at Mary’s grandparents’ house to end the day. 

Sunday I went to Mass with the family and actually really quite enjoyed it! Except maybe for the Latin bits… but I actually quite enjoyed being back in a church, even if it was slightly different to what I’m used to. After a brief shopping trip after Mass, we went for what was possibly one of the greatest carveries I have ever been to at a little place called Walnut Tree Farm. Honestly, so much amazing food!  That evening we spent more time with Mary’s family and I got to play with their dog so everyone was happy! 
Monday I travelled back to Glasgow, unpacked, ate, tidied, and repacked before I flew back to Northern Ireland yesterday. So it’s safe to say I’m exhausted!

What’ve you all been up to? 

Ktkinnes xx