Had no idea what to expect from this masked ball – it was certainly an odd evening! I thought it was going to be something similar to TG but it really wasn’t the same at all. Though rather oddly we did recognise this one guy that we saw at TG – I remember him as he kept brushing up behind me when we were on the dancefloor at TG … and he was memorable as he was naked but for a chain on his … member. But anyways ….

My first surprise of the night was when we were in the toilets at the start of the evening changing into our outfits. I was bent over putting my shoes and the next moment I’m eye level with a very naked girl!! We were later to realise who they were.

The actual evening started out ordinarily enough with waltzing lessons. We were late arriving so didn’t participate but watching everyone I was pretty amazed at the effort people had gone into for their outfits – sure we had the mask going on, but many other people had also gone to the effort to wear period costumes. Next up was a Punch and Judy puppet show. What?? A bit more adult than what would be put on for the kids but a very odd thing to have at a club? Even weirder was the fact that it was a very popular event and the room was packed out!

The venue that tonight’s ball was held in was very small and intimate. One of the rooms had these three dancer poles and we saw aforementioned naked people get up and dance around the pole (there were three girls two guys I think.) Don’t get me wrong, apart from these five and our friend from TG, everyone else had clothes on. At some stage of the night they actually started to come around and serve us food (cheese and other decadent stuffs) on platters. Very strange! I think there was supposed to be some sort of Feast Table – where these people should have laid down and then, if you wanted to, you could eat off them or whatever but perhaps the venue was too small for that. Or maybe we left too early before they’d set it up?

Oh there was a chocolate fountain … would have been more interesting if the fountain was on naked people. Heh heh.

Craig arranged for a bunch of us to have a night of pool followed by dancing at Gingliks. Although Shepherd’s Bush is an area which is literally about a 5 minute bus ride away from me I am only ever in the area to either go to Westfield or the cinema. The Green Room is a pool / football table bar just off Shepherd’s Bush Green. It also had table football, giant projection screens and a wii for hire, and 2-4-1 cocktails until 8 even on a Friday. What I liked about the venue was the fact it was large and spacious – tonight it wasn’t particularly busy which suited us as it meant getting our drinks a lot quicker. Drinks were pretty potent too – though I’m not a good one to judge seeing as how I’m more susceptible to drink than most.

At about 11pm we headed over the Green to Ginglik for some live music. Unless you know about Ginglik you probably wouldn’t realise that a club lay just under the surface. The bar/club/music venue actually used to be a public toilet! (used in the 1908 White City Olympics!)

It’s a very intimate venue and attracts what seems to be the quirky and eclectic.

A fun night.

The Palm Beach Casino is a slight step up from the Empire in Leicester Square – but mainly because its not located in tourist central. You are supposed to register to get in but at the time we came in there were so many people hovering around the front desk that we only had to get our photos taken – translate that to: the girls at the front desk couldn’t be bothered registering people, which turned out to be a ridiculous move as the electronic roulette machines required you to use your membership cards to withdraw your winnings.

The venue is quite small but attractive. There is plenty of seating around the bar area and also what appeared to be quite a nice restaurant surrounding the casino. The clientele seemed a little more well-off and nicely dressed than the types you see hanging out at the Empire. But having said that there were still a large number of foreigners – all carrying around their £50 notes …

The casino wasn’t too crowded for a Friday night but spots at the tables with lower minimums (at least £10) were rare. James, Wongo and I managed to get on to one blackjack table eventually – where it proved to be very entertaining. I was sat next to this 50+ year old Russian guy who was very vocal in what he thought about the players on the table. Whenever someone made a stupid move he would gesture and shout at them. One girl got a bit intimidated by this and was cowering behind her boyfriend. Very funny.

We all had a good night with Wongo, D and I finishing up, James was down but not by much (ironically, the more attractive our dealers got the less luck James ended up having!) Still, an enjoyable night was had by all.

Laney and I had gone out of the country to visit TG so we thought that we should also experience what our local TG had to offer. This time Dave also came along for the ride. It certainly felt a little different as we were kind of on our own turf … and we were looking forward to experiencing it with people who spoke English!

Learning from our experience in visiting TG in Paris we didn’t rush to get to the club too early tonight. Dave also booked us an apartment nearby so that we wouldn’t have to worry about travelling to and from the venue.

The scene is totally surreal. I’m not sure many Londoners realise what is going on every month. When we got to London Bridge just after midnight there was this really long queue! So long that people were leaving the queue to go and get a drink from a nearby bottlo to pass the time. Heh heh.

Our outfits this time around were a little easier to get into. None of this getting me into a tight corset thing – I didn’t actually have much time to sort an outfit so ended up grabbing what was basically lacy underwear! The underwear was much more comfortable but all night I was a bit concerned that it would tear and be destroyed … not that I was doing much more than dancing around. Just as well it was still fairly cool so that I had a coat to cover me for the short walk between our hotel and the club.

Dave looked so dodgy in his coat though!

In comparison to Paris I found that the people in London were a lot more aggressive. That’s not to say they didn’t respect boundaries – but it felt more like there were people at TG who were tourists (and therefore treating it almost like a costume party) and who were very pushy when moving around the venue. It was a really odd feeling. The club itself I felt was also a little more out there in terms of the rooms and equipment that was available. The electrical prod was very interesting!

Anyway, a very good night … and now … for sleep.

So another person is jumping the ship shortly! Jenny has managed to score a job at the FSA. It sounded like it was quite the selection process to get the job – so I’m sure she was over the moon when she was told she was successful. When I arrived at her leaving do it was in full swing – the night descended into shots … which is when it got quite interesting. Ironically … Jenny had left by then! There was tequila, there was sambucca … very messy 🙂

I’m off to pastures new shortly and the kind people at work threw me a surprise party tonight. The question of the night was whether or not I suspected and I must admit I had my suspicions! Still, it was a really nice thought and I was touched by how many people turned up and contributed to the evening.

Awesome presents as well. Rehana said she had a blast spending all the moment. She really knows me well with my gifts including decadent chocolates, vouchers for a cupcake and cocktail course, a voucher to go rolling down a hill and a lovely Pandora bracelet.

Thanks everyone for a great night, great gifts and the hilarious card.