Well, we could always talk about the weather instead. *doesn't*

[flerdle] It is a-raining-not in Brussels.

We could talk about Wimbledon. I will start the ball rolling by saying that is a pleasant SW London suburb, and in places rather expensive. The common is a useful place for a wee on the way home in the car though you may have to watch your back. The local football club won the FA Cup in 1988, to the delight of many.

Can I add that it has two tube stations and is in the London Borough of Merton.

I once saw Annette Crosbie at Wimbledon station. I can also add that Wimbledon Park is a very pleasant area and popular with dog-walkers.

It is also an excellent safety move if you are half-splined and have nothing but green tokens.

I've been through it on the train but never stopped there. It gave me the impression of looking quite green.

[Rosie] BTW, I trust you actually stop the car.

I'm making him meet the rest of my family this weekend. That means he will have met BOTH sisters (including the one with a pied-a-terre in Wimbledon, to stay on topic) and my mother. And the most ditsy of my nieces.

(Projoy) Not only that but I get out of it. Brentford to Warlingham (22 miles, 50 mins) is just a little too far after the maximum breathalyser-passing dose of Fuller's London Pride (2½ pints).

Is that the club which is now local to Milton Keynes?

(ISP) It is. May it fail in all possible ways for having abandoned its (rather modest) south London fanbase.

You drive 22 miles to drink London Pride?

(Phil) Er, well, not really, but it's there so I have it. I play from time to time in a small swing band. The leader is a Croydon Tram nerd but otherwise quite normal and all the group's CDs have a picture of a tram in some part of the country on the front. It makes my interest in steam locos seem positively mainstream, just like my preferred type of jazz.

[Rosie] Ah, I see. I used to walk 25 minutes to my local most days, even though there were about 20 pubs closer. It's a crappy trendy bar now though. But these days I only have to go downstairs for the best pub in town :-)

What does that have to do with Wimbledon?

When I'm in London, I usually stay with my Wimbledonian friends. It's a very nice area indeed, and quick to get to from Waterloo.

[Néa] How is Great Uncle Bulgaria? He must be getting on a bit by now.

(Phil) Pity that town is over 100 miles away. I drive 7 miles to my "local" (Greyhound, Carshalton). This limits the intake but I don't want a skinful these days.