I was getting really pissed off with London so went to visit some mates in Kent. It's nice to run away sometimes, especially when there are a couple of parties organised and your absence will be felt. There's something satisfying about it.

They had a roofing job on in Margate, so I went down on the train and hung around the seafront until they were done. Spectacular hat trick - I got caught in the pissing rain in only a t-shirt, shat on by a seagull then slipped in a puddle and fell flat on my arse.

Went to the Shell Grotto for lack of anything else to do. Well cool - discovered in 1835 and no-one knows who made it or how old it is, though it's suspected to be Roman. Worth a visit, but only if you're in the area.

Then down to the arcades on the front. God they're rubbish nowadays. I still love visiting them but it's purely for nostalgia reasons, the games are shit and the only things worth playing are those 2p waterfall things.

Why aren't arcade owners investing in deathmatch networks like internet cafes are? It's the obvious way out of the technology rut arcade gaming is in. OK there are issues about 18 certificates, licensing and payment methods, but these are hardly insurmountable. The internet cafes have managed it.

Saturday Night

Met up with my mates and went back to their home town Faversham, and decided on a night out in Canterbury with G's girlfriend and her mates. Had to borrow a a pair of shoes and a shirt to get into a club, not a good sign. Got shitfaced, danced to Crazy Frog, and pulled a woman you wouldn't take home to your mother. Also, G's girlfriend had a fight. My sort of night out.

Paedonoia

Sat at the train station for an hour Sunday waiting for a train back to London. A group of bored 11 and 12 year-old girls hanging round the station decide to sit and talk to me. They were lovely kids and I actually enjoyed talking to them, but it made me really nervous. It's pretty sad that you can't even chat to a child any more, but on the other hand I found it a bit disturbing how much and how quickly they trusted me.

I gave them a quick lecture about not talking to strangers when my train came, and they looked genuinely embarassed, like they'd forgotten they weren't meant to do that. I felt though that by having a nice chat with me they'd be more likely to do it with someone else. Maybe I should have beaten them up mildly or something as a form of aversion therapy.