one of THOSE nightsI’d never actually been to Walkabout before. Generally my experience with bars is that they’re a little too cramped, crowded and (above all) loud for my taste. Which it was. But tonight was the first time that I really enjoyed how small a world Croydon can be. The night was intended for just meeting up with a few of the old Downside gang (well, Toby and Mark, really, and whoever they’d dragged along). Pretty much the crowd at Mark’s house party, really. Though I would not be drinking nearly so much night tonight. Or dancing. Well, that was the plan…

the thinking menAt The Goose, where I met up with Toby and co., I bumped into Mandy who was having her farewell celebration. Quick chat and a “bye”, and we were off to Walkabout. It wasn’t too crowded and drinks were cheap before 9:00. And then other people started turning up. First it was Katie and Sophie, then Ally, then Anna, her big bro, and Iain and the other Ally (of the male variety), and then Jon, and Dave Aldridge (my old RS teacher!) and his girlfriend with whom I chatted for a while. I explained it wasn’t quite the same as having any other ex-teacher there, not only because he’s young, but because we had one-on-one lessons we spent many of them critiquing bars in Croydon anyway! There was even some girl who recognised me from church who may or may not have been underage…

end of part oneOriginally I figured I’d leave early but I had a sudden craving for chicken. Lots of chicken. So Toby and I decided to go to Rooster’s together afterwards, which of course meant I had to stay until things wrapped up at about 2am. It was cool though, with the myriad of people I knew. Anna kept me entertained with tales of her European adventures, and I’d missed her company while she was away. We ended up dancing for a while (in a more civilised and enjoyable fashion than Mark’s, for those wondering!) and she got a little too excited that some attractive girl was checking me out which admittedly made me a little nervous. So I stopped. I wasn’t in the mood…

flashback: whitgift centre[flashback to earlier in day] 10am, sitting in the office slogging through a tonne of leftover work due to the Camden excursion, which all needed to be done for a meeting that ran throughout the morning. I knew Friya hadn’t been great last night, so checked to make sure she was better. She wasn’t. So I sped through the work and took an extended lunch break (well, she extended it) to look after her. Turned up with Thornton’s chocolate which guarantees an instant improvement and then left her, much calmer, with Sophie an hour and a bit later.

After work I met up with the two again since Sophie is shortly off to Australia forever. Well, a year. But still. Because I was meeting the guys later on, going home would be a problem. So nipped off to the toilet and changed into casual clothes I’d conveniently brought with me to work. I found the girls sitting by the fountain in the Whitgift Centre, out of indecision mostly. We chatted for a few hours before taking Sophie to the station. I could tell Friya was finding it hard, but it was a quick goodbye so not overly emotional. I walked Friya back and put her on her bus before going on to The Goose to meet people…

end of part 2[flashforward to end of the evening] 3am, outside Rooster’s, Toby and I have finished our chicken and onion rings (though their burgers may be okay, their pieces of chicken really aren’t). Toby was a bit subdued after the manager of Walkabout had become irate about advertising photos for thatnite.com without his permission. Which makes little sense since essentially we’re promoting a good night out at Walkabout. As we wandered back in the general direction of South Croydon and Sanderstead, a girl who likes him turned up and demanded to be taken back to his house. In his current state he ended up agreeing. So, given that the last bus left about three hours earlier, I shrugged and began the hike home. It was quiet and dark and suited my slightly pensive mood because of all the people I’d seen today. I was still struggling to work out how I felt about many of them and what was going on in my head. Mostly, trekking back up the hill to my house, I just felt numb. But in the darkness, listening to soft 3am radio music through my phone, it was comfortably numb.