Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets In midnights, in cups of coffee or my year in Meetup

So 2013 comes to an end , life has changed so much over the past 12 months . I changed jobs at work learned to drive and dipped a tentative toe into the world of internet dating. However more than anything i got out and met up , dressed up , met people , made some great friends and met some lovely people and boogied the night away I saw parts of the day I'd forgotten existed and stumbled out of taxis in the wee small hours, braved night buses and made mad dashes to Euston station. So in a spirit of reflection this was my year in Meet Up

23 x sorties in fancy dress
2 x braving roller disco
2 x canal festivals
7 quiz nights
2 lots of bingo
1 ghost bus tour
9 x trips to the Theatre
1 to the O2
2 lots of Zombies
lots of face paint
31 trips out with Watford Social
31 with Alternative Nightlife

How do you measure a year indeed?

Maybe in Decades

For example my first meetup with Alternative nightlife was the Leyshon Brothers which was Victorian so 1837 -1901

Next in chronological order was  a trip to the 1920's in fact more than 1 in fact 1920's must be in fashion as

Black Cotton Club
Die Freche Muse
Herr Kettners Cabaret

all covered the 1920's  with music , dancing , cabaret and  general air of decadence

Blitz Party did double duty for the 1930's and 1940's swing dancing the night away in some atmospheric railway tunnels

1950's was covered by Joe's Camden , a few drinks to some tunes in a 50's bar

1960's was somewhat more problematic however did listen twice to a very good cover band the Slaves at a local pub which played music from the Beetles and the Stones

1970's was covered by several visits to Disco Inferno at Watford Colloseum

1980's was covered by a visit to Cannon Street to Strictly Electric 80's dreams and a step back to 1984 with Future Cinema as I stepped back into the realm of Ghostbusters



How do you measure a year? In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year in the life?

In fancy dress costumes maybe

January we had a quiet Month on the fancy dress

February 2nd I joined Alternative Nightlife and started as I meant to go on with something vaguely victorian or a pair of braces o-:-)

Slow to get going March saw a trip to a Tikki bar and a Hawaian theme shirt

April saw a trip back into the 1970's with Disco Inferno

May was a missed opportunity with no fancy dress opportunities at all

June however made up for a slow start to the year with:

1) The Black Rabbit at Rumpus
2)RAF at Blitz Party 


3)A trip back to the Circus as a Ringmaster/ Lion




4 and a trip back to Disco Inferno

July saw a touch of Vintage Glamour with Black Cotton Club and Die Freche Muse 

August was again quiet 
September however was another bumper month

1) with Zombie Karaoke 



2) International talk like a Pirate Day



3) another trip to the Circus as a Zebra / Ringmaster
4) and a touch of Japanese for Imaginarium  as a sailor/tiger

October being the Month of Halloween saw a Myriad of Costuming opportunities

1) Zombie number 2 at World Zombie Day 


2) Something vaguely Fashionable at the Katzenjammer club
3)Leopard/Robin Hood at the :Last Tuesday Society 
4) Zombie Steampunk  Highlander Redcoat Soldier at White Mischief

November saw a few late Halloween shenanigans with

A fox / Hunstman at TG
Another trip to the Circus this time as a Ringmaster / Leopard
a vaguely germanic soldier at Herr Kattners

December saw a final pair of outings

with a Huntman at the 5th Anarcho Dandyist Ball



something vaguely inspired by Magnum PI for Future Cinema
and a schoolboy for School Disco in Watford Colloseum

So a mere 23 opportunities to slip into costume and be someone else for the night


Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?

How else to measure my year in Meetup 

In competitions?

1 lot of Boogie Bowling
 7x Quiz Nights
Butchery and Musical Bingo 

In truths that she learned
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died
In Music or Theatre

This year I saw through Meet Up

Loserville
Cinderella
The Bodyguard
War Horse
Singing in the Rain
Eddie Izzard
Ladykillers
Westside Story
Perfect Match
Robin Hood

I saw the Slaves twice, Romeos Daughter and went to Rockeoke and performed my first ever public kareoke performances twice both time Bon Jovi and both times in Fancy Dress

Or Festivals 

2 x food Festivals , 2 x Canal Festivals, a Beer Festival and Notting Hill Carnival 







 or how about through  the medium of Dance

2 x Roller Disco  evening of Swing Dancing



or How about some Random events

2 trips to the Zoo 1 to the Science Museum an Evening of list making and 1 or Film Soundtracks and a day of listening to hits from West End Shows in Trafalgar square , a night of Erotic readings and trip on a Ghost Bus  a Literary Death Match and the Funeral of Jack the Ripper





Inumerable nights in the pub or bar

It's time now, to sing out
Though the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends

And on that note we come tomorrow and the Years End  with a Black and White Ball at Bodegas with Friends

From Loseville to a night at the Ball it's been one hell of a Journey and 1 hell of a year.