The Long Goodbye

This afternoon saw the Gorse Fox head up to town for a farewell drink with several of his old colleagues.

As the Gorse Fox arrived a bit early, he went in to check the venue - a well-known haunt for Starfleet. They had reserved the mezzanine for GF and the manager showed him round and asked about payment arrangements (a tab, or everyone for themselves) and whether we would also like any food.

Ordering a few platters and sorting out a tab, Gorse Fox said he was going for a walk and would be back in 20 minutes.

Though the clouds looked threatening, it was still warm and sunny, and the Southbank is always vibrant and interesting.

 There was evidently a theme of "Love" to all of the decoration around the Southbank. GF suspects it is left over from the Gay Pride weekend just past.

Certainly it was bright!

 From the bridge spanning the Thames you could see the colourful stalls that lined the river bank. Strangely, for during the Winter these often sell food and souvenirs, they didn't seem to be selling anything, but were just colourful booths in which to sit and watch the world go by.

 Heading up-river slightly the booths were replaced by a funfair and the entrance to Udderbelly comedy store. Just out of sight is the Millennium Wheel and the old Count Hall complex.
It is a lovely place to just go and wander about and watch the world go by.

As the Gorse Fox started his return journey he climbed up to the bridge level and, passing the Festival Hall, he was accosted by a young lad - probably 15-18 years old. The lad rushed up to him and asked if he could take a "selfie" with GF. Somewhat taken aback, GF acquiesced and the lad held out his phone and standing up close with GF, framed the picture and took the picture. He thanked GF and as he went to leave, GF asked "Why?" The lad explained he was just approaching people at random and taking these photos. GF was a random victim.

Gorse Fox headed back to venue and soon after he arrived, Deep Blue turned up. For the next few hours various colleagues arrived and we had a few drinks and nibbled at the platters they brought along.

Several colleagues couldn't make it - Starfleet demanding they be in Edinburgh, or Manchester, or stuck in office managing quarter-end. However, it really was a lovely couple of hours.