A roller coaster of randomers

Had an interesting couple of evenings out, which have spurred a few discussion points among friends. I am actually getting requests for posts now!

Nights out differ depending where you go I guess, but there are always the stereotypical groups of people you expect to see. Without fail there will be the under-dressed group of girls that go out in the freezing depths of winter, wearing belt sized skirts and not being prudish at all, you just want to go and give them a pair of tights! Not only to keep them warm but for them to leave something to the imagination!

There's the group of loud lads, normally with a mixture of accents who are 'fashionably' dressed and great at commanding attention. Now you can meet these on the way to a club, when they normally start a conversation about your outfit, hair etc, or you can meet them afterwards, burger in their hand as they invite you back to their place for a cup of tea. (Yeah right!)

Most weekends you are bound to see a group in fancy dress or be wearing some yourself. This could be a hen night, pub golf or an excuse to wear tutus and bunny ears. It normally provokes conversations, fights over who stole who's hat and the photos uploaded on facebook after are always hilarious.

There is always the drunken pervy pair of men who manage to 'subtlety' follow you around the dance floor, with eyes popping out of their sockets as they try to woo you with their dad dancing. If you are in a bar it's even worse, as they invite themselves into your personal space and simply watch you as you talk to your mates as you try as much as possible to ignore them, waiting for them to get bored and move on.

Not as common as the others, but you get them from time to time, (I got three the other night!) are the people who stop you to ask for money. Some spin elaborate but convincing stories about how they cant get home, while others simply ask for twenty pence to get a cuppa. We can usually refuse guilt free as most of these people have sat drinking in the pub for the previous twenty-four hours, spending their last few pennies on booze and therefore do not deserve our sympathy. So we can invent an excuse and not feel ungenerous in the slightest. Upon refusal some are practised in the art and increase the severity of their stories or turn on the waterworks. Others resort to insults and often tell you to shove your money up certain orifices (my mate was asked to shove a spoon up one of hers...the mind boggles!)


There's always the loud, mismatched group, involving a mixture of gays, drag queens and performing arts students. These dominate the space, break out into dance routines like those seen in the cheesy American chick flicks where all the characters know the moves, without prior rehearsal. This group will often start dance wars on the floor, they are not elitist and will except anyone into their circle as long as they are fashionably dressed, a great dancer or really good looking!

After the night out, there is plenty more fun to be had in the chippy or on the sidewalk. You can watch the aftermath of breakups and cat fights as girls weep into their cheesy chips. Some stumble around, heels in hand as they followed the rule 'pain is beauty' and the look on their face now shows how much they regret it. There is the token couple in the kebab cue, who you can tell have just met but can't take a break from their tonsil tennis long enough to order their food. There are the random hyper people who insist they are not drunk but start bets, dares and philosophical debates with total strangers. You pass groups arguing over taxis, people spewing up at bus stops and those still dancing to their own silent disco on the pavement. Okay so I have lived in Colchester for the past few years but I am pretty sure this happens everywhere!

The funny thing is, that even though these groups are all stereotypes, I am confident that we can all say we have fitted into one of them at some point. My mate reminded me that on a single night, the random people you dance with, or speak to in the ATM cue, you will never see again. So it is always fun to let loose and have a laugh. This plan did spectacularly backfire on her as we chatted to a group of off-duty policeman in Subway who she later realised she had met before! This was only after I had done the splits to prove we would beat them in a flexibility contest! Like I said before, hyper but completely sober!

I guess it all comes down to a bit of excitement and drama. We all like a little in our lives, and some have more than others. A night out is usually an excuse to welcome irrational fun, to dress up and feel good, to let go and above all to have a bloody good time with our friends and anyone else we bump into. Thank you to all the randomers we meet on the night out roller coaster, what an exciting ride you make it!