Freddy on Mercury part 5.

-Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System,^[8] orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about the axis for every two orbits. The perihelion of Mercury's orbit precesses around the Sun at an excess of 43 arcseconds per century; a phenomenon that was explained in the 20th century by Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.^[9] Mercury is bright when viewed from Earth, ranging from −2.0 to 5.5 in apparent magnitude, but is not easily seen as its greatest angular separation from the Sun is only 28.3°. Since Mercury is normally lost in the glare of the Sun, unless there is a solar eclipse, Mercury can only be viewed in morning or evening twilight.

Phil's alarm woke me at 5, we'd only been asleep a few hours and I was feeling pretty fucked up! It wasn't beer or lack of sleep though. There was something up, it felt like I was dying of some weird Spanish Bastard Flu. My throat was in agony and my head was pounding like there was a dwarf in my head trying to break out with a sledgehammer.

I was the last to leave the Villa, a trait that had become common place these last few days, leaving the Melon I had bought the day before. So much for best intentions eh? I imagined it feeling abandoned, alone and suicidal having being neglected by its keeper. I am a bad man.

- Melon, couldn't go on with life without me.

At the Airport, Ian was busy filling his lungs with smoke while we waited patiently in the line to check in. After all the security checks we were at a coffee shop, ogling at all the fanny that walked past. I swear we were all like bloody Meerkats!

"Hey Darren, look at that one over there... phwwwwwwwaaaaaarrrrrgh!" etc

On the plane, Phil learned from his mistakes and switched off his phone during the security announcements.

Once in Heathrow, Darren had left important car parking documentation as well as his passport on the plane and rushed back to get it. We waited at baggage claim for him. After what seemed like an hour we headed for Costa coffee for him.

When he turned up, Ian was outside filling his lungs with smoke. He explained that having no passport upon arrival is not generally taken well by UK security and so a host of procedures had to be conducted. But as he clearly is NOT an illegal immigrant (he's as much a chirpy cockney character squire as Bob Hoskins) this was shorter than it would have been if he was one of them free-loading scum.

Before Ian and I were to drive the 4 and half hours to back to God's Country, we all had one last fry up at Darren's expense, God bless 'im. Then it was back to the land of song for me and Ian. The weather upon our return was lovely. That was UNTIL we crossed the Severn bridge, no shit! I collected my car at Ian's and headed back to Swansea in time for tea.

What a weekend!