Kerry, Why Not?

Why Not..Love to Drum - djembe and percussion fun!

2012-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Why: I introduced my pal Kate to Meetup dot com and she suggested Why Not..Love to Drum - djembe and percussion fun!
I thought, why not, let's get my rhythm up to scratch.

Where: North London Buddhist Centre

When: Sat 6 January 2012 - 5pm

Who: My pal Kate and myself

What happened:
We got there and the place was looked inviting, we buzzed the door and got welcomed by Stuart, the organiser. He was a very friendly chap, who welcomed us in for some tea. The buddhist centre was warm, cosy, and smelled amazing, very zen.

After helping ourselves to a variety of flavoured teas, we met a few of the other students.
They were a whole mix of folks all around the age of 25 to 40. Italian, spanish, australian, english, and so on and all keen to drum and learn.

We headed downstairs, and found chairs all laid out in a circle and drums set out ready for us and a selection of percussion instruments, some I had never seen before or knew how to play.

Stuart welcomed us, and since it was a beginners session, he showed us the correct positioning of the drum, and the different "hits"..base, tone and slap. We had to stretch and do a warm up, as supposedly drumming is a work out..We all said our names and then suddenly we were all shown a series of "hits", a bit like the game, simon says...and we had to repeat after him. And off we went.

A few of the group had been before, however, Stuart, made everyone feel like they were making progress, and gave more challenging "routines" to those who wanted them...and then you either tried them or stuck with what you felt comfortable.

It was very trance like, and almost meditative...and Kate and I found that we had to stare at one spot and relax and then we wouldn't miss a beat...though, every now and then, we listened to others play different rhythms and went off track...and we also tried to put one another off. Like naughty school kids. But, no one told us off, and we quickly rejoined the rhythm and the whole session was very relaxed.

We went though several "tunes"...and after 1 1/2hrs we were done and I felt like I wanted more...

What happened next:
There was a second session, for more advanced and improv session, so we stayed...and after another spiced tea, and some biscuits, we met some regulars of this group. Again, a mixed bunch and all keen to drum.

I was a bit nervous that I would just stick to the basics and I would show myself up...however, my confidence grew as Stuart encouraged us...and off we went.. The more talented bunch played a few leads over teh top of our layered beats and the sound was fantastic. We even used drumsticks in one hand whilst playing which was another skill to learn and kept it interesting....

I must say...3hrs..was a challenge, and my hands hurt a bit near the end, and probably eating dinner before would have helped...as I was shattered after the 2nd session. But I definitely enjoyed it and I am planning to go back.

Why Not Rating: 7/10

Suggestions: Go for one or other session..unless you have had dinner or have the stamina. Also mix in use of the percussion instruments on the floor as your hands, arms and back definitely notice this new work out that has been discovered through meetup and Kate.

Why Not go to Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park?

2011-11-29T12:27:00.001-08:00

Why: It's nearly Xmas..and I love the Xmas Feeling.

Where: Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park and then Bar Boulud

When: Tuesday 22 November 2011

What happened: The weather had finally got a little chilly and we wrapped up warm, but that just added to the feel of Xmas.

We met near Knightsbridge station, I was on there early, Ian showed up not too long after, and surprised my with white foam all over his head, like he had been:
a) in a foam party, or
b) rolling around in fake snow from the Harvey Nichols store front.
It was very festive and made me chuckle...so off we headed to Hyde Park.

I had been there last year, however, when we approached the entrance, it looked gorgeous...so many lights it got me in the mood. Big Santa's everywhere, polar bears, penguins and no kids :) I suppose we did go at 7pm, but it was great to have the place to ourselves, the big kids that we were.

What happened next: It's free to get in, but please make sure you have money once in there...We walked around and saw this slide that you sit in sacks and slide down...prob lasts 10secs..it was empty, and I wonder why, it was £4 a ride..seriously!

