Hallowe'en

Folks in Lille aren't so keen on Hallowe'en. They've got their own French celebrations on November 1st so nobody really does much. That said there might be a party tonight in which case I hope to go.

I've spent today hitchiking from Paris to Lille a 2 hour drive took me hours, but I saved €53 and got lots of practice speaking french. When I arrived in Lille I had nowhere to stay; but now I have 2 options. I think I need a French sim, especially if I'm going to be in France for a month.

This picture is spooky; it's from Norway. I have no camera; it was dropped during Oktoberfest at the University of Oslo.

I used to be able to beatbox the theme tune for this . . .

Currently, I am sitting in a hotel lobby located just to the bottom right corder of the letter ´C´. I didn´t know this ´till the other day when East Enders came on the t.v. and someone pointed it out to me. I thought it was pretty cool.

Did I really do that?

I just read a comment left on my couchsurfing profile from a friend I met in Glasgow. We hung out for a day and a half and I slept on his floor for two nights. During that time he got to know me a little, and this is the impression I left him with . . .

´Whisky smuggler, 3-piece suit salesman, Manu Chao fan, emo club headbanger, and proud owner of one of the finest 'taches this side of 1973...´

That was an eventfull day and a half. It would appear I´ve become a bit dodgey since my departure from Canada. No wonder immigration gave me trouble when I wanted back into the UK.

Rauland

I'm farther inland now am apparently 600 meters above sea level. I've had a couple of adventures but I'm not going to write about them here yet. I keep telling my stories over and over, and then I write them on here, and then perhaps I might write a letter, and then when it comes time to write in my travel journal I'm sick of the story and can't be arsed to write it.

But not this time.

This time I'm going to write in my journal first, and then write about it on my blog. Or perhaps I won't. Perhaps you'll have to wait 'till I get home in order to hear about my adventures. That's really the way it's supposed to be anyway isn't it?

But I will tell you that I'm off to a dinner tonight with some folks, and moose is on the menu.

After a few days in Oslo

Since having left Glasgow I've not been hit on once by a dude, and people don't seem to look at me like I'm a weirdo in the street. Actually, since I've come to Norway things have been really good! The city is fun, the temperature is brisk, the people are really friendly and welcoming and overall it's just a good time! I've got too many people who want to hang out, and host me. I've had to say no to a bunch of them which I feel kind of bad about.

Norway is expensive so I smuggled some Whiskey in with me to resale at a profit to me and a savings to the Norwgean people. I still have all of it, but I really haven't been advertising it yet so I'm not worried. Yesterday I just walked around with a new friend and got up to all sorts of random stuff. It was a good day! We finished by watching a movie called 'Pike Med Perleøredobb' or 'Girl with a Perl Earring' which was pretty good. Today I'm wasting time on the internet, and then will go to the national gallery. Then dinner and then a German themed costume party at the University.

I'm starting to think this cowboy look isn't really working for me

Last night Matilda (my current host in Glasgow) and I went out to 'The Box' pub and listened to some music. It was pretty good. I'd been there the night before but the group last night was better by far.

At one point a guy came over to talk to Matilda, and then another guy came over and he hugged the first guy. Then he asked me if I had a problem with him being gay. Fortunately at that point Matilda said something to me and I was able to dodge the question entirely.

Then, not more than 30 seconds later, the 2nd guy that came over punched the first guy in the head. Really hard! So that guy got pissed off and stormed out. Then the punchy gay dude said unto Matilda in a thick Glaswegian accent 'Hey, can I talk to you for a second?'

The conversation went like this . . .

Dude - Hey, can I talk to you for a second?
Matilda - Uh, sure.
Dude - Are you guys together?
Grayson and Matilda - No.
Dude - Well, I'm not interested in her because, well, I'm just not. What he (referencing the first guy) chatting you up?
Matilda - No.
Grayson - No, he wasn't chatting her up.
Dude - He said he was chatting her up.
Grayson - Oh, well I guess so, but it didn't seem like it. How long have you two been together?
Dude - He's my brother.
Grayson - Oh.

At this point the conversation was between the two of us because Matilda had stepped out of the way. That's fine, it makes sense. It's the kind of thing you do in that situation. What wasn't fine was that she was insinuating that I should try to hit on him. That's when I stepped out of the conversation and left the guy by himself. He stood there alone for about 30 more seconds and then he said . . .

Dude - Fine. Hey, did that guy take a mobile from behind that speaker?
Grayson - I don't know, he took a jumper.
Dude - But did he take a phone?
Grayson - I don't know. He just took a black jumper.
Dude - I need to know if he has my phone.
Grayson - Well, was it in the pocket of a black jumper?

Then he kind of flailed and ran out the door.

Couch Surfing

I've left England for now, via a five hour bus ride prefaced by an hour and fourty five minute train ride which required waking up at 5:30am.

I'm in Glasgow and I'm couchsurfing in an awesome flat with an interesting story attached. It's also a store house for porn props. I've not been snooping but apparently there are all sorts of . . . things hidden about the place.

Last night there were a couple of other folks crashing there, and we all went out to some pubs. The first few were uneventfull (think out of key singers and stuff) although the streets were full of people! We tried to get into some of the better places around but at entry prices of £8-£15 we decided to stick with the smaller venues. Eventually we ended up in a basement pub somewhere off Sauchiehall Street and I ordered something on tap that looked cool. I found out 2/3 of the way through pouring my pint that they were out of what i ordered, so I got the 2/3 pint for free. Then some dudes saw my hat and moustache and they came over to chat.

At first I thought they were just friendly lads although a bit touchy feely. They got me a few pints and chatted with my friends and I. Then after a time (a relatively short time) I got the distinct impression that they were trying to pick me up. This suspision was confirmed later that evening when one of them looked at me and said that he had to level with me. That things weren't going as he had planned. That he had misread my hat and moustache and that there was no way I was going to sleep with him. I confirmed this statement and we ended the night with a big group hug in the street involving a random couple and lots of unecessary jumping.

It was weird, but whatever.