INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

Several people requested a Derby pub crawl, but none of them actually showed up to it. The turnout was around 20 in the end as the hot weather put a few people off. 7 pubs was a bit ambitious, but I pulled it off, starting at the silk mill. Progressing to old dolphin, standing order, Jorrocks, hideout, tiger and Noah's ark. It was a good mixture of familiar and new faces. The day was a good mixture of old school boozers, sports bars and karaoke. Everyone seemed happy until I got home. The following morning, I was left a 1-star review by someone I'd not seen, claiming I'd not been updating our location. This was false as I updated all the way round as usual. One person even replied to her in standing order, saying we were going hideout in 5 minutes. These things happen!!!

It had been a year since I'd been to the races and at least a decade since I'd been to Leicester Racecourse. Around 8 of us met at 2pm with the first race starting at 4. I'd has the foresight to place my bets online before arriving. Judging by the crowds before each race it was a good move. It didn't rain but didn't get too hot either which was perfect. Got a winner in the first race but that was it. The atmosphere within the group was a bit quiet as it was an older crowd. I didn't hang around for the after party and got the first bus home.

 I'd spent ages trying to find a 6-7 mile circular route but failed. So I created a longer route with the option of dropping out via public transport. The hot weather didn't help with the list dropping from 10 to 5 on the final morning.  The first leg from Shepshed to Belton went ok until we hit to problems. The first was a group of cows that started moving towards us a big aggressively. Then one footpath had become overgrown since the test walk. Read stingers and thorns. We reached the Queens head in Belton for the first break then headed slightly uphill to Long Whatton. Most of the footpaths we walked were rarely used. At the Falcon nobody dropped out and we stayed much longer than planned for food. Then did the final 3 miles back to Shepshed

  It looked like a night out worth booking accommodation for. 40 of us are meeting up in Queen of Bradgate, followed by a night at the fan club, which I'd not been to for at least a year. A warm night, we sat out front until we got moved in by security. Only about half the group were going to the fan club, which was a disappointment. Also, several of the good people didn't show up at all.   It was a fairly typical night at the club, but the group size steadily dwindled. I forced myself to stay out to justify booking accommodation. Overall, not the best night.

 A steady night out due to having to cycle home from the airport. 4 pubs that were all new to me. Cured, Fellows, Fothergills and The Castle. Great turnout and good to catch up with familiar faces. The main downside was the slightly blustery weather. Case in point was Fothergills, which was more of an eating place, but it was too cold to sit outside. If we had gone an hour later, we wouldn't have been getting in the way of the people trying to serve food. Overall, a good night.

  Heard of these events many times before, so it was time I gave it a go.  Got early and grabbed a drink at a nearby bar, expecting massive queues, but people steadily streamed into the venue over a couple of hours. The atmosphere gradually picked up and was in full swing by around 18:00. Unfortunately, I had to leave at around 21:30 due to public transport, but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these events in future.

  A slightly overcast day that cleared up and got hot very quickly. Had a late start due to the popular free car park filling up.  As we headed out, 2 of the walkers were a lot slower than the rest of the group. This made the full walk about 45 minutes longer than usual. There was plenty of friendly conversation, and the rest of the group didn't mind. Everyone enjoyed the views and Old Bunny Woods nature area.

  After 4 years, it had become a bit of a routine, staying overnight Friday and Saturday. The list went from around 25 to a dozen in the last month, I was a little disapointed that some of more colourful characters hadn't made it. It was a similar route, Elephant's Head, Oxford Arms, Wetherspoons, and several others, before finishing at the Horley Arms. I was one of the last few standing at the end and was back at my hostel by around 10pm after starting at midday.

Time to try something new, a pub crawl in a more rural area. Had to put a 35 limit on attendance knowing the actual number was closer to 25. Thankfully none of the venues were packed.  The Railway was a good start with it's spacious front room. The Nags head had a lounge that was like going back in time to the 1980s.  Pick of the day was the white lion, proper old school boozer with a pizza place out the back. Barely beer garden weather but doable. Harrington Arms was the final venue, more of an eating place with a small bar area. The numbers had dwindled by this point to less than a dozen. Got loads of good feedback the following day.

 Not been to Leicester since before Christmas so it was good to catch up. Met in the Rutland and Derby for an hour before going to the actual event. Over 30s and was told to bring ID, it was also a ticketed event. Didn't see any of the security checking anyone for ID. Was expecting a larger crowd than a 2/3 full place. It took a while for the event to build up, good music but drinks flowed for over an hour before many hit the dance floor. The main complaint was that the toilets went out of order and everyone was queuing for one disabled cubical. Things died down after around 7pm