So, off for a stroll around the place, it definitely was bigger than I remembered, and reminded me of the Kings Hall I went to as a child to go to Funderland. But after wanting to try and win large Teddy's for £3, which I didn't really want, we went to the Bavarian Beer house bar. £5 for a beer, or £8 for a stein. This seemed more rewarding. There were a few German girls next to us, swaying and umpa paahing paahing and a guy on the key board singing random covers. Shame there wasn't a band, but it was Tuesday...however the place was quite busy.

After our beers, and another stroll and a few attempted throws to get a ball in milk barrel which we didn't win, I convinced Ian to go on the Power Tower. I have never laughed so much in ages as Ian had to keep his eyes closed, missing out on gorgeous views..well he looked once or twice. It was funny.

After a warm gluevine we headed to the Extreme Circus. We were last in, so we got given the front row disabled seats :), much to the displeasure of those behind us who thought they had a clear view. The acts were pretty good and for £8 a ticket for a show that lasted 45mins, it was more value for money than all the other rides. It involved rotating wheels, and some talented gymnasts and a lady who was lying on her back on a motorbike juggling fire and stuff with her feet, pretty impressive. However, the highlight was 3 guys in a cage that reminded me of a metal gerbil ball, spinning around simultaneously on motor bikes. They did try and make us have pictures with them afterwards for more cash, and sell us balloons, but we left pretty sharpish.

The ice rink looked wicked, and was massive, prob biggest in london that is outside, and had a live band playing in the middle of it. I was quite impressed, but saved the skating for another day.

On the way out, we tried to get another gluevine, however the guys in the huts were shutting down, but handed us over one for free...a very nice way to end the night, but this added to us then taking silly pictures with plastic animals and santas...loved it.

Why not rating: 6/10,
due to value for money...I wanted to do so much more, i.e horror house, and so on, but thought I needed to save it for another time. If it was cheaper, people would be queuing up more to do the rides and they would prob make more money too.

power tower

Continued: Then....walking back to the tube, we saw a some guys hanging outside a cozy looking swanky bar, Bar Boulud, we asked what it was like inside, thinking wearing jeans and trainers we wouldn't get in. They said its great, go have a look.

The bouncers let us and in, yay, and we found 2 seats at the bar. It was quite packed and we were lucky to get the seats. We were still a bit peckish as had only shared a large sausage from Winter Wonderland, so we took a look at the menu. The prices seemed reasonable for the bar bites. It was a swanky bar, and I loved the sound of snails in blankets..or "Barbajaun D'Escargot" and pork with piscachhio in brioche (pork pie) or "Curvelas Lyonnase en Broiche", so we went to order, then looked at the wine list, it was pretty extensive and expensive.

Suddenly over came Gavin Mado, the Bar Manager, and smiled at us, and recommended after seeing our predicament, the house red, which was better than every house red I had drank in a ages. He told us about some specialty cocktail drinks he made. One was a frozen ball of ice and in it was a full white rose, then you had to pour in the cocktail he concocted around the ice ball and sip it slowly. I tried it and every now and then I tipped it back too much and got a cold nose, as the drink was very refreshing and I wanted more.

Gavin was great craic and I would recommend anyone to go there just to have a giggle with him and sample his cocktails. We were made to feel very welcome and it was another unplanned pleasant surprise ending to the evening. We left in time to get the the tube home smiling.

Additional Why not rating: 8/10

Gavin Mado ( Madog)

Why Not go to Down Hall for a Murder Mystery Evening?

2011-11-29T04:51:00.001-08:00

Why : I bought a Living Socials Voucher for 2, to go a Murder Mystery Night including overnight stay.

Where: Down Hall, Near Harlow.

When: Sunday 27 November 2011.

What happened: We were told to make sure we had got there by 6pm, so set off from London at 3pm. We wanted to arrive early as we wanted to view the grounds, as the place looked stunning. After few wrong turns and stopping off at a local pub to ask directions, we got there just after the sun had set at 4.30pm. However, this added to the spookiness of the evening.

On driving up the narrow tree lined driveway, we were greeted by a stunning building, all lit up and inviting. The entrance and ground had been decorated ready for Xmas, and looked gorgeous. We were both pretty impressed by the façade.

