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Debbie Leigh: Things that go flop in the night
I'M a big believer in the idea that you make your own fun – only boring people get bored, and all that.
And when it comes to a good night out, part of me says all you need is your best friends with you, it doesn't matter where you are.
But perhaps some nights just aren't meant to shine.
And you know that when you have a gaggle of great mates getting together from all across the country for the first time in ages, expecting the best knees-up Leeds has to offer, that's going to be the evening the city lets you down.
The pressure is on to show your pals from London, Nottingham and Sheffield that you know all there is to know about a great night out and you know all the coolest hangouts.
That, of course, is when you stumble from one letdown to another.
To be fair to Leeds, it's not all about the venues and the clientele you encounter when you're out.
One of the main problems when there are around 15 of you – many of who are new to the city – is sheer logistics.
Momentum
I found myself marching at the front of the group, wishing I had a flag on a long pole, shouting words of encouragement like "come on guys, let's keep up the momentum" as I tried to keep the stragglers and the striders all together and on the same route.
Then, even if you manage to arrive at your next destination as a unit, there's always that unwritten rule to sidestep – the fact that door staff "don't like big groups".
I tried to reason with the wild-eyed woman on the door at Fibre that our apparently undesirable "big group" was actually nothing more sinister than several couples and a few singletons, so surely that was ok?
Apparently not and this Saturday night out was sliding rapidly downhill.
To backtrack a few paces, we had thankfully tucked into an amazing meal at Brasserie Blanc to get the reunion off to a great start.
After that I spent the walk to City Inn extolling the virtues of the 13th storey Sky Lounge, then promptly ate my words as we were turned away because it was full.
We made do with the hotel's downstairs bar – rather less glamorous than its taller sibling but as it would turn out, probably the best waterhole of the night.
Next we decided to try Distrikt and discovered another of the many problems of venturing out en-masse – you simply can't please everyone, all the time.
Even if half the troops are happy, the others can often be found grumbling in a corner.
Then the eager beavers finish their drinks before the slowcoaches have even caught the barman's eye.
And before you know it you're forcing everyone to drink up, then heading off to another nightspot – Fibre, on this occasion.
Cue lots of standing around in the cold, casting evil eyes at the door staff while we tried to contact the rest of the gang, who had clearly used some kind of Jedi mind trick to get past the door staff and make it inside.
At this point I became aware of the downside to vintage footwear as my feet rapidly went from chilled to numb and I realised the leather between my feet and the icy pavement was somewhat thinner than a sticking plaster. As our visitors' faces again turned expectantly towards us, we trundled off to Rock Bar, one of Leeds' newest haunts and when it first opened, one I thought was a bit of a hidden gem.
However, since our last outing the clientele had dropped several levels down the fashionista foodchain, plus we were made to queue for no apparent reason (other than to make the place look popular) for around 10 minutes.
After being served a lime and soda that tasted like washing-up liquid, I found myself being bumped and squashed by a bunch of gyrating women who could most kindly be described as "clubbing stalwarts".
Someone less generous might say mutton dressed as lamb.
After singing and swaying along to Alicia Keys' New York – quite possibly the highlight of the night (seriously) – a friend and I decided we could take no more, bid our farewells and left the others to hit Mission, then Back to Basics.
Our mission, that we soon seriously wished we hadn't accepted, was trying to catch a cab.
Apparently there is a system to it but even stone cold sober I couldn't decipher what it was.
Flagging them down didn't work, nor did waiting at the taxi rank or ringing to book one.
And when you try to ask the drivers what you have to do to get a lift home they look at you as though you're just another tanked-up wreck spoiling for a fight, instead of someone asking a genuine question.
When a driver finally took pity on us he took us on a different route than I would have taken, explaining that at that time (around 1.30am) he refused to drive up Chapeltown Road because there were usually youths throwing missiles like bricks at cars driving past.
Ah, I smiled at my friend, good old Leeds.
I bet she can't wait to come back and visit again.
As for me, I'm going to concentrate on making my own fun from now on.
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Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
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