Partying in Petworth, UK
Over the xmas break I went to visit Olivier in her home town of Petworth. You may remember her from such posts as ‘What I Learnt in Birmingham aka What the Fuk am I Searching for?’
Petworth is a small town about an hour south of London. The biggest town near it is probably Horsham for those of you in the know. Its one of those towns where if wanted to you could see it and all its attractions in a short day, but since we have a habit of getting smashed and wasting half a day recovering I made it a 2 night stay.
I left Newcastle at about 1230 ish and made it there I think about 6ish which isnt too bad considering the train was delayed 40mins and I had to make a switch in London via the tube. Livs mum is a warden for an old persons home so we bunked up in one of the spare rooms. The first person I met was a 93 yr old lady named Dorothy who was a bit like the lookout. A very sweet lady who insisted on handing me chocolate and advising me to zip my jacket up.
Visiting friends in their hometown is always nice, and usually you get to meet their families. Being the festive season I got to meet some of the extended family. They where all quite nice, and her mum is easily one of the best hosts I have come across, as well as a fantastic cook… none of this has rubbed off on Olivier. So we had dinner with the family and then headed to the local pub. I’m not sure if we had intended it to be a big night but she ran into one fo her friends who had been in Australia for just under a year and had just got back, also her best friend from grade school or some thing. Lets just say the first hour or so wasnt that interesting for me, but 5 or so pints later we where having a pretty jolly time.
Im not sure how we managed to get home, but I am sure that it would have been thanks to me. This was the messiest I have ever seen Olivier, and we’ve been in some states. Im not going to get into any details just in case she ever reads this, but lets just say red wine will wash out of bedsheets and her head must have been thumping the next day.
So late morning her mum cooked a fry up and then we went for a short walk in Petworth Park (which is fukn massive ie you could easily put a golf course or two on it). We then took a drive to Arundel, a slightly bigger town, got a pizza, took a photo of the castle and went to the cathedral… standard quick tour in an English town. Back to Oliviers mums for some kick ass lasagne and an early night.
Arundel Castle
The next morning I took a solo stroll in the park and this time saw some deer, then a quick tour of town. Not much to say about that really. The only other thing I wanted to see was Petworth House but it was closed. We then took a drive to Horsham as Sarah was home from uni for the holidays (you may remember Sarah from A Weekend in Durham) Had a pub lunch and then a stroll to her house for a cup of tea. Her mum was also very nice.
Deer in Petworth Park
Petworth House Was Closed for Tours
Late afternoon and I had to get back so got Olivier to drop me off at the station for the train journey home. Just by pure luck I came across the Harry Potter Platform in London.
Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4
Finally got home about 2230 or so and my housemates where having a little party. About 8-9 hours later and I finally laid my head down on my pillow while the sun started to rise.
Overall, a great couple of days.. now just resting up for new years.