Inside, it was a maze of corridors and entertaining rooms, and very quiet and a lot people eating cream cakes and drinking tea. After an initial snoop around inside we headed to our room. All thoughts of exploring the cold evening quickly went out the window. We were both knackered from the weekends parties...so we chilled out in the room, drank the free hot chocolate and got ready for 6pm.

We went downstairs and asked where we were to meet, but were told, no it starts at 7pm. What to do.. Well, I had snuck in a bottle of wine with me...and we had read about a games room...wicked, Drinks and Snooker competition time it was. We had the games room to ourselves, and after we saw the vast area of games, gigantic connect four, boules, chess and so on, and decided that after the Mystery, this was where we were going.

What happened next: We all met in a large room, with a mini bar in one corner and had no idea what to expect. There were all sorts of people here...the first one we saw was this chavy lady stating to the bar tender " I know what I will have, a Large Merlot, I want to get pissed". We chuckled and then started chatting to a young couple, who also had no clue of what to expect..We spent the next few mins assessing everyone in the room and deciding who was an actor, and who wasn't, as there were plenty of overdressed and odd couples. We thought we had it all figured out, at least 10 people there must be actors.

After an ice-breaker where I had to act out a Grandfather Clock and Ian was a Lobster Pot (he got told his was crap by one lady, as he was doing a crab impression with his hands then smoking a joint - I thought it was good), the the actors came in, and we watched as 3 of them set the scene with an initial auction. The actors who started off the show were definitely very odd characters and none of which we thought were in it yet.

We got shown to another room to eat..tables of 8 were set out, about 40 people for the event. We sat with the couple we had met "Hannah and Jessie", as they had been very amusing, and met the rest of our table. A girl our age "Helen" with her mum "Sandra" and then this couple in their late 40's /50's? "Sue and John" who we thought they had were definitely two of the actors...Nope! Ooops, luckily we never told them this.

We were handed out some clues, and things to read and we got to know everyone at our table.
Here are snippets from the conversations during the meal:

"Is lady bird poo orange? I know it is, even my ginger haired friend does, and she know everything orange"

"This soup is crap", everyone agreed and laughed, then a few mins later, one waiter split soup all down Hannah's hair and back - she returned 15 mins later in time for the main course. She took it well, but wasn't happy.

Hannah returns to find a ladybird on her knife, eating the crap soup, that had flown onto our table when she was cleaning off the soup from her hair. Unfortunately it never pooed to prove her argument.

"I once saw a lady die when I was in Majorca, from analphalitic shock, I looked over at what she had ordered, 4 courses and a bottle of wine, I wanted to go over and take it while they tried to resuscitate her, what a waste of food and wine"

"I tease my wife she is racist, so at a murder mystery dinner party I selotaoped a golly wog toy to the wall and wrote about her being racist, the next day a guy came to check the electricity meter, I was just letting him in when I realised he would see the wall...I had to run and slam the door before he saw it, he was of course black"

Entertainment: I hate to admit it, but I found the people at my table more entertaining, The actors were average, but they got us all talking, and they were very nice when they moved from table to table and came under the hammer from us. We were meant to ask them about the murder and so on....but instead they got asked..."what colour is ladybird poo?" and "have you ever had a girlfriend?" and so on...They handled us well.

We did enjoy the mathematical puzzles and dingbats "say what you see" and by the last one, a letters and numbers code cracking one, we were all quite merry and shouting at John what letter went with what number...he flipped and shouted as us, saying " if you know it do it yourselves"..to which Ian and I chuckled and stepped away :).

At the very end, we had to decide who did what...and how...and our team name was Soup or Boil, and it wasn't just us that thought that another's team names was "Crap Soup". I think you can probably guess how well we did...We didn't get the right answer, however, we were having the best time. And our table, all retired to the games room, to have a 2hr epic game of boules...to which Ian won - though there may have been some cheating going on..

Also after the boules, we went and had chip butties in the quiet cocktail bar that had no cocktail list, and met the chavy lady, who asked us how the murder mystery was...it seems that she had got pissed off with the game, and had thought that we were there to "eat dinner then play Cluedo", so she walked out after the main and went and had 2 fags and drank some more booze and waited for people to finish..

