INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

  Slightly disappointed with only 4 people turning out, free carpark, on a bus route and great scenery. Apart from a short section being overgrown (I was prepared with pruners) it was a clear walk all the way round. Everyone seemed to like the route along with the stop in the Star pub at West Leake. One of the girls was autistic and hadn't had much contact with anyone outside of family and one friend in 6 months. She chose my walk as the first thing to do and was exchanging contact details. Good to have made a difference. 

  Another walk with another reasonable turnout (10). We met at Newton lane carpark and followed an anti clockwise route. It was hillier than I expected since I always plan the opposite way around. The group kept getting strung out due to 4 being a bit slow which was a minor annoyance. Otherwise the rain held off until we reached the pub in Kimberley. After a good chat we headed off down the old railway line and back to the starting point via the canal.

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. 

  Another simple flat walk with a mixture of canal, woodland and open fields. A turnout of 10 out of 13 so percentage wise it was excellent. We headed down the canal where a few stopped to assist a boat going through a lock. An inexperienced man was shouting at his very upset daughter. Thankfully several of the group had experience. We headed into the woods where mud was minimal and the sun was out at the Malt pub. A few miles over fields where we encountered an unexpected display of blue flowers. No after walk drink but everyone seemed happy and I got good feedback.

  After hosting a few successful walks it was time to try a pub-crawl. I picked a route inspired by the website  https://www.designmynight.com/nottingham/beer-gardens-in-nottingham   The route was Junkyard, Cross Keys, Magic Garden, Blind Rabbit, Pitcher & Piano and The Canalhouse. The junkyard was not a bad start apart from the weather which was awful. After an hour the numbers had built up to around 8. I went by 75 minutes per venue and people were messaging to say they were joining later on. The weather improved by the cross keys enough to sit outside. Most of them were impressed by the magic garden and we bumped into another group we knew at the blind rabbit. By the  Pitcher & Piano people were starting to get hungry and left so we never did the Canalhouse. Some came back for a later meet but I left by then. Got good feedback.....

  Got up to 30 by Thursday, 20 by Saturday morning and 16 turned up which is my best to date. We set off from Rushcliffe park following the railway line south. Admittedly the narrow track wasn't good for having conversations with everyone in the group. This changed when crossing the fields towards Bunny. We had an interesting mixture of people. Everyone like the pub I choose for the usual half hour break. We followed the last 2 miles through the fields where a problem with my phone meant having to navigate from memory for half an hour. 4 of us went back to the pub in Bunny for an hour after the walk.

  A well planned walk in my opinion but I ran into a problem, only 4 people signed up. With an average dropout rate of 50% I was seriously considering cancelling the walk. I hatched a plan B where if nobody turned up I'd use the time to plan another circular walk in the area. Thankfully everyone turned up, we headed out of Keyworth through fields and the villages of Plumtree and Tollerton. I already got good feedback as we walked. I also noticed that 4 people were a lot easier to keep an eye on than a dozen. Especially when we crossed a busy main road.  We stopped for 30 minutes at the Goose pub before following the canal back to Trent bridge. We then stopped at the Brewhouse for an hour. Despite the low turnout I considered the walk a success.

 3rd walk I hosted and there was over 30 people signed up at one point. Only a 40% chance of rain but around 10 dropped out on the morning of the walk. There was 13 of us a the start. We headed out the castle grounds in an easterly direction, then followed the river to Ambaston. Down the country lane to the Harrington arms pub. Taking a half hour break before going back into the grounds. Overall the walk went well and the weather held off, some of them panicked towards the end due to the 4 hour carpark limit. But I improvised a shortcut and got them back in time. Nobody stayed for coffee and cake but I didn't mind.

 I thought I'd try my hand at hosting a non walking event so picked a live music night at a venue I'd attended several times before. I posted the meet 6 weeks before the even and waited. One person signed up then quickly dropped out. Not one single other person out of over 14,000 members joined. This I thought was very strange. The good news was that the Derby group was also hosting the event so I closed the RSVPs on the last day and joined theirs instead. Derby only had half a dozen turn up by the venue was busy and it turned out to be a great evening.  https://www.facebook.com/thecastleinndonington/videos/417064477632494/

With 5 star reviews and excellent feedback I quickly started planning the second walk to host. I opted for a circular walk this time (to help the motorists) and also found a starting point with free parking. We started in Shardlow and headed north doing a circuit of St chads nature reserve before heading towards Breaston via coffin walk. I was worried about the mud that I encountered on the test walk but it turned out to be a lot drier. One of the group happened to live in  Breaston and recommended the Chequers inn on the high street which turned out to be a nice place to stop. It got a little too comfortable and we all had to persuade each other to move on.  We had to take a detour for a mile due to mud but that was pre planned. Then followed the canal from Sawley back to the starting point. Had a few drinks and a good chat in the new inn after.

  The main focus was beat the streets on Sunday but since I was staying 2 nights. I might as well join the meetup that was just up the road. The Crafty crow was a slightly more up market venue located at the top end of friar lane. About a dozen of us turned up including a couple who were going tomorrow. It was nice and social but nothing heavy. The crowd started to disperse around 10pm.

  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...

  Headed to Nottingham Weatherspoon's with the intention of meeting the group for a couple of hours before crossing the road to the event. It took nearly an hour to locate the group which at that point was only 5 people. A couple more turned up and conversations started to flow but it was a long way from the 48 that were on the list. Other meetups were happening and there was even talk of abandoning this one. In the end we went across the road where more and more people started turning up. Lesson learned for future, turn up an hour later when already established in a group. It turned out to be an ok night in the end, there was talk of hitting the clubs but I'd had enough buy that point. 

  After walking in Derby I stopped in Weatherspoon's for dinner then checked into a hotel in Stapleford (my usual one in Beeston was booked up) then got the bus into town. Met at Spanky van Dykes like back in January where I met some familiar faces. I felt like part of a group now instead of an outsider which is only a good thing. Went to a late bar (below pop world where we went last time) and had a good night. Moved on to Mojos at around 2:30am but it was packed out which was a bit too much so made the journey back to Stapleford.

 It was another hotel job that I fully intend to make a habit of from now on. Trouble is I was a bit late from the walk in the afternoon and only had 90 minutes to shower, change eat 2 pot noodles, relax then go back out. The streets were full of drunken football fans (not good) and so was MOJOs bar that we met in but thankfully they were all gone after an hour. I'd been in that bar 2 years ago and the memories soon came back.  Some of the faces I knew from 2 weeks ago so it was a good start, the main downside was that we were staying in the same place all night. A few of them arranged to move on to a club but admittedly I was a bit tired from rushing around earlier on.  Headed back to hotel not long after 1AM.

 I'd only been to one meetup with this group (2 if you count the meal before), I'd always been reluctant to go back due to the size of the groups as it's a lot more difficult to "get in" a group. However after the worst Christmas and new year in the local pubs (12 people were in my local as 2022 chimed in) something needed to change.  I figured the first weekend of the new year would be quieter and easier to break the ice with new people. We spent the first couple of hours at a pub called spanky van dykes, only about 30 of the 60 or so people who were on the list turned up which did make it a lot easier. Met some good people right from the start and things went really well.  About 10:30 we moved on to a club called pop world, all covid passes were checked on entry which I don't have a problem with but it was the first time. I'd never expected a place to be busy the week after New year, most of the group stayed until midnight then gradually drifted off. It...

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.