Tea for Two at Pizza Average

It's Saturday night and I've just had dinner with my mate (lets call him Simmo) at Pizza Average.

The evening as expected was both fun and a little random. Simmo is a funny guy and qualifies for this rarely given acolade by being a) Scouse and b) a dabbler in the world of stand up comedy. Wonderful, I just have to sit back, enjoy the food and be entertained - easy! And the fact that I managed to lure him over here from the bright lights of Liverpool says far less about my amazingly witty company and far more about the 2-4-1 offer on the food!

We've ploughed our way through the Dough Balls and topics of conversation as random as cars and rockets and St. Helen's (the place) and Jordan (also the place) when Simmo's eyes glaze over and I can tell he's no longer in the zone. Just as I'm thinking that my conversation skills need work Simmo announces with a kind of everyday nonchalance "there's a dragon over there!" Of course there is I think, wondering exactly what sort of mushrooms he ordered on his pizza.

I turn round and to my amusement and slight bewilderment there really is a dragon over there. It's not Puff and he's not fighting St. George. This is a Chinese Dragon obviously in the throws of the dance for Chinese New Year. I could have sworn Chinese New Year was last week but never mind, sometimes the north is slow to catch on! Conversation stops as we both watch the said dragon (actually if we're going to be pedantic and of course, I am, it's actually a lion who does the special dance in the Chinese New Year celebrations) perform a very shortlived dance before entering the restaurant. Cue second random statement from Simmo "Oh look, he's left his legs behind" I'm beginning to regret not ordering the mushrooms for myself!

For the second time, I turn around and with even more amusement and bewilderment see that yes indeed there are 3 men dressed as the Lion/Dragon legs just hanging around outside with a man and some drums. Nobody else in Pizza Average appears to have noticed but we are enthralled and eagerly await the end of this little saga. But like most New Years, it was a bit of an anti-climax. The Lion/Dragon reappeared briefly before collecting his legs and disappearing without so much as a Hokey Cokey in sight.

The North West has it all - Witches on Tuesday and Dragons today. If I'm going to be swept into the world of fantasy and supernatural can I please put in a request for Edward Cullen! I believe he likes petite, brunette Virgos who are slightly older than him...I'm in!