Why not rating: 7/10

Additional Comments : Loved the hotel . The dinner could have been nicer, but breakfast was good.

It felt like some of the actors were missing. There were only 4 actors, not the 10 we had thought :). At the end during the the show down of who did what, the female actor put on a dodgy wig and beard to pretend to be another actor, to which Ian shouted out " its Jeremy Beadle" and got many laughs.

Met two contestants from the show "Take Me Out". They were very sweet.

Loved the grounds the next day - had the swimming pool to ourselves, and sauna, and I beat Ian at a large chess game - stale mate for him, however I have since learned that this is a draw :(.

Jeremy Beadle

lady bird

Take Me Out

Why Not go to 40 Winks Hotel for Story time

2011-11-18T03:09:00.001-08:00

Why :
1) The Nudge suggested we try out Bedtime Stories
2) I needed some PBFF time with my mate Nisha
3) I love Stories

Where: 40 Winks Hotel, near Stepney Green

When: 17 November 2011

What happened:
The emails that we received after we had reserved 2 places were delightfully charming and witty, and seductive in a way that made you intrigued, curious and very welcomed. It made you feel you were going to be spoiled with all you could want in luxury, warmth and comfort, plus being served drinks, nibbles...and being entertained. Perfect. Why Not?

However, one big issue...Neither Nisha or I owned nighties, pyjamas or anything that could be seen in public...I.e. all I have is shorts that my eight year old neice would prob wear, and a tank top..or a huge t-shirt, hardly they sophisticated adult sleepwear that you could wear to lounge in luxury in public.

Shopping time with Nisha. and what we discovered :

a) baby grows are back in fashion.. Definitely a NO...as the note from 40 Winks said that if undesirable sleepwear was worn you were put in a naughty corner , or made to change into something they had.
b) Anne summers sleep wear....do people actually wear that stuff, apart from in porn movies?
c) Nisha and I should design sleep wear, as most was minging..
d) M&S was the winner : After women in the changing rooms started staring at us as we commented on each others boobs and so on in our nighties, we felt we had to explain where we were going..

What happened next:
We had a riddle to solve and were greeted at the door by Mr Carter, who owns and has designed this boutique hotel, he is in fact a well known interior designer.

Mr Carter is an eccentric and charming chap, and commands your attention, and made everyone feel welcome. The Hendricks Gin cocktails and nibbles also helped. Around 30 people were cosily drinking and chatting in the basement kitchen after changing in to Pjs upstairs in the 2 bedrooms.

As we had thought, most people there were females, however there were several couples and one single guy, we were impressed he came alone to this event. He was there checking it out as his mates might reserve the hotel as a hunnymoon destination in London. I agree it would be a very romantic hotel to stay in.

The Bedtime story theme this night was " the guide to the perfect relationship".

We were split into 2 groups, Losers and Lovers...though, this wasn't due to who we were...But Nisha and I were LOSERS first :)

The losers went into one living room, on the middle floor, whilst the Lovers went with another storyteller upstairs. After stories we had more cocktails and nibbles, and the groups swapped, and we became lovers, Yay.

The storytellers... Nell Phoenix (Losers) and Xanthe Gresham (Lovers)

At first I was a little, oh god, here we go, I know this one...but I decided to just roll with it...
They encouraged us to Ohh and Ahhh and Awwwwh, and Ewwww at different parts of the story...
There were many chuckles and after I had stopped try to guess the punchline in my head, or think I had heard it before, I relaxed and felt like I was 5 again, sat cross-legged in school being read a story by my favourite primary school teacher, captivated on every word and different voice they made...however, this time I was a little tispy, lying on cushions in a sexy nightie..

Nisha and I both agreed that sometimes it wasn't the actual story, but how they told them and we especially loved the Lovers Storyteller and the frog princess story, however, the ending didn't add up...but it was still our fav.

