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Midday Walk, Melbourne to Staunton Harold Reservoir circular

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  Normally I wouldn't be bothered to travel to a walk that was only 3-4 miles but it was the most boring weekend of the year. After a catch up we headed past the nice houses and into the fields where it got very muddy very quickly. We went down the appropriately named "bog lane" where it was so bad I had to hold on to the fence all the way down. The rest of the walk was done on solid ground, they opted for a walk around the lake at the end but I lost them in the last 10 minutes and got the bus home. 

Cotgrave to West Bridgford 8 Mile walk

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  I'd been given an organizers spot on a drunken night out years ago but never got round to actually using it. I used a day off work to plan a route that I posted on meetup. Initially I was a bag of nerves especially having to post details on parking (I don't drive), planning for bad weather and what to do if people turn up late. The attendee list never went higher than 16, overall 26 people signed up, 7 attended including myself, some dropped out on the day and some dropped out without updating on the website. Expecting a mud bath we headed into Cotgrave country park and followed the Grantham canal all the way to Bassingfield. The ground was reasonable, the weather was mild and the conversations were flowing. It's a lot easier with a  small group. We crossed the fields, the busy main road and had a short pitstop at the garage before heading into Skylarks nature reserve. The path to the river Trent was the only major muddy part which we overcame in a few minutes...

Christmas Fan Club Night

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  Arrived early with accommodation booked expecting a very busy night out. Walked into town and it didn't seem any different to a normal weekend night. Met in Weatherspoon's expecting it to be 3 deep at the bar but we all found a table without any problems. The plan was to stay in there until 11pm then head to the fan club. Some of the "usual suspects" didn't turn up and it had an "older crowd" feel about the night.  The fan club quickly filled up and it turned into a "good but nothing special" kind of night. Left around 2:30am.  

Nottingham Christmas Market and drinks

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  Met in the Bell Inn where we stayed for a couple of hours before taking a walk around the Christmas market.  Unfortunately a small error in judgement ruined most of the night. I waited for a tram to pass while the others ran across the road just before the entrance. In doing so I lost the group in the tightly packed crowds for the next 2 hours. I walked around and grabbed a venison burger (nice but overpriced). Giving up I went to Weatherspoon's for free Wi-Fi to find they had gone to the Pit and Pendulum, only on arrival to discover they had gone to pitcher and piano.  By the time I caught up with them there was less than an hour to my train and the group was starting to disperse. 

Big Pharma: Are we becoming too addicted to medication?

  Not the sort of thing I ever envisioned myself doing on meetup but nothing else was happening that day and the weather was awful. I'd debated with Chris on numerous issues on walks and was persuaded to join his group. They meet in a downstairs room at the malt cross every 6-8 weeks.  It began with a 30 minute slideshow highlighting the good and bad of the pharmaceutical industry (which to be fair was well balanced). Followed by a debate, I thought 20 people was far too many but about a dozen people including myself did the majority of the talking. For the record I'm pro science, pro vaccine and consider the alternative medicine industry a scam. Needless to say a hardliner who promoted the theory that covid vaccines make you magnetic (a fringe theory even among antivaxxers) dominated most of the conversations. I expected a lot to be like her but the group was balanced, the debate was civilised. There were a wide range of subjects which off topic such as face to face...

Eight Mile Circular Walk West Bridgford & Edwalton Circular

  Meeting in Weatherspoon's for a well needed breakfast it was cold crisp but clear day, perfect for walking. We headed downriver across the suspension bridge onto Melton road, I thought it was going to be a mostly urban walk until we got to an old trainline called the green line all the way to Edwalton.  The half hour stop for coffee was well needed.  We headed past the gold course and followed the canal back to the city as it was starting to get dark. An excellent walk, unfortunately no pictures.

Late afternoon/early evening social - drinks and dancing

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  Essentially the same meetup at 3 weeks earlier but started in a different pub. "The Bell" was a far better venue than last time as all of us fitted around2 big tables and it was easy to socialise. The venue was busy and I felt a big pushed by the group organizer to be the one to talk to a socially awkward guy who was sitting alone. Moved up to the stage as per last time where the older crowd gradually dispersed after 7PM. Another fairly average night.  

Late afternoon/early evening social - drinks and dancing

 An evening out in Nottingham with few expectations. Met the group in Faradays which seemed more of an eating places with lots of tables reserved. A dozen of us turned up most of which were older than I was. Due to limited space we got split up across the venue which limited conversations for the first 2 hours. We then moved up the road to The Stage which far more lively and suitable. After the initial few drinks the night improved, but people started leaving. By this point I was clock watching for the train and left around 8:30. An average night at best.

Hockley Hustle

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  I was originally meant to be going walking but the event got cancelled a couple of days before. Hockley Hustle was a massive event advertising 400 acts over 40 venues. Far too big to be researching on YouTube, the little research I did do I forgot to transfer to phone and turned up clueless anyway. We met for breakfast in Weatherspoon's before being taken on a walking tour of the venues. This was interesting as I seen many streets and pubs I'd never seen before. Starting off in rough trade we seen the first 2 acts, Jonny Olley then Kelsey and the Embers. Both were entertaining and it was a good start to the day.  Everyone wanted a change of scenery so next stop was Billy Bootleggers, nice venue but too quiet for my taste.  Then it was onto the very modern looking metronome to see Sancho panza which I liked. The others went to back to rough trade but I stayed to watch these a bit longer. But the time I arrived it was getting crowded and there was no chance of gettin...

The White Horse, based in Quorn, Leicestershire

  I was not up for a big night out so turned down the opportunity to go to Nottingham. The pub was completely packed out and it took 10 - 15 minutes before I found the group tucked into a corner.  It's wasn't a cheap place with a beer costing 30% more than in my local. While the food was also overpriced the burger I had was far more filling than expected. I met a couple of people from previous meets but overall it was a much older crowd. Most dispersed as soon as we finished eating.  There was talk of going to the White Hart but I was clock watching for the bus by that point and went home an hour earlier than planned.