Cheers to aal you capital people who came to the london gigs. Most righteous fun was had, if not by all, then by all but the hapless sound engineers trying to wrap their indie numbed ears around a band where the lead instrument is the drums.

It took us a wee while to get used to english pub opening hours again: its amazing the difference an hour here and there can make when you're steaming. For example, i tended to panic drink in the pubs in order to be suitably pished and avoid paying shit-on-your-face extortionate club bar prices.

as the scouts say, BE PREPARED.

This is a risky venture. Go too far and you will be denied club-fun by a surly martial arts obsessive in a bomber jacket on the door.
Nevertheless, being overly prepared on the intoxication front, and with a little retching perseverence, one can propel oneself into the london night like George Best after a liver transplant. The catalyst here has been right under your nose the whole time--- YOU CAN DRINK IN THE STREETS IN LONDON AND YOU WILL NOT BE ARRESTED.

After this revelation preparation for an evening out takes on a wholly different hue. Instead of wearing merely aftershave, a ben sherman and the proverbial 'beer-jacket', you will find yourself beginning to favour large parkas or raincoats, as these are better suited to sitting in a doorway sipping your favourite brand of tonic wine from a brown paper bag. Pubs, and the associated social pissabouts, become increasingly redundant as it is cheaper to get a carry out from the 24-hour offy and, you know, london is an expensive place to live. Spirits become your new brew of choice, after you exhaust every friend and acquaintance in town by sleeping and, occasionally, soiling yourself on their sofa. That warm feeling inside helps keep the cold out.

BE PREPARED.