Stuart Campbell
The total is clearly in fact £10 more than the two preceding sums added together. It was almost as if they suspected us of being so drunk we wouldn't notice such an obvious arithmetical ploy, and this inflated sum would be paid regardless. They did, we were, we didn't, and it was.
As I recall, the meal at Old Orleans lasted until about 5:30-6pm. Oh yeah, most people didn't have main courses either. We just kept asking for more popcorn. Which pleased the staff no end.
Mark Ramshaw
Cam Winstanley
I am so pissed, I go over and thank the waiters. I was so embarrassed that I did this that I didn't go in Old Orleans for the next year. Huge irony - while we've been paying for all this booze, Virgin have been running a free bar at The Loft. I stay in the Loft for a single pint of iced tap water, then go home.
I'm still pissed off at Cam's waiter chums ripping us off for an extra 10 quid when they added up the total. Unless he said "Great job lads, cheers, take another tenner for yourselves", of course.
Stuart Campbell
Mark Ramshaw
Oh yeah, there's also the small matter that Virgin were down that night anyway, putting the dosh up for a free bar at The Loft. Only myself and Stuart made it there alive. Not sure about Stuart, but I could only manage a Coke by that point.
After that my memory fails me. Odd that.
We arrived back at Future at 5.50pm, having left at noon. Amiga Format withstood our mighty onslaught for a pitiful 90 minutes. Mark and I then proceeded to The Loft, then left and mounted a sit-down protest (technically, "lie-down protest") in the offices of Mountain Bike UK, blocking the main entryway with our bodies to everyone's annoyance until Matt Williams agreed to join the group in The Loft (for Lisa's benefit).
Stuart Campbell
Later that evening I fell asleep in the toilets outside Amiga Format's office and was rescued by Mark and Stu who saw my boots poking under the door. I haven't been drunk since.
Noticing Tim's absence, we then went on a Tim Hunt, scouring the offices of No.30 and following many "he went thataway, and he didn't look too well" tipoffs in classic Richard Briers sitcom style, until we finally found Tim comatose in the loos. There then followed a brief discussion as to which one of us sounded more sober, which ended up with me having to phone Jan,* explain the ludicrous situation in the least slurred voice I could manage, and get her to come in from Bristol and cart Tim home on their motorbike, which must have been a bit hairy.
Stuart Campbell
Tim Norris
Naturally, we went home in the car and I picked the bike up later.
Mark and I then went back and sat on the floor of The Loft drinking orange juice for a while, then sloped unsteadily home. These days, of course, I'd be slumped under the table after the initial three Michelobs.
Stuart Campbell