INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

  This night out consisted of 2 places I'd not been to before followed by an old favourite, Mojos. We met at at King Willian IV an old style pub with a nice rooftop area which was good for a warm summer evening. Nice change but my first pint was a hefty 7.50. Then headed to Bustler a modern style place with loud music. We should have stayed longer to be honest as it was dead in Mojos on arrival. It did however pickup after midnight and went to being completely packed out. A good night that ended around 3:00.

  I'd been saying for years that meetup should so a day at horse racing. So I jumped at the chance to have an afternoon at Nottingham.  The biggest disappointment was only myself and the event organiser turning up. We spent the hot afternoon alternating between bets, cold drinks and watching the races. He had a couple of winners and I had absolutely nothing.    Thankfully we met a women's meetup group and a couple of them recognised me from some of the walks we had been on. Got the first bus back after the last race.

  It was a simple repeat of the walk we did last summer. Straight down the canal path then turn off to the Victoria pub. Stayed for about 90 minutes then headed home. A good sunny day after some terrible weather.

Other than a band in a pub and beat the streets I'd not done any live music events with meetup. Originally it was just one day but then they changed it to two days. I figured that if it was good I'd do the full weekend next year. I'd stayed the night at the excellent and very social Igloo Hostel. I walked to the park and soon found the group. We headed passed security where it would have been easy to smuggle my own alcohol through. We had a "base" where at least someone was all day. This eliminated my fear of spreading most of the day alone or searching for others in the group. The weather was bad all day with on and off rain. I'd reached the point where I couldn't get much wetter by 2pm. As for the music I pre planned which bands I was going to see a week earlier. Cam mannix were not great but listenable. Jealous nostril were a bit better. Motormof at the small stage wasn't my thing but a better option than cheesy stuff like the Sugarbabes. I took a b...

Nottingham bound for a Birthday party with a night in a hotel booked. It was simple itinerary drinks at the magic garden until 11 then mojo until late. The rooms upstairs were like putting a bar in someone's house. Nice place but at 6 pounds 50 for a pint extortionate even by city centre standards. It was still a good night and good to catch up with some old faces.  Mojos was a bit different as a large percentage only stuck around for the first half. I had a few drinks but it felt something was lacking. When the security removed one of our group who appeared to have done little wrong I decided that it was time to leave at around 2am.

  It was a simple one big lap of the park which I nearly missed thanks to mistiming the walk from the bus stop to the top edge of the park. It was a warm sunny day with a good turnout. For some reason we didn't see any deer but it was a good walk all the same. Stopped for coffee at the end and got invited to a birthday party later in the year. Bonus got a lift back to the airport.

  Walking friends had been the group providing the most walks (obviously). So with a slightly different crowd than usual we met at Lambley lane park which had been wrongly put on the map as Lambley road which was several miles away. I figured out the mistake but some others didn't and missed the walk. The walk was straightforward enough around a well defined pathway. A little bit sterile to be honest but the weather and the company were good.  I even got a lift back to Nottingham which helped.

  A drinking day in Nottingham was long overdue so I joined 2 consecutive meets and booked a cheap hotel. We met in the canal house which was busy but not packed. It was a bit cold sitting outside which contributed to the slightly lower than expected turnout. About a dozen of us moved onto olde trip to Jerusalem which was a good place to sit outside. The organisers had the other meetup in mind so we headed into the city centre.     

  Slightly unusual walk with a 4pm starting time and a group I'd never been with before despite being based in Nottingham. I didn't recognise any of the faces which was the first in a long time. The walk couldn't have been simpler, follow the canal to Beeston. A dozen people turned out at the weather was perfect and not too hot. Finished up in the Victoria pub next to the train station which was good for getting home.