Freshers’ Pub crawl 2016

Dressed as Frenchie from Grease (because what else can you come up with for a costume on two days’ notice as a poor student), I arrived at The Market Porter early – still getting my bearings around central London! I was shocked at how busy the place was – people were spilling out of the doors, which according to Jemma is because it is “the best pub”. How on earth was I supposed to find the other ringers when either a) I hadn’t yet met them, or b) were dressed in costume! After frantically messaging the group chat and confirming that others were already inside, I ventured over to the bar and sampled a Cola Cider – yuckkkkk.

Eventually the group expanded and I was greeted by old and new faces. Some were braver than others and arrived in costume – others claimed they were changing either on the train or later at the house. Once all had arrived at the pub, we “crawled our way Halloween-style” as Chloe had intended, to the train station, with two running off to get bottled beers for the journey. On the train, out came Simon’s ghost with CD holder erection, and Chloe’s “explicit content” costume which were both highly amusing to see constructed. The beers were handed out; after my objection to drinking beer, I was told not to worry and was swiftly presented with a bottle of cider from Tom.

Before making our way to the house, we stopped off at the local Co-op to buy drinks and snacks, amusing the staff in the process. We made our way to the house, where Luke became a ghost with a vegetable erection (which I believe received some action), and Ed joined Katie in becoming a minion. I was then presented with a suspicious looking cocktail which I assume was more a case of “what’s not in it?”, than “what is in it?” as things start to get a bit hazy from here! After starting off sophisticated, bringing my own wine glass, I vaguely remember ending up downstairs, crashing into an ironing board and being given lots of water. I believe the alcohol was a bit too much for the inexperienced fresher, resulting in emergency trips to the bathroom… oops! I couldn’t tell you who helped me through all of this – partially because the names have escaped me, and I am struggling to distinguish between what happened and what I may have imagined! I was later told that I’m in the running for the Captain vom hat after this.

Somehow, I managed to stumble home with help from Rosemary. On reflection, the cocktail was the culprit, and I wasn’t even back late as I’d messaged several of the ringers saying I was back in my flat at about 12.30!

All in all, if this was to be my first alcohol induced sickness, I’m glad it happened with the ringers, who in theory should be more “mature” than my fellow freshers.

This write up was compiled from vague memory, drunken messages from the evening, and others’ recollections.

By Rachel Deakin