Day 210 - Friday, July 29th, 2011

I Heart Crabbie Patties

The Happy Hours Bill of Fare At Michael's

Blessed amongst women, outside Michael's

Maples' Gratis Lunch Buffet once again delivered untold deliciousness today, with the most delightful chilli crab cakes wit rice an' bean, preceded by outstandingly delicious chicken pasta soup. Earlier my faithful automobile Herbert The Hoover felt hungry for the first time, so was treated to a fill-up, affording the chance to reveal the first thing that is cheaper here in Cayman - petrol - which was CI$1.22 (€1.06) per litre. No wonder the roads are thronged with cars all day long!

The working week came to its glorious end, resulting in a one-man stampede to Michael's for their Happy Hours. As these Happy Hours run from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, there was no time to lose upon arrival at 5.50pm, and the next 40 minutes saw the consumption and/or ordering of two pint bottles of Nuremburg's finest Weissbier (Heche Tucher Weizen) and a Napili - reserve Bacardi, Grand Marnier, fresh pineapple juice and sage. The former were delicious, the latter I could take or leave, despite the promising ingredients. A mini Angus Burger and some falafel were also enjoyed, with the bill coming in at CI$28 (€24).

During this fine food 'n drink fest, I had been joined by Mel, Gretchen, JP and his maman who arrived last night for her first trip to Cayman to see her son's new hinterland, and with whom I engaged in excellent bilingual conversation whilst her son and daughter-in-law fawned over a pair of dogs for over half-an-hour! Mel and I adjoined to Abacus whilst 'tothers went to dine and we were joined by Alex and Ray for beers and outstanding banter, which ranged from Cayman living to what defines a psychopath to horrific US reality television programmes.

After some brief refuelling at Wendy's, the next port-of-call was the Triple Crown pub, which was ultra-lively and heaving with people "enjoying" the karaoke. Mel wowed the audience with a stunning rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun whilst I delivered versions of La Bamba and Unchained Melody, which prompted (another) Alex, from England's West Country, to introduce himself and invite me to join an acapella group of which he was a member. I explained that I would be off-island in a fortnight, but will mosey along on Tuesday to help temporarily stymie their devastating tenor crisis.

Sometime after midnight, we headed to Elements nightclub, but there was a beastly queue, which I don't do, and it didn't appear to be moving, so the decision was made to call it an excellent night.

Contentment : 17 / 25
Excitement :    4 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15

Overall Score : 51% (24th out of 210)