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Richmond. We arrived at the Greyhound bus station (as usual in a particularly sketchy part of town) and peeled off to stay with our individual couch surfer hosts. Ben and Kez stayed with a very reserved lawyer and her boyfriend whilst Ollie and I stayed with a lovely lady by the name of Jules.
Richmond wasn’t like any other town I’ve ever been to in that it completely revolved around the university even to the extent that the student board resided over which shops were allowed to trade in the town in particular areas! Ollie and I plunged head first into the student culture with two parties. The first of which was fairly quiet. We drank our beers and met some of the locals. Richmond was the capital of the south during the civil war and speaking to the people, we realised this was the first time we were south of the Mason Dixon line. The accents were just like those on Walk the Line! “I do declare”. Just as we left the party, one of the girls we were with thought it would be hilarious to throw her can of beer all over me. Honestly. She’d been at a wine festival all day and I hadn’t said two words to her! If I’m going to wear someone’s drink, I want to earn it with at least a semi-serious STI! We then went to a skate contest after party. This was much more like it. Immediately on arrival Jules introduced us to one of her friends. Upon realising we were English she enquired as to whether “you guys wana see some t***”. Both Ollie and I having male genitals, graciously accepted this most benevolent offer. � t*** are great” the girl said. We agreed. She then proceeded to try and lassoes me with a dog leash. I managed to wriggle away. Ollie bowed his head so to make it easier for her to capture him! The party culminated in a very American toast. Aaron, one of Jules’s friends (and a thoroughly great lad) got the attention of the 80 or so guests and raised a toast to his British counterparts. This was met by a chorus of “wooooooooooooos” and “yeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhs”. We never should have given them their independence! The final bar we went to was quiet. The highlight was leaving. Ollie and I stood outside waiting for Aaron, our driver. He pretty much crawled out of the bar, reversed into another car before embarking on an incredibly ropey drive home. He got us there though, cheers son!
The next day we walked to Belle Isle. It was an island you could walk to by crossing the most enormous foot bridge. The photos do the talking for this place. There were rocks evenly placed across the river so if you wanted to, you could cross without the use of the bridge.
The second night we went to a British themed pub called Penny Lane. It was ok with some hideous karaoke going on. At the next bar we went to, for the first time we found a cheap American bar. $10 for 5 beers! The only problem being that the deal expired at midnight which at 11.40 gave us 20 minutes. We got through 3 rounds. Very drunk again, I managed to offend a girl to the extent where we nearly had to leave. ALL I said was that on my 25th birthday, as Scotty once pointed out to me, I would be closer to 30 that 20. Whether is was my accent provoking a language barrier, I don’t know, but she then was apparently offended and told her friends that I said she looked 30! Ridiculous. Smoothed over quickly enough with a charm offensive (dribbled and slurred). This night produced one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever ever had. I thought I was going to throw up on the hideous clientele using the greyhound the next day!
Andrew
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