After stories and so on were completed, we all met up in the main living room and prizes were given out for sexiest nightie, sexy toes ad so on,. I came runner up with sexy nightie...and was quite happy I had been picked, but you can't win them all. At least I have a sexy nightie that will be enjoyed at a later date :)

The night ended off with the talented singer / songwriter Oli Deakin playing accoustic guitar (tbc) and promoting his two bands..His music was very chilled and he had a great voice, so relaxing that the one dude who was on his own passed out for a few songs, bless.

Suggestions: I definitely thought it was worth the £25, for entertainment and drinks and nibbles, and everyone was very friendly. However, we wished we could have explored the rooms and house longer, as there was soo much to look at, and every inch was lavishly decorated. Both Nisha and I also wished we could have taken several pieces home for our own flats, but we wouldn't know where to start. The whole place was dimly lit and was very cosy and comfortable, maybe I will have to come back again..

Why not rating : 7 / 10

Mr Carter

photo from http://helencathcart.blogspot.com

Lovers Story Room

photo from http://helencathcart.blogspot.com

Mr Carter and me

photo from http://helencathcart.blogspot.com

Why Not go to the Cursed and the Damned Halloween Night

2011-11-15T02:46:00.001-08:00

Why: I won 6 tickets from The Nudge and for Winter Wells The Cursed and the Damned and I love Halloween Parties

Where: FILMPLUS studios, Kensal Green

When: Halloween 2011.

What Happened: 3 Rooms, 3 Different Types of Music and a Random Ping Pong Table.

To be honest, winning anything and not having to pay is always a bonus, tickets normally were £25 each. So I rounded up the troupes and managed to get some mates to go..

We took off from Clapham...and I actually think the journey there was almost the highlight of the evening...as the attention on the tube from our costumes got us a fair bit of attention...and to be honest, we love attention..

Ian especially loved the attention he got from his pumpkin head...it was rather unique..and creative..

What Happened Next : We got there around 11pm, as it went on till 4am, plus clocks went back that night...and there was a massive queue to get in...Luckily we were on the guest list ...Yay.

The studios were next to a grave yard that could be seen from one of the windows and unfortunately we could not get into them.. but it definitely gave the studios a spooky feel to it.

People really went to town on their costumes, and I was pretty impressed with the effort.. and most of the people we chatted to were very friendly...apart from when Ian jumped the queue to play table tennis..but they soon chilled out when I beat him.

The weather that night was unseasonably warm and most people were out in the courtyard, listening to the beats..as it was pretty hot in the club. I had a great night chatting to people and checking out their costumes, and getting lost going from room to room and the whole night went really quickly.

The venue it self was great for parties, loved it, however, I was a little disappointed at the decoration, as most of it was just lazer lights or a red lit room..I would have thought that there would have been more spooky hangings, or skeletons or spiders or something...if people hadn't dressed up, there would be no Halloween feel to it at all.

Entertainment: DJs and the people there...oh, and a ping pong table.

Why not rating: 6/10 - I gave it an extra point for the ping pong table.

Why Not go to the Office Party

2011-11-15T01:51:00.001-08:00

Why :
1) I have heard about this for ages and been begging people to go
2) My pal Lucy went and loved it
3) My Mum, who has a similar outlook in life to me, was in town for the night.
4)Great way for Ian to meet my mum for the 1st time :)
5) I found lastminute dot com tickets for £10, instead of the £35 Friday night price...Bargain!

Where: Office Party , Pleasance Theatre Islington, near Caledonian Road.

When: Friday 11 November 2011.

What Happened :
My advice, have a few drinks before you go...and prepare to get involved..its worth it....I don't want to give too much away...but here is the jist of it.

As soon as we arrived my Mum, who was quite excited about this, but also a little, "what if i am the oldest there" nerves...had a few drinks before hand, was welcomed with open arms to Susie from Domestic Services.

My mum slide down the banisters and Susie said, wow, nice boots, love them, you are definitely with the Domestic Services Group, make sure you are in my lot..and then it just kicked off from there...

We got given name badges and were sectioned off into our groups...Susie made everyone relax and we played drinking games and so on..and she told us all about the rest of the Office People..the politics involved....and then we did the conga into the main party...to meet the other groups of HR, senior executives, accountants and so on...

