DADDY G IN DA HOUSE!

My dad came to visit me for the first time at unit 24 of Oslo house, last year and even though he called it the commune, I know that my dad secretly loved it. I know this because he couldn't wait to arrange his next visit, and the other weekend this visit finally occurred. It couldn't have happened at a better time. I was feeling fragile and needed the distraction and the security of a parent. My father was so excited about the weekend he had texted me the weather forecast and had consulted me at what outfits he should bring for the trip. He was unsure as we were going to watch Warhorse at the theatre on our first night. We had tried to go and watch the show on his last visit but we had been too unorganised to buy tickets in advance and it was sold out.
My father complemented itself on what good seats he had got for us (which in truth they were) and nearly had a heart attack when he paid £30 for 4 gin and tonics at the theatre bar ( to be fair though, so did I!) but we both went home with smiles on our faces after watching a magical performce.
The next morning we awoke early as we both wanted to go and see the Da Vinci exhibition. We arrived at 9.30 am before the museum opened at 10am.
"Look Dad. The queue is not to big" I said as I proudly joined the back of the line.
"I'm afraid the queue is shut" said a guard to me. "It was shut at 7am due to the amount of people we had".
"What the hell! " I stand there in shock. "Come on Dad. We will never get into this exhibition unless your a complete weirdo and camp out from 5am in the morning, and I love Da Vinci but not that bloody much!"
We go and have a fry up instead. Well actually I don't as I don't like fry up's (I should of added that to my list of food phobias)! I just have a nice Danish pastry!
The good thing about having guests in London is you actually go and see things you have never seen before. When you live somewhere, you don't do the tourist things. My dads visit gave me the perfect excuse to do something touristy. I'd never been inside Westminster Abbey before and me being the history geek I am and the Abbey being one of the most important historical places in the country, it had always been on my to do list. We were then entertained with our own audio guide tour with the soothing voice of Jeremy Irons for the next couple of hours. I was not disappointed and had an amazing afternoon though as I was looking at the kings and Queens tombs I realised those people in the olden days were total midgets (maybe they are related to the Mexicans)?

My dad hasn't met many of my friends, so I decided it was time he did.
"Dad we are going for a curry with the girls tonight, you don't mind do you?"
"No Carly. You know I never mind the company of women."
No, you bloody don't and that's always been your problem in life, I thought! So off we went to Tooting and I did throw my Dad in at the deep end due to the fact that I introduced him firstly to my close knit, most feisty group of friends: Debs; Evans and Becky. We all met at uni and have known each other for 12 years now (God! I feel old!) but we are all as thick as thieves and when you get us together you can't bloody shut us up! My father did very well. He was social able; charming; entertaining and if I remember rightly didn't tell any bad Dad jokes. At the end of the night when we were going home on the tube he said to me:
"You have a good group of friends there, I can tell. You are very lucky."
Yeah, I thought to myself, I have. We love each other entirely even though we are so different. I know I'll know them even when we are old women. Actually Evans has had a hair brain scheme recently that we should all buy a villa together somewhere like Portugal, for when we retire ( I guess I'm stuck with them forever now!

I had announced the crazy decision that I was going to cook, Sunday roast for 8 people including my father, to impress him! Bare in mind I have never cooked a roast before in my life! I started to realise that I might have been a bit over ambitious, so I turned to my reliable source:
"Oli! Will you help me cook a roast?"
"Yes doll" he said with his usual resigned look.
Come the day of the roast, Oli is still in bed, and Jono pops in for his usual daily visit to inform me in his all so charming way that:
"Oli got twatted last night!"
Oh my God! I'm on my own I think! I take my Dad out to buy the groceries, which is fine though he tells me I've spent to much on the Beef at the butchers and I could of got it for half that price at Tesco's. I tell him, that it's bloody good beef. He tells me that it should be at that price! I get home. Oli still isn't up! I'm stressed now! My father asks what time everyone is coming for dinner? I tell him to read the Sunday papers! He asks me, should we start preparing the dinner right now? Oh my God! I don't know! I've never done this before. Arrrgghhhhh!!!!!! I tell him he's a guest and just to read the papers. I'm stressed now, though I don't say anything. Oli rises. Yeah! He looks super hungover and grumpy. No! I'm on my own! Then something amazing happens.
" Do you still want me to help with the roast?" says hungover Oli.
"Yes! Yes please" I say, like some happy puppy.
The next thing I know, he's taken control of everything and we revert to the roles that we do best in life: Oli is cooking; and I'm entertaining the guests and keeping the drinks flowing! We sit down to the most amazing roast ever, that I can't really take any credit for ( though I must say I did all the peeling!) but who the hell cares, everyone is happy, even Oli who has the hangover from hell. I do believe it might have been my favourite roast ever in Oslo house. Oh! And just so you know Daddy G said the beef was very good in the end. The perfect end, to a perfect weekend.