Saturday 26th May 2007:

It is 3am and I am still awake. Not impressed. Have first of 3 breakfasts. Attempt to read myself to sleep. Futile. Finish book at 5am, wonder how exhaustion can't have got the better of me. Ants still in my proverbial pants, I go out for a run, flipping my iPod onto 'shuffle' (today is officially Random Day OUt 2007). Contemplate that I may have seen the best of the weather - clouds are gathering over the mucky, churning Thames and ducks are cackling at the prospect of rain.

By Albert Bridge I check for unsuspecting dog walkers, and seeing none, do a little dance: Shapeshifters feat. Candi Staton 'You Got The Love' plays on my iPod. This is a great worship song. A Japanese businessman hurries past with a poorly disguised look of horror on his face. I go home and have my second breakfast, cooked in the garden on my Trangia stove. The smell of bacon entices next door's cat into the garden. I have words with him about cupboard love, but he has no shame and lurks around until I give him my scraps. He'll probably spend the next 3 days with his nose expectantly pressed to our french windows.

On my way to the station I see a man wearing nothing but a shirt tied round his waist feeding coins into a parking meter. I bet he has a good random story. The Randomers gather at St Pancras. I eat breakfast no. 3. We get on a train to Meldreth. Where? Meldreth. We picked it because it sounded a little like somewhere from Lord Of The Rings. We laugh all the way there. In Meldreth we ask the local grocer to recommend the town attraction. So we go to the pub, complete with blind dog and strange man in corner (who appears headless due to being wreathed in a thick cloud of smoke). Perhaps he is a hobbit? We lose spectacularly in a quiz, try and enter a radio competition, test the children's play facilities, and ramble back through the sleepy village. They probably don't know they were the victims of a Random Day Out.

Lunch in Cambridge and a walk through Christ's Pieces (the meadows) concluded our day. The delicious randomness comes primarily from the throwing together of like-minded souls. We all turned up with a penchant for  randomness, prepared to roll with the punches, with no particular agenda, and ready to trust each other. At the end of the day that was the best, and the coolest thing about it all.

Special mentions to Gaston for conceiving of the idea, to Ray who didn't know any of us at all but still showed up, to Superherojosh for Kendal Mint Cake and best random hat effort, to Belle for spontaneity, prompting timely tea breaks and That Train Story (what goes on tour stays on tour ;-)

I think you're all brilliant (I think other AboutLifers are awesome too - where were you all?!)