Happy Birthday Yazz!!!!

Family,

And a good Sunday morning to you all from across the Pond after a FABULOUS Saturday in the Mother Country. Despite the COMPLETE LACK OF COOL AIR OR CIRCULATION, the Taylors slept like LOGS on Friday night, not climbing out of bed until around noon. As I said in the last blog, having no schedule was bloody BRILLIANT, but we did plan to catch the Argentina vs. Germany match at 3, and so we got up to start the day.

We kicked things off with a run, each logging a 5K (but in totally opposite directions around Regent's Park) before showering and getting ready. Whilst pefect pumpkin got dressed, I went out for the long overdue spiritual pilgrimmage to the Mecca of all things involving clippers - Mr. Toppers. There a dude from Hong Kong laid the razor to my head. I quote Tom Price after the first time he shaved his legs: "It was as if someone had butchered a furry animal on my back porch." The best part was when I told the guy I wanted a 4 and 2. He said, "You know that's gonna be pretty short, yeah?" I just nodded - bring it ON.

But it was so damn hot in that place that hair kept sticking to my sweaty forehead. The guy had to keep toweling me off every 20 seconds so that I didn't look like Sasquatch - can a brother get some AC here? All the same - check out the before and after pics...

Before.....

And after....

After that, I picked up Muffin Puffin and we rolled over to a pub called "The One Tun." We had a few Heine's (Hitman - top notch on draft in the UK as well - pity we can't replicate) before rolling down to Clapham Common to meet Yazz and her flatmate Sam for dinner before Yazz's b'day shindig.

We ate at a great little Thai joint called The Pepper Tree, and since I hadn't eaten ALL day but had consumed booze, I put on a CLINIC - 2 starters, all my main, helped kill another starter, and then had some coconut ice cream dessert (PEPPYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! cheekies...).

We then went to a GREAT bar called the Grafton House, where Yazz had reserved a table and had about 20 mates come by for a GREAT evening. We met a lot of her peeps that we'd never run into before, and it was a BLAST. Seriously - it started out as just a bar (World Cup Match on, etc.), but 2 hours later, the lights were down to nothing, the place was HEAVING, and there was a DJ with his Apple PC and his turntable ROCKIN' THE HOUSE. Highlight songs of the night that I cut a rug to:

1. Ice, Ice Baby

2. Jump Around

3. Low (Boots with the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur)

4. I Gotta Feelin'

5. Sex on Fire

6. This is How we Do It (J-Wade - I THREW IT UUUUUUP to the 2-1-3)

7. California Love (Yet again - I heard them hoochies screamin'...)

8. Regulate (THV style)

As you can tell from the pics, it was a GUUUUUUD night out...

We stayed there until about 11:45, at which time we had to scramble to navigate the labrynth that is the Northern Line to get home, which we did just before 1. We summarily passed out about 1:30, and we didn't stir until high noon today (note that I said stir - NOT "hopped out of bed for a jog" - that's not how we roll on Shabbas).

And now we're sitting here with the door open, feeling the AMAZING breeze and sipping on our Fair Trade coffee (like good socialists do). Today is another relaxing day, which we are THRILLED ABOUT, and then we'll get after it again in another week!

Lastly, props to the European sides for acquitting themselves so nicely in the Quarter finals. Whilst I was pulling for a few more South American sides, I think the better teams did advance. That being said, I am now saying GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NEIDERLANDERS!!!!!

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat later today!

Love,

Sam and Jenny