London 2015

Y 'up at the O2' London. 6th Nov 2015

Up for the O2 climb were

Yupmeister, Anytime Tone, JayCee, Jacko, 2 Pie Hard Dave Semi-Colon, Tim Mothy, BrollyWolly Bagman of Talke Talke,

Also up for the trip were Corky, Sean of the Amey Wameys, Granpop Bill, Craigee and Bolt

It was an earlier than usual start for most of us as we had to allow time to travel to the O2 for our 12.15 allocated climb over the O2. New barriers were being installed at Stoke station but weren't yet in commission, and as we'd entered from the platform 2 direction we couldn't see what purpose they served. Our 9.12am train which was £32.35 for us Seniors was only a couple of minutes late so all was good.

The sky was pretty grey and dull, and rain had been forecast together with strong gusts of wind . They must have got it wrong …….

We were generally all in different areas of the train. Jacko was spotted wandering up and down the train to find a vacant toilet and avoid the hefty 50p charge at Euston.

The immediate plan for some of us at Euston was to pop into the travel office in the main concourse to register our Senior Railcards on our Oyster cards. Alas, the queue moved slower than Pedro approaching a bar; and after finally making it to the front we were told we couldn't get the deed done as previously promised. The wait was most annoying, especially for Corky, the Mancurian Grumbler, who started the day moaning as ever. Ah well, onwards and upwards. We moved on to the underground with the O2 climbers splitting to Greenwich.

Jaycee pulled out of the climb at this point due to a reoccurrence of his neck problem so we were left with 6 climbers and 6 who set off to the Market Porter and the Borough Market. Craigee sought out his favorite paella dish and one or two others had pies before trying out the Hung Drawn and Quartered pub and the Ship. Bill had led the group to the Ship but had obviously not read the directions and ended up at the Ship we'd been to previously and not the intended one. Having said that it was allegedly the best and cheapest pint they'd had. The Market Porter had sadly gone downhill after the previous landlord had left. Such a shame …..

Walking back through the avenue of restaurants and bars within the O2, Brolly suggested square pies and mash which we all quickly agreed on. Jacko asked Yup if he could get it all in his mouth at once. 'If it was round then maybe I could' replied Yup. Taking the Jubilee line back to London Bridge, and then the northern line to Bank, we somehow emerged a long way off from where we'd hoped to be; so it was a fair walk to the Dr Butlers Head pub. We missed the turning to the pub and wasted another 10 minutes circumnavigating the area before we eventually found it. The lads had already had 4 pints before we arrived, except for Jaycee of course. Spitfire and Master Brew were on tap. Brolly Wolly got the first round in and any subsequent expensive round. He was the only one still working of course in our small drinking group so it was only fair …. Anyone working had to buy rounds in dear pubs, or so the motto goes.

The East India Arms pub was just ten minutes away. Pretty compact, but comfortable, with a mass of hops hanging above the bar. Whitstable Bay Pale and Spitfire were available. Jaycee put his pint down whilst he went to the gents and some guy at the bar drank it by mistake. He was quick to buy him another though. So fair play to him. A half might have been the better option for John as we were about to leave. Luckily there were several mates on hand to help him out.

On reaching the O2 we accepted the option of joining an earlier climb and entered the video room to watch an informative video of the O2 and our pre-climb training.

We were informed that the O2 arena has an overall diameter of 365 metres representing days in the year, an internal diameter of 320 metres, and a circumference of a kilometer. It is 50 metres high at its central point, the twelve steel masts being the no of months in a year are 100 metres high.

Amongst the other facts were

- If The O2 arena were ever turned upside down Niagra Falls would take 15 minutes to fill it

- Or 1,100 Olympic sized swimming pools

- The O2 arena volume equals thirteen Albert Halls

- Or ten St Paul's Cathedrals

- Or two Wembley Stadiums

- 18,000 double-decker buses could fit into the O2

- The O2 arena is as high as Nelson's Column

- The Eiffel Tower lying on its side would fit into the O2

- The O2 arena could hold 12 football pitches, or 72 tennis courts

- The Entertainment District within the O2 is the same length as Bond Street

Yup's favourite fact though was that it would take a million pints of beer to fill it.

We were then issued with a vest, shoes and harness with a further option of a pair of gloves. Jacko's extra large pair were so huge he climbed inside them.

Our next pub was the Crosse Keys, a Wethers pub sitting opposite the entrance to the Ledenhall market. Craigee was tempted to revisit the pub in the market but opted for a further visit to the toilets instead. Wise decision.

The electronic board listed all the ales available each being designated a number. It baffled the bar maids if you asked for a particular named ale as they could only operate with numbers. Asking for a pint of Nouvelle Mathon meant nothing to the bar staff, but ask for no 6 and you were in.

Anytime Tone spotted the 5 Hop ale produced by the Hawkshead brewery which was voted best of the day. Bill appeared to be enjoying himself and Graham was on halves of cider; enjoying the fact that Bill had mistakenly ordered a cider instead of ale and passed it on to him. Bill then went on to Friggin in the Riggin instead, as you do.

We then assembled on the approach steps for a few photos before being led up the ramp and on to the O2 by a delightful young Australian guide called Sarah?

The likelihood of seeing Yup and the lads taking off in the winds like Mary Poppins, as predicted by Corky, was not going to materialize, as the weather conditions improved and not a drop of rain fell. Now there's a surprise! There were problems however with the wind later in the afternoon suffered by several members of the group.

2 pie hard Dave was asked by a couple of young girls if he could take a photo of them. Strangely, it took him around 5 attempts to take it justifying the problem by admitting he was only used to cameras and not phones. It might have helped if he'd have taken his gloves off. Or was he deliberately taking his time so he could read their texts??

Brick Lane was only a cock stride and the 2 appointed scouts, Jaycee and Brolly set off to check out the bartering touts for the best deal. The 2 chosen restaurants were The Muhib and the Aladin. The Aladin won with a free pint each and no service charge.

'How would I look if I grew a moustache?', asked Jaycee. 'How would I look if I wore a wig?', asked Tony.

The food was very good and the final bill of £13 with tips was excellent value.

We returned to Euston and the Euston Tap where we had half an hour or so to relax. Tone's eldest daughter Helen managed to meet up with us for a while before heading off home after a hard day in the office.

We headed across the concourse passing someone with a portable tele.

The return home was mostly uneventful except for the entertainment provided by a very jovial train manager who announced that we would soon be stopping at Stooook where we might find bottle kilns and pottery. 'Next station Stoooook'. Great. Corky however missed his connection and had to get a lift from his wife who complained about his breath stinking of garlic and alcohol. Not sure what he'd been up to!! He did eventually get £20 compensation from Virgin which eased the pain. Once home Jaycee realized he'd left his bag that he'd been nursing all day on the train so spent the next hour on the phone to Virgin trains to track it down. Such fun.

Yuppers

(enjoy yer London trips)