Nothing to eat but food

Now when I sit down to breakfast, there is nothing to eat but food, life is so peculiar

Now when I sit down to breakfast
The next morning Preston and I went for brunch at Stanley’s in Jackson Square. There was a bit of a wait so we put our names on the list and sat at the bar waiting to be called. The wait wasn’t long which was good as I needed something to help me recover from the big night out the day before. I opted for the Breaux Bridge Benedict, which I found difficult to order without making a hash of the words. It was however a great hangover cure. It was nice getting to spend some time with Preston. He had been the person I had emailed more when arranging my stay in NOLA but I'd not really spent much time with him because he had been at work.

After brunch we headed home to get ready to go the Country Club. I had heard some of the Memphis gays talking about the Country Club but they wouldn’t tell me any details saying I should go check it out for myself to see what I thought. I had forgotten to look it up online so when it was suggested as an activity for the day I said yes, curious to see what the Memphibians had been keeping back from me.

The place turned out to be a private club with a pool out back. It was mainly frequented by gay men although there were some women there too. It was also clothing optional. I opted for clothing, choosing to wear my swimming trunks as did my hosts and their friend Steven who had joined us. There were some people swimming & sunbathing in the nude. Now, I have nothing against it but I personally think that there are some bits of a person that aren’t designed to be in the sun. And it is always the men you would rather not see even semi-naked who are fully naked.

It was really nice to be able to cool off in the pool and get away from the heat and humidity of NOLA. We spent the afternoon chatting in the pool. I was beginning to feel less like an outsider looking in on the conversations of a close group of friends. I felt that even thought I had only been in NOLA a few days I had penetrated their intimate circle, so to speak. I chatted to a friend of Casey & Preston’s who had such a strong Louisiana accent that I had to ask him to repeat what he had said. On a couple of occasions, having asked him to repeat himself twice, I looked to Casey for a translation. I felt really bad that I couldn’t understand him and took to smiling and nodded instead of asking him to repeat everything.

I had also taken my laptop with me too as the place had wifi which meant I could catch up on some admin while enjoying the sun. I rattled off some answers to a set of questions a journalist from SoSoGay, an online gay magazine had sent me. He was going to do a story on my travels. Fame at last!

There is nothing to eat but food

Casey gets the BBQ going

Preston headed off to do some family stuff, Casey and I stayed for a little while longer. We timed our departure perfectly. We had only just got to the car when huge fat spots of rain started to fall. It was only a brief shower though so it didn’t ruin our plans for the evening – Casey said he would get the grill out. Casey and I headed to the supermarket to get some provisions for the evening. As we parked up Casey saw a friend of his, Chase, getting into his car. Casey invited him over for dinner. I loved the laid back, friendly atmosphere of NOLA that meant things were organised last minute. Back home in London everything seemed to be planned so far in advance.

Casey and I were joined for dinner by Chase & Steven. While Casey set about getting the BBQ going I whipped up a batch of Yorkshire Puddings. Casey had heard me mention them in one of my Nashville updates and had asked what they were. Over dinner Chase bombarded me with questions – How do you know Casey & Preston? Why are you travelling? Where are you going? Where have you been? What did you used to do for work? What are you going to do once you get back home? After the final question I looked at him waiting for one more. He looked at me and said “I have no further questions”. It did feel like I had just been on the witness stand. I was sweating.

Yorkshire meets New Orleans

As we finished up with dinner Casey got a message from Preston that he was on his way back home, and that there needed to be a chilled martini glass waiting for him. He had clearly had an interesting evening with his family and was in need of a stiff drink. The five of us sat chatting, having decided that a quiet night in was needed. The conversation took an unusual turn when someone said something about drinking juice. In unison, everyone said “Drink the juice Shelby, drink the juice”. I sat there looking confused, once again feeling like an outsider. They explained it was from Steel Magnolias. I had to admit that I hadn’t ever seen it. The group then proceeded to quote virtually the whole film at me. It was clearly a must see movie for anyone living in Louisiana.

The next morning Preston made us a traditional brunch. I had cheese grits for the first time. The consistency was similar to porridge, and so was the taste. Preston also made “sticky bun” which tasted amazing. We also had mimosas. I spent the rest of the morning watching Steel Magnolias given the previous nights conversation. In the afternoon I went with Casey & Preston to the cinema to see Crazy Stupid Love. The film was funny. The best part however is that in NOLA you can get a frozen daiquiri along with your popcorn.

Life is so peculiar

Burger cooked under a hub cap

That evening Casey took me for dinner at the Clover Grill, where they cook the burgers under a hub cap. I don’t know why. The burger was good though. Casey asked me for a dollar. I worried where he was going to put it but luckily it went into the jukebox. Sunday evening at The Pub was Sing Along Sunday, so knowing my penchant for that sort of thing we headed there. The whole gang seemed to be there, I did a lot of “Hey mister” greetings. There were a few new people there too. I shook hands with someone I hadn’t me before.

Me:      Who are you?

Him:     I’m Randy. 

Me:      Sorry, I asked who are you, not how are you.

Him:     Yes I know, my name is Randy.

Sunday Sing Along turned out to be a really fun night. It was different to Musical Mondays at Splash and the other similar nights I had been to. They played a lot of local music so every couple of songs something would come on that I had never even heard. Everyone else sang along. I was back to feeling like an outsider. The DJ once again made me feel welcome, this time by playing Boyzone. By the time we left The Pub, the barman who had done so well remembering my name & my drink order also now knew to leave me a spare napkin next to my drink for me to wipe my fingers on after I had squeezed the lime into it.

“Now when I sit down to breakfast, there is nothing to eat but food, life is so peculiar”

 
Lyrics from Life is so Peculiar from the musical Five Guys Named Moe