Invasion of Bournemouth

10 years ago I was sunning myself on a beach, writing full time, boozing & carousing with a great bunch of friends. That was the year that I wrapped up a degree course in scriptwriting for film & TV at Bournemouth University, on the south coast of England. Looks nice, doesn't it?

This month some of those friends are gathering for a class of '96 reunion at the Goat & Tricycle Pub in Bournemouth. While I'm unable to go, due to a combination of work commitments and a miserly unwillingness to fork over the plane fare, I've been enjoying the e-mails of the reunion organizer, Peter Hayes. He's done an amazing job of rounding everyone up, tracking down e-mails and bugging people to attend (in the nicest possible way, of course).

Reunions aren't as popular in the UK as they are in the States; this is the first one I've ever been invited to. I'll be keeping tabs on the shebang and hope that it will lead to some renewed friendships.

As well as a chance to reminisce, we'll be able to catch up and compare notes. My family's grown in the past decade - I wonder how many of those footloose '90s scriptwriters are married with children now?

These days, I spend my time sunning myself on the beach, writing when I have to and boozing and carousing, mostly alone in my own living room. The neighbors only complain twice a week, and that's because I don't invite them in.

I'm already looking forward to the 2016 reunion, by which time gas prices will be so high it'll be cheaper to rent my own plane and land it on the roof of the Goat & Tricycle. Then I'll be off to the beach.