There's always something...

Today should really have marked the return to normality having finished off the last of the somewhat extravagant birthday celebrations throughout January. The plan was for a few of us to celebrate Em's actual birthday with a "couple" of drinks (which we did) and a spectacular win on the Monday night Tap quiz (which we fell a little short of but had fun all the same) and from this morning, it would be back to the usual routine and a chance to shed a few of the pounds gained over recent weeks. In fact that's not strictly true as by some bizarre twist of fate I've actually lost 10lb since New Year, but there's still plenty of scope to shed a few more.

It has been suggested however, that my birthday celebrations aren't finished until the tattoo is done, but enough already. It's only a couple of weeks away but there's only so long you can drag these things out. That said, the earliest appointment available meant taking a Thursday off work and after three hours in the morning sitting there getting scarred for life, I might as well extend it into a long weekend.

Then guess what? CAMRA have decided that National Pubs Week 2006 is to run the following week and if Dave has made the effort to organise something, I ought to make the occasional appearance in the Tap. So that's February taken care of then.

So far, I might manage to escape March with celebrations limited to Mother's Day, but seeing how popular Mum is (quite rightly if I may say so myself) and with the number of "adopted children" she has acquired over recent years, who knows what's in store there.

April and May bring promise of almost every family birthday and the Cleethorpes Beer Festival on Saturday 29th April for which we already seem to be drumming up a crowd before it's really been advertised.

By then we'll almost be halfway through the year so it seems quite simple to me - I might just have to settle for being a fat bloke who likes a few beers...