INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

After fan club night I couldn't wait to get back over Leicester again, another new group to try out. Bumped into 2 people I'd met from previous meets which is always a good thing. The queen of Bradgate was our starting point for the evening with over 20 people sitting around one big table. It turned out there had been another meetup with another group taking place earlier that day. A couple of people turned up drunk from that meet and joined us to continue into the evening. After an hour or so, several of the drunk people moved on because they wanted to go to a lively place with a dancefloor. We arranged to meet them at Lloyd's after we had drank up, from this point the group fragmented.  Lloyds was a bit loud for that early in the evening especially when you are trying to have conversations with people you have only just met. We decided to move on, with our group mixed with the other group, we walked down a street when suddenly some people would go into a pub while

First night in Leicester for nearly 4 months, first with this group and it was long overdue, this event was put up at the last minute but the attendance was close to 20. Started in Lloyds which was easy enough to find, arrived early to watch a fight taking place outside but thankfully it cleared up by the time the group trickled in. It was as good a place as any to start. Hogarth's was a good pub which I could have spent a lot longer in.   Spencer's was a small pub you could easily miss and walk by, 3 pubs I'd never set foot in before and they were all good. I couldn't believe I'd never paid more than 3 pound a drink in the city center, Highlight of night was of course the fan club, I had been here before but not for 20 years !!! Proper old school, sticky dance floor and drinking cans of red stripe. I'd much prefer 90s music over 80s but you can't have everything. We did turn up early so it was fairly empty, but got fuller after midnight.

After the meal we headed down to MOJO s an interesting bar that was a quarter full on arrival but got more busy as the night went on. Later people started dancing on tables and it got very lively. The turnout was around 60 according to the meetup page and as strange as it sounds it was a lot more difficult to get in a crowd. I was glad I got to know some of them at the meal beforehand and didn't just turn up to this one. Unlike others we stayed at the same bar all night (it's open to 4am) which I didn't mind as it was good. There was talk of moving on somewhere else but it never happened. Lasted until well after midnight.

Second attempt at getting a night out in Nottingham following the no show with another group previously. This was the first of 2 meetups on the same night, about 15 of us attended the first part which was the meal. I think that a meal around a table is the best way to meet a new group instead of a loud bar where people are just arriving at any time. The food was ok but more importantly I got on well with several of the group who all came to the night at the bar after.