A day out with my two best mates was just what the doctor ordered. They were surprised when they enjoyed English beer and I knew enough pubs by now that we could do a proper pub crawl during the afternoon and into the evening. They were not flying out of Manchester until the day after next, but knew they were going to have horrendous hangovers, so it was best we did it that night.

We were at least half a dozen pints in, sitting in a smoke-filled boozer, chewing on some peanuts thankfully bought from behind the bar in a packet. The three of us didn't smoke, though I had...