Great British Beerathon and Lotte's Party

Spectating with Matt, Elena and Flo

I woke in the morning to blazing hot sunshine, and got myself up and through the shower to head out to the Hoop and Grapes pub in Farringdon, for the Great British Beerathon.  Matt and I had agreed at the run on Tuesday that we would both come for the opportunity to catch up and laugh at all of the madness.  One of the better ideas we've had in a long time.

The idea of the Beerathon, is that it's a five mile "slobstacle" course.  You run a mile, then neck a pint of cider and eat a pork pie.  Then you run a mile, neck a pint of Guinness and eat an apple crumble.  Then you run a mile, drink a lager and eat a scotch egg, before finally running a mile and drinking a pint of bitter and eating a pasty.  Run one more mile, and hope you don't vomit on the way back.  In total five miles and lots of sick along the trail!

Despite the heat, lots of people went for some amazing costumes, which were fun to see.  Cookie ran the whole thing in a signed England netball dress which had apparently cost Sweetheart £500 at a charity auction.  There were people in foam hotdog costumes which must have had them sweating buckets, and lots of guys who just went for the shirtless look by the end of it.  It must have gotten to Cookie and this shirtless guy, Eustace, who I noticed holding hands behind their backs by the end of it...  Lots of beer and little clothing will do that to people, I think!

Eustace in his costume

Elena, Sweetheart and Cookie

Cookie showing off the £500 dress 

I had a lot of fun hanging with Matt, having pints, cheering on the runners as they came in, and having push-up contests.  Given that we started at 1 PM and didn't leave until nearly 8 PM however, that was a LOT of beer drinking.  In total I'm guessing that I had around 8 pints of beer, which would have been fine if I'd just gone home afterwards, but of course I was supposed to go out to Lotte's party in the evening.

Somehow, with the world spinning, I managed to get home and get changed, grab a bottle of bubbly, and head out to Lotte's.  Probably should have spent more time making myself look pretty, but as it was I had to grab a cab there to arrive at a reasonable hour, so it was just changing into my dress and running out again.

Once there, they had a photographer snapping pictures which later ended up in Tatler.  Which is kind of funny to think that this was a party worth recording for a society magazine, but there you have it.  It was a brutally hot evening, so everyone was melting in their black-tie (the theme of the evening had been "James Bond"), and we often found that it was just as hot outside as it was inside.  What on earth had happened to these cool English summers?

My memories of the evening are unfortunately incredibly fuzzy, just lots of circulating and talking with people for a few minutes before circulating again.  I'm not sure if it was the alcohol, or whether I was just distracted by the presence of so many people.  I've been having trouble focusing lately, and I notice that the Young Dutchman is always drinking very little at these parties recently.  Perhaps I need to take a page from his book and do that more often.

I was also surprised when at one point I found myself chatting to The Chap, this guy from the Saville who likes smoking shisha, cigars, and often says things like, "Bang on!" and calling all girls "fillies" and the boys "chaps".  Really, along with the long sideburns, he's something out of a 1920's novel.  Now, The Chap has an identical twin brother, who looks exactly like him.  It takes ages to figure out the difference between the two of them, and will often throw you if they aren't side-by-side to compare.

Not Tatler-quality shots, we're all too far gone at this point!

Now, when I originally met The Chap and his brother, I was surprised how I felt an electric chemistry with the brother, which led to a little flirtation but in the end went nowhere.  The Chap, on the other hand, never really seemed to take to me, and I've spent ages slowly trying to break down his defences and get him to learn that I'm a lovely girl.  I'm often left off invite lists or only treated as an afterthought at many events, and he's often seemed a bit cold to me.  Most frustrating though is the fact that I have no idea what I might have done to offend him.

So you can imagine my surprise, when as we were chatting, he suddenly said to me, "Well you had a thing there for my brother at one point, I know..."  Which startled me, as I couldn't think of a single instance where I'd been chatting to his brother where he was at the same event.  Most of my interactions with his brother had taken place with just the two of us.  So how on earth did he know?  I shrugged it off with the comment, "He's such an attractive-looking guy, how could I resist?" which of course is amusing in the context that they are identical twins who look EXACTLY alike.

Yet I wonder if this is why he's always been a bit cold towards me, assuming I prefer his brother to him.  If so, that would explain quite a bit.

I found myself fending off the unwanted advances of the guy who I'd met a few weeks ago who lived near me.  Nice enough guy, but clumsy in his game due to his drunkenness.  Just had to do a little merry dance to keep talking to other people and keep away from him...

Some time around 11 PM, the Tall South African arrived with The Girl.  He was very eager to have me meet her, and I wish I'd been more focused and paid attention to her.  As it was, we had a few fleeting conversations.  What surprised me, was how much the Tall South African had been talking about how gorgeous she was and how much attention she gets.  And upon meeting her I had to say she looked....totally ordinary.  I mean, certainly a lovely, pretty girl, but no more attractive than I am or any of the other girls at the party were.  You know how it is, when you meet a girl who really is a cut above the rest of us, but this girl was absolutely lovely yet average.  Which was charmingly reassuring, this idea that some boy out there might become so devoted to us as to think us the most stunning girl they've ever met, even as we remain the average people that we are.

Dying in the heat outside

She was Italian, I knew, yet had been living here in the UK for quite some time, so I was surprised at how strong her accent still was and how she occasionally still struggled with her English.  But therefore it makes sense that she seeks to move back to Italy in a month.  They seemed lovely together, but I don't think that relationship will survive that kind of separation, I'm afraid...

They invited me to come with them when they were leaving at around 3 AM, but the Young Dutchman came by right at that point to talk to me about leaving, so I assured the Tall South African and The Girl that I would be fine and would go home with the Young Dutchman.  The Tall South African knows about my relationship with the Young Dutchman, and I often think wonders about it, but hence knew to leave me with him.

Lotte's cousin, me, Victor, the Neighbour, The Chap, and Piers

Finally at around 3:30 AM, one of the hostesses came out and told us that we all needed to go home, so the Young Dutchman and I left.  We went walking for a bit, apparently to see if another party was still going, but when it wasn't, we parted ways, I grabbed a cab, and a little while later texted him to say I was home safe.  A good night, if a bit more tame than parties at this place have been in the past.  Good times though, for sure!