INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

Not done this for a year, a pub crawl decided by a throw of the dice. The weather was good enough for sitting outside, but not too hot.  Wygston's house was a good place to start, sitting outside and watching the world go by. There were never more than 20 people all afternoon, with people arriving and leaving. The Gadabout was table service only, we waited ages, but it was good in the downstairs cellar-like rooms. The Tree had a good beer garden that I didn't previously know about. The Cherry Tree was an old-school pub that appeared to have remained unchanged for 30 years. Quiet place Knight and Garter was my final call before the bus, upmarket and expensive.

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 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.

  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

 A (5) pub crawl that was slightly north of the town centre in several places I'd never been before.  Met in Sherwood manor a large place with lots of people eating. Numbers went up to about 8 before heading across the road to Jenkins. This was a cocktail like place with no seating so we had small drinks and left. The Winchester would have been a great place to spend a summers evening, but sitting outside with smokers trying to keep warm with headlamps was not great. I drank up and went to the next destination alone. Samuel hall was a typical Weatherspoon's I had 4 hot drinks since I was so cold. Like the Winchester we lingered a bit too long after rushing the first pubs. The crafty teller was closing so we went to the Robin Hood which was a bit rough and ready but lively. By this point several of us were clockwatching for the bus. An average night,  

It was the standard evening at the crafty crow. Only went due to beat the streets the following day. Venue was initially busy on arrival but gradually thinned out. A reasonable night staying out longer than planned.

  60 signed up and another 20 odd on the waitlist. This was my biggest meetup hosted to date. Experience told me to half that figure. Got 18 in the organ grinder where the bar staff panicked in anticipation of 60 people joining. The good fellow George turned out to be a great venue with separate upstairs areas. The falcon was a bit too small for the size of the group which had swelled up to around 40 at this stage. It did annoy me that several people didn't take themselves off the list. The pub has a village feel to it. The Sir John Borlase Warren was another great venue with plenty of space. I had at least 3 drinks bought for me over the afternoon so I was doing something right. Finally it was the Irish bar. I’d done well and got great reviews. 

  A few afternoon drinks in a predictably packed out Weatherspoon's. Spend around 3 hours chatting to the Derby crowd many of which I hadn't seen for a while.  Headed back on the last bus. 

 I hadn't been drinking in the centre of West Bridgford before, so it was a great opportunity.  We met in the Portello lounge, an upmarket place. Conversation quickly flowed. By around 10, some of the lads got restless, and we checked out the Irish bar, which was a bit disappointing. I was going to bail out, but a large group joined us just before the bus arrived, and we sat outside (heatlamps). 4 of us went into town at a surprisingly subdued  6 Barrel Draft House, and I left soon after.

It was good to hear that the Christmas party was going to be different from the usual (mojos). I had an overnight stay in a hotel booked. The list went up to above 150, but dropped to below 120 on the night. In the end numbers were below 100. Spent an hour in the main bar of the whistle and flute before heading down to the basement that was reserved just for us. Great crowd and a Great crowd and a great night. The only pity was a large number of  people left before midnight.

  One place I'd been planning a pub crawl for a while. In the build up I panicked when the numbers went up to 25 so put a 30 limit in place. Half of them didn't turn up, but several people not on the list did. It was a slow start for the Berliner but conversation was flowing by the time we got to the hop pole. Wetherspoons was a bit too busy but we managed to get some tables for food. The popular crown inn was a great pub but far too busy for my liking. So we moved on to the star which was another great pub. Finally it was Beeston social, another great day out. People started leaving for food at that point. Made note to include food a stop on future pub crawls. 

  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.

  3 venues and over 80 people on the list. Rather them than me organising !!!!! Got to the Pitcher and Piano first and was quickly joined by most of the others. Expected more people in town for a bank holiday weekend.  Second venue was All bar one which I don't recall having been before. Upmarket and a bit on the expensive side even by city standards. The annoying thing was that the 40 plus meetup crowd and filled the place and they only has 2 bar staff on which was poor. Finally onto Mojos where several of us felt that we go too often. I lasted until around 1:30am.

  Back to another daytime pub crawl in Leicester. The idea was to throw a dice at each pub to decide the next venue. Bit strange but it worked out ok. Starting at the old horse on the other side of the train station. Nice place with a massive beer garden. Second stop was Loaded dog, a sports bar with loads of screens. Where photo was taken. It was a bit of a trek back into town but we followed NEW WALK a path I don't think I have ever been down. The grand union was only a small place and we seemed to fill it us, there was around 20 of us by this point. Next door was the Kings head, we sat outside upstairs. On the main road was the Barley Mow, several described it as a "rough pub" but it seemed fine on arrival and we stayed longer than expected. The beer was also cheap by city standards. Finally I finished at "spoons" and was clockwatching for public transport.  A good day out.

Second pub crawl II hosted, this time around Trent bridge. Unfortunately a far right protest and counter protest was in town. While this didn't affect us directly, several people dropped out as a precaution. We started at the Trent bridge inn, where half the group joined and the rest came later on. We sat outside at the embankment and the brewhouse.  Wetherspoons was packed due to the lower drinks prices and we struggled to find a table. We then moved on to the Waterside which was a popular choice. The weather was good, drinks were flowing. Finally we ended up at William Gunn which was another good choice. A few were planning their nights out from here but I was done for the day. It was another great afternoon and I had the motive to plan more in the future.