On learning from my mistakes

An Irish friend of mine back in Wales had mentioned before I moved that he'd be visiting in November, and would pop to see me. Sure enough, a couple of weeks ago and he phoned me to remind me he was in the area, and did I want anything. The obvious thing was cheap Vodka from Tesco, where it costs £7.49 a bottle as opposed to the €17 a bottle we've been paying over here. My slow puncture on the car had also become a quick puncture, and knowing that tyres are about €80 here and £30 over there, it made sense to ask him for another tyre. He's also a mechanic, so I knew he'd get a cheap tyre or even better, a freebie.
So, on Tuesday night we went to meet him. Instead of him coming here, we'd agreed to meet him halfway, and headed up one of Ireland's new motorways towards Dublin. Sure enough, 2 hours later, and we meet him in a lovely pub in the middle of a village called Stradbally, and got in the beers. I thought he said Chad Valley, and was wondering why we'd be meeting where toys for Woolworths were made. And then here's the crunch. He had two bottles of vodka, and no tyre. So we'd spent about €30 in fuel, a couple of rounds of drinks which had cost us €40, food on the return journey and not forgetting the time lost, for a couple of bottles of vodka costing £15. TDT was livid, but I was more subdued. Unfortunately it's happened to me more than once, and so I just took it on the chin. It seems to be something I have happen to me, whereas TDT was disgusted. We finally got home just after midnight, and lessons had been learnt. Next time someone asks me to meet them and offers to bring stuff over, I think I'll make sure they have what I ask. I sound like an ungrateful bastard, but if you're going to offer your help, then give the help as well. Don't make me waste time and money when I can't afford both.