It has been a while since I have needed to recover from a weekend, but the last 4 days have been a run of music and partying.

Hastings Old Town has many events through the warmer months, most I will miss unless I get back here, but the season starts with the 'Fat Tuesday' music carnival. Themed around the Venice Masked Carnival. It started on Friday night and went through till Tuesday night.

Saturday I met some friends at the Royal Standard for the regular cheese raffle. But with the 6 nations playing between bands starting it was postponed. So I stayed with the friends and we followed an accapella flash mob to the Dragon Bar on George street for a couple and saw two vocalist there. Both solo guitar/voice and very good. But the Dragon Bar was really crowded and rumour spread through our little group that the Jenny Lind was going off.

So we were off up the 13th century Old Town high street when more friends detoured us to the Porters. Here was another acoustic guitar/vocalist but we only caught the last verse of his last song. Hunger pains were also kicking in and too much alcohol on an empty stomach was not how I wanted to spend my evening.

Jen and I left and went food hunting. Ended up with hot chips and pineapple fritters. Jen had a battered sav. Perfect drinking food and back to the Royal Standard. By this time we had met up with her niece and friends and planned to go to the Masked Ball without a ticket.

Fast pushy ride home, change into a suit and find a Venice Carnivale mask around the house on a Saturday evening. Thanks to a visit to Cirque de Soul a few years ago I happen to have a Venetian mask lying around. Taxi back to town and into meet at the Dragon bar.

The masked ball was at 'Venue' nightclub in George Street. Got tickets at the door and went up into a fully decorated Venice Carnival. masks, gowns, period costume and well dressed people everywhere. Hastings really goes to town to celebrate the end of winter and days lengthening. The band was the Swedish folk band I had seen earlier at the Royal Standard. They were perfect for the night with great paced up beat folk rock. Danced the night away and even got a laugh as security had to clear the mens room cubicle of 2 Hastings' token stoners doing lines of coke off each others bottoms. I guess they were having their own personal carnival of the mind.

I took Sunday a bit slower going to the Royal Standard for the cheese raffle with everyone recovering from the Ball. And for the 5th week running our table won the brie wheel and I won second prize of a bottle of Rioja and a smoked soft cheese. So lots of cheese again and sharing the wine with a nice group, including Irish Mary who was the only other person in Hastings not supporting England in the 6 nations. I am supporting France.

Monday I took the day off from drinking and did some packing and sorting storage and transporting my stuff. Good news is I can afford to keep most of my stuff here in England and only if I don't get a visa to return I will then ship it all to Australia.

Fat Tuesday, as the name suggest culminates in the roaming bands. 16 bands all over Hastings. 8 pubs each getting 6 of the bands. Either follow your favourite band or sit in a pub and see who comes along. Given the fact that I had a good seat and the crowds were huge, I went for the pub approach. I was not disappointed. By 9 there was no floor space and I was clinging to a window sill with a great view of the bands and the bar and could shout my orders over the crowd to Trish (landlady). Nice people on the seat with me and the only disadvantage was having to go outside, around the building in the -2 temp, through the beer garden and in the other door to get to the loos. By 10 the crowd was happy and so packed it was impossible to move across the bar.

I had a great weekend and it has inspired me to have the goal to return to England by hook or by crook. Hence I am not moving my life back to Australia just yet. I am coming back, but like the last stint waiting for a visa, it will be me and a suitcase.