Down The Bop

For Saturday night, I planned what we should do. We were to meet in my room at 9:00pm, head to college and to the bar (which I had not yet visited this term), then when it closed, to the bop which was to take place also in Hertford. Basically, the plan succeeded. It was a fun night.

The group ended up as me, Abi, Rich, Steve, Emma, Dan (Emma's boyfriend), Sarah and Dave. We got to the bar about 10 and set up camp at one of the tables with our drinks. I had a coke and Steve had a vodka and coke, which presented Rich with his opportunity. As soon as I was distracted he swapped them round, but I easily caught him in the act. The problem was telling which was which. I sniffed them but of course vodka is odourless, so it was up to Steve to work it out. He took a sip of one and told me it was his, so I happily took a gulp of the other one. Bastard. Should have known he and Rich would have been in cahoots somehow! Man, vodka burns the throat. It also makes the coke taste like it's gone off...

I decided right then to get back at Rich. I don't think Steve had realised that I really don't drink, and anyway he was just following Rich in it. Rich is the brains of the couple, affectionately known as 'Dickie' by his other half. My revenge was quick and simple: I pennied him. For those who have not come across this concept, it is where one puts a penny in the other's drink, thus forcing said person to down it. Rich had a good three quarters of a pint left when I pennied him. And just to give it a sweet taste of irony, the reason he had left his pint unguarded was to get a penny from his wallet to do the same to Dave!

I assume that it must have been downing the pint which got Rich pretty trashed last night, as he didn't seem to drink much else. However, he was drunk enough that when we arm wrestled not long afterwards, and I was blatently winning, he quickly resorted to digging his finger nails in! For shame, Rich. Abi has photographic proof of the result, as well. And I still won :-P.

Soon afterwards the bar closed and we went outside ready to enter the Bop Cellar (yes, it's really called that). Dave, Em and Dan headed off, and I found I had a missed call from Smo. I rang him back and he explained that he was trying to get hold of Sarah (there's no reception down the bar). I told him I'd tell her to ring him, but he asked why I couldn't just hand the phone to her. Uh, because I'm paying for the phonecall, Smo.

So the (not unexpected) result of their chat was that we hung around outside waiting for him to arrive. We met the (I think only) Computer Scientist of the new freshers and chatted to him. He had clearly earned Beast's respect, as the big man himself had given him a beer. We had all seen Beast down the bar earlier as he, Dickie Oldroyd and others are still in Oxford and see the Hertford bar as home (and the cheapest pint available in the city, no doubt).

So Smo arrived and we entered the Bop Cellar. It was not so grand at first, as the music was not the ordinary cheese that Hertfordians (particularly drunk ones) know and love, and it kept stopping at random times. Smo and Sarah soon left, and didn't come back. There's a shocker. The remaining four of us (me, Abi, Rich and Steve) stuck it out to the end and were rewarded with some proper tunes like 'The One and Only' and 'Scatman'. We headed out at the end and to Hassan's for our first kebabs of the term. As a veggie, I of course got lovely cheesy chips, and Abi as usual helped herself to a few. We got to the Exeter college (Steve's college) JCR to eat and drink. Finally with an incredible effort we got a very tired Abi and Rich (tired for different reasons!) to get up and come back to Ab House.

And after talking to Gwen on MSN late at night, I fell soundly asleep.

BTW, I have no idea what happened to Rich and Steve after they staggered back to the former's room. However, I was assured by Blath over MSN that Steve did get back eventually, which is something. As to the rest, we can but specualate... Don't worry Rich, I still love you. Just not as much as Steve, it seems... :-0