INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

  I found a free carpark and a walking area that had only been open to the public for a couple of years. Better still it was close to home, also an experiment on how many people would turn up. The answer was about half a dozen. Weather was perfect as we set off along the lane to the outskirts of the park. It was a good mixture of open fields and woodlands. A 30 minute break was taken at the Harvester where it was warm enough to sit outside. Then into the park proper before heading back into Shepshed.

  Admittedly this was too soon after the last one with a very similar itinerary. Over 120 were on the list with 3 organizers sorting it all out, rather them than myself. Starting at the pitcher and piano is was good to catch up with people if the venue itself was over familiar. The good news as the next venue blind rabbit had big screens up for the boxing where we watched A Joshua get stuffed. Only a few dozen made it to Mojos which didn't surprise me, I lasted until around 1:30

  I'd heard about this for years and finally got the opportunity. 5 pubs and one bus for a tenner. Unfortunately, loads dropped out leaving just the 3 of us. A 30 minute delay occurred when one of the buses was cancelled but they found another. Our first stop was a beer festival at Thorpe Langton. We had an hour which sounds a lot but the queues were big. We then went to a few village pubs including Burton Overy and Kibworth Beauchamp. A great day and as the beer flowed people got more social. Unfortunately the journey home was a nightmare.

A 2 hour debate between about 20 people in an upstairs room in a pub. Not as heated as the previous one about the pharmaceutical industry. I provided the following...... Police show minimal interest in lower level crime especially when it involves juveniles. Part of the problem is the amount of paperwork they have to complete in order to process. Then the courts will often give minimal punishments. Easier to brush it under the carpet, as a result more people don’t bother reporting it. Crimes unreported as public lose faith in police - BBC News Coronavirus lockdowns . Police openly admitted they didn’t have the resources to enforce the rules and many lockdown fines went unpaid. Regardless of your opinions on covid/lockdowns it doesn’t paint the police or justice system in a good light. OPINION: "There simply aren’t enough police officers to enforce a lockdown" (wiltshire999s.co.uk) Majority of coronavirus fines unpaid in some parts of England, data suggests | ITV News Use of ...

  The weather wasn't great and it was an event I was generally lukewarm about attending. It was closer than home to most and I used the journey to plan future walks.  We visited a few stalls located near the clock warehouse but I felt we spent far too long hanging around. As usual I was one of the youngest in this group. Then we headed up the canal for coffee and some nice but overpriced chocolate orange fudge. A stop at the Malt Shovel pub followed where we chatted for around 45 minutes. We went down to the boathouse for more of the same. By that point I'd seen enough and headed home.