The other actors / head of Executives and HR all played there roles brilliantly, and even allowed my drunken heckling..No one quite knew who was an actor or who was just there to have fun...I got asked a few times if I was a plant, and part of the show...I hope that was a compliment..I took it as one, and just smiled and said, who knows...I am a cleaner..Merry Xmas..great party :)

There was so much going on...that I am glad my mum took some pictures to remind me of the evening..

Another positive...my Mum and Ian got on like a house on fire.

Entertainment : Drinking, Dancing, DJ, 14 Actors, Cabaret, Party Games, Pole Dancing, and soo much more...see below...

Suggestions : None to the people who run it...but to a participant...have a few drinks before you go and get involved...and have an open mind.

Why Not Rating : 9 /10

Domestic Services Team

Head Executive and Head of HR

Why Not enter a Pongathon?

2011-10-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

Why - Ian entered us into the Guinness World Record Breaking event for Pongathon.

Where - Richmix, Bethnal Green Road

When - 24th October

What happened - We arrived at 5.30pm, to be given a table tennis bat, headbands and wristbands, and a free drinks voucher. The place seemed well organised and is a great venue for events, with a viewing gallery above. We grabbed our beer and we welcomed by many drinks promo girls and told to go on and practice.

We needed over 101 people continuously playing to win the record. Approximately 110 people showed up by 6.30pm..and the Guinness World attempt was going to start, we were split in to 2 sides, and off we went. The event was being filmed, and if someone messed up, we had to start over.

What happened next - Well, lets just say,. a few girls showed up in high heels, and wanted to be on film and they kept messing up.and received a few heckles...and there were little kids there from ping pong clubs, who in matches were brilliant, but found playing the ball slowly over a net..well, it was an issue for them..and a few guys who looked like they deliberately wanted it sabotage it for fun..
We tried and tried and tried for just over an hour and the most we got was 94..however, I am sure that I had hit it twice (only meant to hit it once in a round)...as numbers had dropped out as people got bored as no one seemed to be taking it that seriously. So No World Record for us.. :(

Entertainment - We had two Olympic players, one ranked 100 in the world, play a game for us, and they even used mini bats at one point. It was pretty impressive playing and they were great guys and good fun. Afterwards we got to compete in a few games of mixed doubles, mini bat singles and against the Robot. One famous guy? (insert name?) set the precedence, for 25 returns in 30 secs going really fast.. My turn, they did slow it down, but Boom, I got 30 returns ..got all of them back, rather proud of myself..and I won a Pongathon T-shirt for best female...however, the machine did breakdown almost after I had played on it...but I am sure I would have won...if not :).

Suggestions - As I have been told this will happened every month....A few improvements - a) teach the promo girls the rules of the game, as they umpired some games and had no clue, b) practice pong, if seen to be crap, make them watch not play c) if people keep messing up, kick them off - maybe that is just my competitiveness showing through...but I wanted to be a part of setting the new record.

Why Not Rating? 5/10 .Only due to not setting the record....

However I would go again, as this was there first attempt to get it going, and I did have a great time..and all the people I met were very friendly and I love Ping Pong.

Why Not do Oktoberfest?

2011-10-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

Why - Won 2 tickets from Bavarian Beerhouse

I had to write why I loved the Bavarian Beerhouse..

"We could not decide - a lot of answers have been 'wunderbar'. We have chosen 2 winners:

Glenn Thomas: Benches that are made for dancing, not sitting. Steins that are made for downing, not sipping. Entertainment that is made for cheering, not polite applause. And a place that is made for Oktoberfest, nothing less.

Kerry Bryars: The pork knuckle, the liederhosen and almost falling off the becnch due to a) too much beer, b) the swaying to the music and c) laughing so much...love the beerhouse x

Congrats both of you! "

Where - Old Street

When - 20th Oct 2011

What happened - Free entrance & 2 free Steins/ Litres of Beer..(£14.95 / tickets)

What happened next.....we joined a fun table of guys from Deutsch Bank who bought us a shot in a little bottle and were very charming /entertaining. We ate a yummy German version of sausage and mash, I was of course rude with the sausage..and drank and drank..Steins of beer.

