Let’s Get This Party Started
Posted by Rugby Nick | Filed under Charity updates
Walk 4 Matt is a walk, not a race – which means starting with a boat load of beer is pretty much acceptable. And since pretty much acceptable is the best that I ever hope for that is exactly what I did, a boat load of beer!
After a nightmare journey up to Rugby to get the boats from Clifton Cruises – a journey that included missing the train we were booked on from Euston and having to buy new tickets for the next one, we rocked up just in time. Just in time to miss the instructions on how to drive a boat. But who needs such advice? I’m here for the beer charity.
So we got there, dumped our stuff aboard – me with Newcastle, Stacey with Wasps, and set about making a severe dent in the beer
supplies. And what beer they had! Not just any old beer for the Walk 4 Matt walkers, oh no, we had something special. A specially created bitter named ‘Hambo’ (after Matt Hampson) was ready and waiting for us, including a very special label (see the picture).
Good to see more people after my own heart are involved – help charity through beer and rugby. What more could you want?
Entertainment
We may not have needed more, but more we had. To help with the entertainment for the evening not only was there copious amounts of alcohol available but the organisers had kindly laid on a band for us – singing plenty of sing-a-long hits. A big thank you to them for being one of the few bands to play songs I have actually heard of (i.e. anything by the Stereophonics and that’s about it, I am far from a music guru).
Some walkers, the ungrateful sods, decided this wasn’t enough. But fair play they put their money where their mouth is – including my co-driver Colin. Colin decided that what we REALLY needed was a tad more skin for the women to gawk at. So he stripped himself down to his boxers, took a run up and leapt right into the canal – fears of diseases, rats and sharks (there are sharks in canals aren’t there?) were dismissed, all that mattered was getting naked entertaining the troops.
The night wore on, more booze was consumed, more friendships made (it’s a charity blog, I need to have some cliches, it’s contractual). Gradually people drifted off towards their new bunks to get some shut eye for the walk ahead of us – but not before the Earth moved for someone.
No, not like that, nothing that exciting. The Earth literally moved – or at least the paving slab. Making his way towards the narrow boat John, one of the crew of the fantastic Newcastle boat (no bias), managed to somehow collapse a paving slab through a hole no-one knew was there, go arse over tit and collapse in a heap.
The judges all gave the fall an 8, aside from the Russian judge who gave it a dubious 9.5.
A nasty looking cut to his ankle and a bang to his elbow, and some sniggers covered by trying to make sure he was ok, was his reward. It was bound to happen to someone, I’m just grateful it wasn’t me. But there is a whole week to go and tomorrow doesn’t get any better…
