Snorlax: The Quest Continues

At last! The first day of the holidays. Thus I let him sleep in and Jof went to work and I Minecrafted.

But once the laundry was done and the dishwasher was on and all these other little things I know nothing about, we donned our coats, left the house and walked to Fratton Station.

Randomly, a train arrived and took us to Southampton, which was actually what we wanted. The commercial centre of this buzzing and boozing metropolis was very busy indeed with the same street vendors as you find in Pompey but even more, and the list included a street performer painted silver (one of those statue people), merry-go-rounds, Santa Grotto, Gluwein dispensary, read-your-palm merchants, mobile phone cover-sellers, lots of tired-looking chaps on benches with only Carlsberg Special Brew tins to keep them warm, girlies in heroic heels handing out flyers, roving groups of Southampton Football Club supporters going 'Hruh! Hruh! When the Saints go Marching in, Hrurgle rah rah!' etc.

Mr Google had told me that a place called Rock Bottom Toyshop in the Marlands shopping centre was the world epicentre of Pokémon card supply. So we walked there and they said, no, love, but Hawkins' Bazaar downstairs sells them. So I didn't mind travelling 30 miles to get cards if they could be found in a branch of the same shop we have here in downtown Pompey.

I bought 5 packs and found something I didn't know existed. The Disney Store does what it says on the tin and you can buy all manner of cartoon-based paraphernalia at Dumbo-shaped prices and they had the new Sith light sabre with the sticky-out bits at the side that light up and of all the possible costumes on show, I chose to be a Sith Dark Lord at only £36. This is why I didn't get the Light Sabre at a mere £25 because of not bleedin' likely, my son. I don't think the Dark Sith Lord has a name, perhaps we shall dub him Rodney or Gerald.

You can't go all that way without climbing the castle and the Titanic in Houndwell Park so we did that and had lunch at Bella Italia where I had cheesy hammy pasta with extra calamari and you get to keep the straw and I sorted through all my Pokémon cards and pulled out the duplicates and babbled and sang and talked drivel for about 5 hours.

The train back was emptier so I got out all my cards again and looked at them while wearing my new Dark Lord Sith helmet, I do the Darth Vadervader breathing even though I'm not sure that Rodney has breathing difficulties. I did take it off to go to the toilet, though - I have a habit of Number 2-ing in strange places so add 'Passing through Bursledon Station' to the list.

I had very tired feet. But I wasn't allowed to rest for long as the JBs had invited me to watch the parents drinking beer to celebrate xmas. We arrived what turned out to be 3 1/2 hours late and there were secret Santas and extra-Santas (left over from where the real actual Santa didn't turn up to our school fair) and we ate pasta and chocolate and Ben and I played throw-the-bouncy-ball-under-the-dining-table with the chocolate skateboards as cricket bats and we watched Top Gear and hardly kicked each other in the legs at all and I really didn't want to go home and I really didn't want to go to bed without a bath at 1130 but Jof told me to.

We're all starting to grow up in new and interesting ways and sometimes this is a help, sometimes a hindrance. But I can rely on my friends.