A hard day at the office over, it was time to get to the Vasco da Gama shopping centre for some real hard materialist consuming. Didn't really have anything in mind but, perhaps, a trip to the cinema. However. I passed a shoe shop and just HAD to go in and buy myself a new pair of boots. To my credit, though, I managed to resist the temptation to buy a pair of trousers (reduced from €70 to €30) and I left the half price Ralf Lauren shirt (reduced to €50) - alright, I'll admit it, they didn't have it in my size. But, hey, I still didn't buy it. As I was browsing the stores, like a rabbit caught in headlights, I received a call from a friend from many years back (12 years). Nathan, who is from Belfast, lived in Lisbon back when I lived here. He worked as an English teacher, with a part-time vocation to single-handedly keep Guinness in profit. He returned to Ireland round about the same time I returned to Scotland. Well, he's back here, teaching English and working part-time in the Irish pub (and still doing Guinness proud) - I bumped into him yesterday and we agreed to meet up for dinner tonight. So that's my evening sorted!