Entertainment...Apart from the lovely staff and the fun crowd, the band got everyone up dancing and singing..and they kindly let me play the Tuba..and mess around with them and their instruments, oh er.....such great guys...fun evening.

Why Not Rating? 7/10

As my German pal Silvia would say - Do it!

Why Not go Go-Karting

2011-10-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

Another Groupon specatular....and thought, Why Not? go to Team-sport Go Karting, Tower Bridge
This time I bring PJ :)

So I get there first, well I felt a bit scared in Bermondsy neighbourhood.( i thought it was near Tower bridge...hmmm....Nope, however i was told that it was mostly old folk residential area) .finally found the place in a warehouse type setting, similar to another Zombie scene...and it looked good, very basic and abandoned. but looked ok...the bar was empty, maybe good for groups?

I got changed (another nice jumpsuit) and waited, and PJ showed up, then we waited, waited, and waited some more..and finally we got sent to a safety briefing room..

There was one group ( about 10 of them), all about 20yr's old..and another mixed group of couples, etc..we accidentally sat on the side of the one group together. The safety video didn't work...so the main guy gives a quick briefing..but listening to a man chat with no props , was a bit of a bore rather than watching a video, hmmm made me wonder if is this was a slick operation or what? I had been told the place had been open for 11months.

We ended up being kept with the group of 10...they didn't seem too pleased we were with them..so, we get our helmets ( no helmet liner - comparing to F1) and sit in electric karts wanting to get going....
What I thought was a big track on two floors, was two tracks on both floors...so one group started above, the other below..

We sat in the cars and had to wait till all were charged up....and then off we went...told, green go, yellow slow down, red, stop....simples....compared to F1 go karting, where if someone was fast, you got shown a flag to let the fast people through, there was none of that here...and we were told about being shown black flags for banging into each other...and you received a time out, or you were taken off the race course depending on severity..

To win, you had to get the fastest lap,
There was no get set, go ready, go....... it was just go for it, on you go...green light go, etc..on your way..

So off we went...and 2 mins in to the racing, some lights go out on a corner of the building...and we are stopped....return to pit stop...Great...I start laughing ..here we go..something always happens to me..

The staff faffed around with the lights, and then realised they couldn't fix it....so, we had to take turns with the other group up top...and also wait for cars to be charged... the races are only 8mins per race, and you get a total of 3 races...

There was a lot of sitting around and the people who worked there were acting like it was there first day on the job and didn't know what to do..

PJ, luckily had his helmet on as he got whacked by the ropes of the charging thing twice..

Well - back to the good bits....the karts did go quite fast, some good hairpin bends...I came 2nd on the first race, was laughing...as i was flying...however, there was a slow girl infront of me who wouldn't let me past, and when she spun on the corners, i sort of kept spinning too but in to her and giving her a bang, I could tell she was getting pissed, but i found it funny..let me past please :)

So, after 1st race, i saw her look over and then look back to her mates, obviously not happy with me and talking about me, it made me smile more.. I couldn't help it. Its part of racing, i was being banged too...

Anyways, unbeknownst to me..PJ was also banging into people too...so on the last race, which I was loving...we all got out of the cars at the end of the race..and one of the guys in the group shouted at PJ..."man, what were you doing, that banging is bad, blah blah"...
I also hadn't realised that PJ had been black flagged on that race...but was just given a warning...so i spoke up, "relax man, i got banged loads too...its all part of it, and you aren't a pit marshall, so it must have been fine :)" Pj was just like, "dude chill man too", that annoyed him more..

We spoke to the guys in charge to get him to calm down, the young guy who had shouted walked off all annoyed, but then had to come back again to get his score card...I was smirking...and PJ won the last race...so he smirked too. I must admit, the staff handled it all very well and were apologetic about the dude.

I mean, what is the point in go-karting if you cant take a bump...we sort of knew they didn't want us with them in the first place...pffff ...So PJ and I went home giggling about how pathetic they were..

