A Notts night out

Saturday night was my good friend Brian's joint birthday and leaving do.
Well he isn't leaving me but at work he has had a promotion and is leaving the department he is currently working in.

I planned to get to Brian's early as England were playing a WC qualifier at Wembley and it was actually on terrestrial TV so I didn't want to miss out on watching it. Although Bri isn't a fan of the beautiful game he agreed that I could watch it at his place. Otherwise I wouldn't have enough time to watch the game/get ready/ get to his place.

I arrived in Notts at just after 4pm and soon we were drinking wine and I was comfy On Bri's big sofa.

I am sorry to say that I didn't take as much notice of the game as I should but it was on and I got to witness some of the goals. (YAY 5-1 to England)

At around 6pm Brian's good mate Larry arrived. It was quite an odd experience as Brian and Larry have been friends for a long time and he has always talked about him to me and equally he has always talked about me to him too but neither of us had ever met each other. In fact larry's first words to me were "So you're the infamous Jen?" Needless to say we got on like a house on fire and I loved him straight away. I could feel comfortable now and did seem to fit right in as they insisted they have the obligatory Boy's night before going out. OK this consists of standing in the office looking out over Nottingham while drinking yet more wine. I maybe shouldn't have regaled Larry about my digestive pyrotechnics the last time I was in Notts (Griffin night) but I don't think I frightened him too much.

We were just settling down (And chatting about Wii fit and Rock band) when Brian got a call from Joolz to say that they were at the meeting place already. So we just downed the wine and dashed out into the rain to meet them.

We were going to the Curry lounge which in itself is infamous because of it's appearance last year on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen nightmares.
I am not really a fan of Curries as you probably know by now but I knew there would probably be some kind of mild dish that I could try.


They quickly brought along Poppadoms and pickles. I didn't want to spoil my main meal so I just nibbled on 1 poppadom slowly, I wasn't brave enough to try any of the pickles - Didn't want to blow my head off before I even started.

I ordered the Lamb Korma and as I have never been to an Indian restaurant before, I found it all really fiddly. They don't just bring you out your meal on a plate - You get the curry in a little dish and then they bring the rice in another dish and then you have to pour it onto your plate yourself. I found this awkward and really messy as the table isn't really big enough to hold all the different pots and plates etc...



There was also bread being passed around too but I didn't take any as I hadn't asked for any.
Also the wine was flowing like water and who knows how many bottles of wine they kept bringing to the table...This is where I was very naive and should have had my brain in gear. Instead of just letting my glass be topped up I should have ordered my own like I had planned. When I priced it all up before I went, I totted up a starter, main and drink (lager) to come to about £20 which is what I took out with me plus a bit of small change that was already in my purse.



Later on in the meal, The Manager came over to chat and Larry told him it was Brian's birthday and he said that he would sort out something special for him. Larry also told him about last year when the restaurant they went to brought out a birthday cake that Bri thought was for him but then they walked straight past him and took it to another table.
Later The manager appeared again with a drink for Brian (Whisky I think) and then a waiter came towards us carrying a little cake with a candle on top. I started to sing Happy Birthday hoping everyone would join in and the waiter walked straight past us...That has got to be the best thing I have seen. He did come back and present it to Brian but you should have seen his face...I give a massive Bonus point to the Manager for taking the info and playing along and having a little fun.


When it came to paying the bill however, it was decided we should all just pay £25 regardless of what we had ordered. This left me in a muddle and looking like a mug or like I didn't want to pay my way. I had to just give the £20 and Larry said as he had put a bit extra I could just give him my £3 left in my purse.

We all piled put of the restaurant and as we stood outside waiting for the stragglers, No one could decide where to go next. I would have been happy to just go back to Brian's (as I had no more money left) but it was decided we would go round a few pubs and bars.

We stood around in the centre of Notts first while a couple of the other ladies had to draw out some cash. It was an experience for me as I have never been out in Notts. It was quite mental and as we stood there by the town hall I saw several Hen nights, a Police van and a Fire engine. As well as lots of girls with not very much on.



I can't remember the order but we went in a bar called Tantra that was packed to the rafters and in there Larry bought us all these weird Baileys shots with cream on the top...in fact it was like a tiny Tirimasu. We knocked them back and left as it was just too packed.

We also went into this bar called Ha Ha. It wasn't so packed in there. Joolz bought me a Vodka and diet coke and Brian was bought a glass of Champagne. This place was quite big and we sat at a table at the back of the bar. I know I didn't take part as much as I should but as the music was so loud I have a job hearing what is said so I was quite happy to sit and observe.

The last call of the night was a gay pub called the Lord Roberts. I liked it in here as it was just a quiet pub. No loud music and no crowds. Larry bought us all a shot - I don't know what it was but it was Aniseed. Someone didn't have theirs and I ended up having 2, the second of which I knocked back with Bri.
We had a good laugh in there and it was the perfect end to the night.

One of the ladies from Brian's work had a silk shawl on and when she went to the toilet it somehow got attached to a loose thread and was trailing behind her but on a sort of a time delay. It was very funny but quite embarrasing so I got up and picked it up and took it to her.
Unfortunately we were herded out as they wanted to close so we all said our goodbyes and Brian and I headed up the stairs over the bridge to the Vic centre and back to his place.

I think it was about 1am when we got to bed.

I want to say I had been quite worried about spending the evening with Brian's work colleagues but it was a good night. I had a real good time and it is refreshing to spend time with a completely different group of people now and then. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would really like to go out in Notts with Brian more often.