I caught a bus from there to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit Geoff & his new wife, Gabriella. There was a flicker of excitement while I was there cos the little-league team just won some kind of 'world' championship so they got the whole marching band, ticker-tape & dancing girls while we all watched in awe...lucky little bastards...
Portsmouth is a typical, New England town with lots of craggy coastline and expensive, clapboard-sided houses. I spent a few weeks there and did a spot of work on an old house together with Geoff. These houses are so maintenance intensive, but apparently it's considered bad form to buy the cheaper, low maintenance siding for the houses. This turns out to be great for people like Geoff cos it doesn't seem to be any shortage of work up there. America is a land of extremes, so it came as no surprise that Geoff's 4.2-litre Chevy truck had the small engine block & I'm sure the other Chevy owners secretly sniggered when he came past in his baby vehicle. This extreme-ness also applies to food...There's no such thing as a small coffee or breakfast. You can get the Regular (Large), Grande (XXL) or the Full works (enough to comfortably feed 4 people and their families). I tried, unsuccessfully, to enjoy American cuisine, but usually the problem came down to too many options. I tried planning my assault when entering the food hall, but I always got distracted & confused when they sprang surprises such as "You want your cappuccino wet or dry?" or "Do you want regular or organic cheese with that?"
| 