On another note..we arrived at 5pm and we didn't leave the place till 7pm...in there for 2hrs!! and only 24mins racing time..I am sure when you go, it wont be as bad..just a string of unfortunate events..

Would i go back...yes, but only with a group i know that doesn't mind Racing!!...but I prefer F1 or greenwich docklands indoor-karting racing by the Dome...so much better, slicker, and nicer facilities..and professionally run...

Why Not Indoor Skydive?

2011-10-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

So, 5 of us went to bodyflight in Bedford Sunday 16th Oct 2001. My flight was a present from mates Ben & Layla, plus I had got an extra 2 from groupon for 2 flights in a Indoor Skydiving Simulator so I brought Ian.

Well I was pumped..I had been to the Bedford facilities before to go Flowboarding...which is also sooooo much fun...and I had watched the flying, with vested interest....and of course I wanted to give it a go.

So eyes were pealed on groupon vouchers..and Yes! they came up trumps, plus the lovely Ben and Layla saw it too. We got booked in to all go together.

So we arrived, getting all nervous, poor Layla wasn't feeling to well, so Hannah, Laylas sister took her spot and Layla was going to film us. We helped each other into our sky suits, with extra grips on arms and legs..and couldnt sit still.

Our instructor went through the basic hand signals, as in the simulator, you cant hear..the wind travels over 100mph, plus ear plugs, plus a helmet. I wanted to mess around, however, I also wanted to nail it. I was focussed. We learnt hand signals to bend legs, spread legs, close legs and relax...( sounds a bit naughty..will keep those in mind for another time) .

First go, I was first...and you have to relax, and almost fall into the tunnel like you are flopping onto a lilo in the sea....and wow...my heart was pounding. I couldn't stop smiling. Each flight was only 1.5mins, seemed nothing, but it was great...the adrenalin was flowing... And i did ok...yippeee....Here is the four of us, our first flights...what an experience...we were hooked..

The only down side was...we wanted more go's...but that costs a lot more money....and we also only got proper debriefing on what we did well and what we needed to work on after our 4 flights..so, if after 2, we could have improved more, instead trying to understand new singles he was giving us..a little frustrating.

I was gutted, as I do like to learn, and the 4th flight he turned me upside down and tried to get me to fly that way..I wasn't expecting it and I got a little bothered, as it was my last flight of the day and they others belly down had been great...
See the video below..I look like I am about to give birth, an attractive flight ..:)

All in all...I would definitely suggest going...and I might come with you ....

The best was probably Ben...see his final go below...then watch the instructor show off....pretty amazing stuff....I wont forget that day out...Brilliant!

Why Not...Pledge for a Film

2011-10-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Watched All Tomorrows Party Film, loved it...
and saw this new project...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/613961261/from-atp-four-short-films-by-vincent-moon?ref=email

So I pledged $10 and its going ahead...

I get a 3 month preview sometime in Jan 2012...hope its a good one.

Why Not see Katy Perry - O2

2011-10-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the show thinking, yeah, she is ok, yeah, I like some of her songs...and it would be good to hang out with my pal Kerry.

Well, we had a riot...the few glasses of wine and no dinner, definitely helped with the process.

We were sat high up far back of 02, almost as far as you could be from the main stage, Level 4, Row L. 685, However, it really wasn't that bad.

The stage was brilliantly set up, and the atmosphere was rocking.

Infront of us were a Dad and his 3 kids, such a cute family, and the kids started getting well excited.

Then came on Katy..she did look fantastic, and she really can sing.

The crowd was fantastic too, and there were a few mexican waves going on...and people were up and dancing and just having fun...

It was all clean good fun and I went home with a massive smile on my face and a lot more time for the 02 and Katy Perry.

The Start..

2011-10-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is me trying it out...Why Not?
Next post will hopefully be..
Katey Perry..O2...with my pal Kerry for a belated b'day present..
I don't fully enjoy the O2 for gigs, prefer Brixton Academy, one reason is the fact that I sit in the nosebleed sections..however, I am optimistic about tomorrow.
I may be twice the age of the girls next to me...but who cares..
I am looking forward to Fireworks, and I kissed a Girl..
....nite x