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mrphThis weekend was ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ijw's stag do. Relatively civilised. Not that much alcohol - at least not for me - and nothing exruciatingly painful. Not even the paintball. Although some of the 70s disco music came close...
Friday involved a lift down to Oxford withdmh. We had a few technical difficulties locating our other passenger, Frog, mostly because we managed to use directions that didn't reflect our starting point, but it all worked out. The hotel bookings were sorted out via Iain and his brother Doug, so I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised to find that two were in the names of "Mr Frog" and "Mr Morph". The staff at reception were only too happy to correct these...
Friday night was a tour of the Wychwood brewery, followed by a tasting session - rather nice. Never having toured a brewery before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The explanation of the process and the history was good, as were quirks like the master-brewer's knee-high boots... I wasn't quite so interested in the explanation of the commercial side, but it still had its moments (e.g. the reasons why bottled beer tends to be the 'preferred' version, with a higher ABV than the stuff supplied to pubs... and you really can taste the difference. The tour was followed by a very pleasant meal nearby, at the Raj Restaurant.
Saturday started far too early. Up for breakfast, then out by 8:30 - we spent the day playing paintball. I hadn't played paintball before - and my team (captained byijw ) lost almost every game. I'd like to think that I'm not entirely to blame for that, but...
We were blessed with a lack of rain, but aside from that, the weather ranged from very cold (i.e. ditches full frozen mud) at the start of the day to significantly warmer (i.e. ditches full of water and mud). It may take a while to clean my boots...
Saturday night started with a drink in the Oxford Retreat - which, disturbingly, was formerly Antiquity Hall... the venue for The Morpheus Project goth night (circa 1999-2000?), which I have some very fond memories of. It's changed a bit. Please don't get me wrong - it also does a very nice bloody mary and a passable mojito... but somehow, it just seems wrong.
...and then it was on to Jongleurs for comedy. I quite like stand-up comedy, especially when there's an opportunity to see a few of the wheels turning in the background - and I haven't seen much live before, so I'm still noticing things (such as the way that the compere goes out of his way to give would-be heckers a clear, almost irresistable shot at him... then verbally flattens the first one who bites, ensuring the first act onstage a slightly smoother ride...).
The evening's line-up was finished by the Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue. They're very good - especially if you happen to like music. I don't normally get on with slapstick and physical comedy - but then, despite the trappings and outfits, that's not entirely what they're offering. The music - or the signs accompanying it - always offer the punchline. I can't really do them justice in words - and although there's a video clip online, that somehow fails to capture it too. They're faster and funnier than the video suggests, with each new joke catching you while you're still laughing at the last one...
After that, there was a disco, which I'll say no more about. After that, some of us went back to the hotel for sleep (including me...) while others wandered off into the night to traumatise the poor residents of Oxford. I gather that one or two of them ended up at a Jungle night @ the Cellar Bar (the venue for Oxford's Intrusion goth night)...? I think I'm rather glad that I missed that bit...
Sunday involved a trip back to Coventry, some slacking and a relatively chilled evening in front of the TV, wih pizza, tea, Elaine (WINOLJ) andjambon_gris. It may also require an early night...
ijw's stag do. Relatively civilised. Not that much alcohol - at least not for me - and nothing exruciatingly painful. Not even the paintball. Although some of the 70s disco music came close...Friday involved a lift down to Oxford with
dmh. We had a few technical difficulties locating our other passenger, Frog, mostly because we managed to use directions that didn't reflect our starting point, but it all worked out. The hotel bookings were sorted out via Iain and his brother Doug, so I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised to find that two were in the names of "Mr Frog" and "Mr Morph". The staff at reception were only too happy to correct these...Friday night was a tour of the Wychwood brewery, followed by a tasting session - rather nice. Never having toured a brewery before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The explanation of the process and the history was good, as were quirks like the master-brewer's knee-high boots... I wasn't quite so interested in the explanation of the commercial side, but it still had its moments (e.g. the reasons why bottled beer tends to be the 'preferred' version, with a higher ABV than the stuff supplied to pubs... and you really can taste the difference. The tour was followed by a very pleasant meal nearby, at the Raj Restaurant.
Saturday started far too early. Up for breakfast, then out by 8:30 - we spent the day playing paintball. I hadn't played paintball before - and my team (captained by
ijw ) lost almost every game. I'd like to think that I'm not entirely to blame for that, but...We were blessed with a lack of rain, but aside from that, the weather ranged from very cold (i.e. ditches full frozen mud) at the start of the day to significantly warmer (i.e. ditches full of water and mud). It may take a while to clean my boots...
Saturday night started with a drink in the Oxford Retreat - which, disturbingly, was formerly Antiquity Hall... the venue for The Morpheus Project goth night (circa 1999-2000?), which I have some very fond memories of. It's changed a bit. Please don't get me wrong - it also does a very nice bloody mary and a passable mojito... but somehow, it just seems wrong.
...and then it was on to Jongleurs for comedy. I quite like stand-up comedy, especially when there's an opportunity to see a few of the wheels turning in the background - and I haven't seen much live before, so I'm still noticing things (such as the way that the compere goes out of his way to give would-be heckers a clear, almost irresistable shot at him... then verbally flattens the first one who bites, ensuring the first act onstage a slightly smoother ride...).
The evening's line-up was finished by the Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue. They're very good - especially if you happen to like music. I don't normally get on with slapstick and physical comedy - but then, despite the trappings and outfits, that's not entirely what they're offering. The music - or the signs accompanying it - always offer the punchline. I can't really do them justice in words - and although there's a video clip online, that somehow fails to capture it too. They're faster and funnier than the video suggests, with each new joke catching you while you're still laughing at the last one...
After that, there was a disco, which I'll say no more about. After that, some of us went back to the hotel for sleep (including me...) while others wandered off into the night to traumatise the poor residents of Oxford. I gather that one or two of them ended up at a Jungle night @ the Cellar Bar (the venue for Oxford's Intrusion goth night)...? I think I'm rather glad that I missed that bit...
Sunday involved a trip back to Coventry, some slacking and a relatively chilled evening in front of the TV, wih pizza, tea, Elaine (WINOLJ) and
jambon_gris. It may also require an early night...
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Date: 2009-01-26 10:23 am (UTC)