Week spot
Some new experiences from this week, recorded for posterity (and mild SEO value):
- Went go-karting for the first time since I was eight years old. Luckily, it was many times better than I remembered it being – which might be something to do with the professional set-up, and karts that didn’t feel like they were falling apart after two laps. Also, my unfeasibly enthusiastic excitement over the fact that the track involved an overpass. Pretty cool. Verdict: 9/10
- Found myself in Gamerbase, at the back of HMV at Picaddilly, for a three-hour PC gaming session which saw us thrashed by bots on easy mode in Counter Strike: Source, used as target practice on Team Fortress 2, and work ourselves into a situation where victory was impossible for any party in Warcraft III. Excellent. Verdict: 9/10
- Danced and drank at Espionage in Edinburgh, a place I have avoided through six separate visits to the capital. Verdict: bit of a pit, but no worse than any of the Oxford dance pits which were subject to my occasional attendance while at university. 6/10
- Re-visited Opium and, simultaneously, my headbanging roots. A fine establishment. Verdict: 8/10
- Rocked up at Favela Chic on Old Street for some more dancing (excellent DJ; shattered from the weekend so mostly appreciated from a seated position with a beer…)
- Played Power Grid and Alhamra; both have been on my board game list for a while. Verdicts: 9/10 for Power Grid, 8/10 for Alhamra.
Friday to Sunday was also, excitingly, my first bona fide stag , and was an excellent example of the genre, as I have come to know it through the twin media of film and television. In fact, I had so recently seen The Hangover (verdict: 8/10) that any outcome not featuring blackouts and tigers in bedrooms was an unqualified success. And so it was.
