As ever a cold day in Manchester as we set off to Texas USA (via Chicago), a long flight but past quickly due to our inane babble about fuck all on the plane...Arrive in Houston TX to find it very warm and very sunny ... result!

Ken Owens one of the "Texas Pool Sharks" meet us at the airport and one the introductions were done we headed off to meet Big John (Tex) Gibson for a few beers and a few shots of Wild Turkey 101 (very rough whisky) in a "very" dubious bar on the outskirts of Houston full of people your mother warned you to stay clear of!, thankfully I never listened to my mother.

A few (too many) drinks later and it was like we had all known each other for years and the banter just flowed, I guess that's the effect of the 101 kicking in?.... as you can see in the pics... Tex was a little to keen to show his imitation willy ?

Seems Rich was so impressed this he was trying to imitate it at every moment of the trip there after !!!! GET over it dude!.

Then it was off to a Mexican food place were we just laughed and joked about skating and music and just about everything else in-between, a very amusing start to the trip.

The jet-lag was kicking in by this point so it was off to find a "Motel 6" and crash for the night before the drive to Austin in the morning......