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.

I don't gamble much these days but a night at the dogs was long overdue. I'd been here before but not with meetup. Unlike previous trips this was not a heavy drinking night as I had the bus home to think about. 14 people was about the right sized crowd, unlike at the horse racing you have only 16 minutes between races so it was a constant circle of bet, sit and chat, go outside to watch race and repeat. I did better than usual and finished about 4 bets worth down in the end, Claire the event host just seemed to win everything. A good night was topped off when a couple gave me a lift not to the bus station but all the way home which saved me a lot of travel time.

After Derby, Nottingham was the next city to try for a night out with meetup. Slightly further on the skylink bus but doable it was good to get away after a quiet birthday weekend. Went to the fat cat bar ordered a drink and waited...….and waited. An hour and 3 drinks later still nobody had turned up despite me leaving messages on the page. The last skylink bus that went all the way back to the village was due so I called it a night. It was a wasted 2 and a half hours round trip!!!! Nobody on the group replied that night or the following day, yet if you click on the page for the event it says that 7 people attended which is obviously wrong. Lesson learned that some meetups are not what they seem...…..

First night out drinking in Derby for well over a decade. It was a hot and sticky evening especially on the bus going over. Arrived early and met the group in the standing order which I have vague memories of going in many years before. Being a slightly older crowd than the Leicester group and being a sitting outside type of night we went to pubs like the old silk mill. Also ye olde dolphin just across the road, it was a good social night with nearly 20 people. Finally we ended up in a loud place with a dancefloor. Unfortunately I'd peaked too soon as I went through my first few drinks very quickly after getting off the hot bus earlier on. I left earlier than I should but overall it was a good night.

After being removed from the Leicester group I thought I try a different city. Previously Derby and Nottingham were always special occasion nights out requiring expensive taxi rides to get home after midnight. Now we have the skylink bus going to and from those cities running via east midlands airport. A bit time consuming but cheap and doable. Not been those cities for decades so this was a dry run to test out the logistics of going. I rode to the airport where my bike would be safe in the cycle shed. Then went in the city before taking a steady walk to the Mosa restaurant . 12 of us attended the meal, it was an older crowd but they all seemed friendly enough. The food was good and conversation flowed with whoever happened to be sitting closest on the long table. Some went to a pub after but I was after a (rare) alcohol free weekend. One of them gave me a lift back to the bus station which was great. I would be going back to Derby

Had an unexpected e-mail 3 weeks after my last meetup. YOU HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GROUP LEICESTER 20s & 30s SOCIAL I tried to contact the group organizer Ben only to discover that he had blocked my messages. I did however spot a clue, the group had been renamed Leicester 20 to 32 social. I also noticed that a couple of peoples profiles who attended the 2 previous meets had been replaced with the words "former member". I thought it was pathetic to change the age range of the group especially after doing 2 great nights out. If everyone had been in the 18 - 25 age range and I felt out of place I wouldn't have come back the second time. But that wasn't the case. I will reach a point one day when clubs and loud bars won't be my thing but I can decide that for myself. I did message a couple of people to find out what was going on but the bottom line was it's Bens group, he paid to host it and there's nothing I could do. I immediately joined sever...

I was in London for the weekend to watch the marathon on the Sunday. The plan for Saturday was to visit a friend who lives in Dorking and go walking around the area where she lived. Unfortunately a couple of days before I got a message saying she had to go back to Tenerife for a family emergency. So I looked on meetup and there was a walk going that day in the same area so I joined the group as a one off and met them at Victoria station. We got the train down to Leatherhead where I discovered that this was a very popular area for Londoners looking for an escape from the world of concrete. Now I'm very fit but it was obvious the organizer was a very strong walker who does this kind of thing all the time. As there was 50 of us we strung out a bit but there were plenty of people to enjoy random conversations with as you went along. The highlight was Box hill after the stepping stones which wasn't too difficult to climb despite being close to the end of the walk. N...