Lads' Curry Page

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Attendance record (out of 70)

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Thursday 7th November 2024 - organised by Mr Meade

What a wonderful and well-attended Lads’ Curry - the first (and no doubt the last) in 2024. 

Wednesday 24th May 2023 - organised by Mr Meade

Yet again, small yet perfectly formed!  Was this really our first gathering since Covid?  I have to believe that it was - number 69.  The force and momentum behind the latest meet-up was provided by Dr Broughton who had asked me to gather the troops together to celebrate Brookie's temporary return to the UK (Brookie is back).  It is a shame that there were only 6 of us (even Broughts was sadly unable to attend) to appreciate fully what we have been missing from Brookie being away for such a long time.  The wit, the repartee, the stories - some tall, some less so.  Joking aside, Brookie was on good form and seems to have his fingers in many pies at the moment - the most interest by far being his involvement as Chairman of the HKRU.  A trip to the last 7s ever on Hong Kong island is surely on the cards.

That aside, it was impressive by how far people had travelled into London.  Selly had come all the way from York and Mozzer, who had enjoyed a lovely afternoon at a West End drabbed in his low-key bright orange tee-shirt, had travelled from north of Birmingham (I believe).  Amos had made his way all the way from Harpenden and felt the he had cheated the do I drink lots of beer or do I drive home from the station dilemna by cycling to the station.  It was of course light (and downhill) when he cycled to the station, but he had of course forgotten his bike lights for the way back.  Mitch was Mitch and entertained us in his usual subtle yet highly effective manner.

We met at an old trusted favourite - the Cheshire Cheese where drinks were flowing very nicely indeed, and where we had a brief visit from my daughter Alexia.  She graduated nearly two years ago - probably about when we started these Lads' Curries - yikes.

The conversation was animated throughout, the fines session were fairly vicious at times (although Brookie was not drinking - and this was nothing to do with his midnight conference call with the Far East).  There were certainly a few new fines from the less-frequent attendees, some of which truly illustrate how much life has changed in the past 20 years or so.

Til the next one - hopefully not to celebrate Brookie's return in 3 or 4 years..

Thursday 3rd October 2019 - organised by Mr Meade

Again, small yet perfectly formed.   It was another rather exclusivel gathering that met at The Market Porter in Borough Market for only the second Lads’ Curry of the year.   

It ended being a fine and intense evening, energised by the smaller number and the free popadums (they had lost our reservation and we were made to wait half an hour in the fairly sordid bar area…)   That said, the food at Silka was highly approved, although the Jal Begunhee attempt was pitiful yet again..

Wednesday 24th April 2019 - organised by Mr Meade

It was a late-ish but exclusive bunch that met up at The Blackfriar (next to Blackfriars, funnily enough) for the first Lads’ Curry of 2019.   The Doombars (and the lager) were going down very nicely as conversations flowed.  There were some particularly interesting moments as AC described his new role within the company as he sits atop the equality and diversity committee, or something similar (did we ever work out the difference between transvestite and crossdressing?), Meado and his Wimbledon summer plans (is he going to take the p*** or not?), Charlie and his love for the IPL and frustrations with PE, Amos and his new slim game-faced look and a particularly animated Mr Mackworth-Praed celebrating close to 20 years at Barclays.    The imminent Laggers were discussed, with a last ditch attempt to try to recruit Charlie and the realisation that there was a positive correlation between winning and having far too much to drink the previous evening..  I had better start drinking very heavily from now.

Small, but perfectly formed.  It was an excellent gathering.

Thursday 20 December 2018 - organised by Mr Amos

Pub from 7.00pm (Woolie will be there from c.6.30 if anyone wants a cheeky earlier start)

The Hoop and Grapes 47 Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AL   Location between Aldgate and Aldgate East tube stations.  About 200 yards from each.

Curry from 8.00pm The Halal Restaurant  2 St Mark St, Whitechapel, London E1 8DJ    About 400 yards from pub

Wednesday 13th September 2018 - organised by Mr Meade

It was yet another wonderful evening of high quality entertainment, which helps justify the hassle these are to organise at times (thankfully, we have plenty of volunteers to organise the next one!).  

Wednesday 17th April 2018 - organised by Mr Meade

Summer has arrived - hooray! 

Wednesday 15th November 2017 - organised by Mr Meade

One of the best ever, and full of pleasant surprises.    The venue was the Chancery Lane/St Paul’s area.   The Cheshire Cheese pub was simply excellent and what a find the ominously named India India right next door was!

Conversation flowed nicely, the fines session began in a somewhat subdued manner and then really took off.  The Ashes were then discussed, as were indeed the former exploits of many of the gathered (no girlfriend at college Woolly?).   All I really remember was that the bill came to just £30 per person, that Amos owes us £12 for next time and taht Ken really needs to work on his internet gambling technique  - (we all though that we had backed a no-brainer!).   I also remember being reduced to tears (good tears), so the evening must have been a lot of fun!    Roll on the next one...

Thursday 29th June 2017 - organised by Mr Meade

  Another fine gathering with St Paul’s the venue for this the 62nd Lads’ Curry.   In fact, the venue was a direct replication of  a previous meeting with beers at the Rising Sun followed by food at Anokha.  The more I organise these evenings, the more that I realise that it is more about the people than the venue (so it might as well be convenient for me!).    We missed the likes Henry, PAC and had another late pull-out by 50-year-old Jules, but we were honoured to see Mr Williamson, freshly back from his spring Burgundy tour and unbelievably enthusiastic about his older brother’s business in sports betting (a pretty stark contrast to his in accountancy), but we also saw the return of Sir Bobby Rao (plenty of fines were consumed by the doubters who predicted a no-show).  Woolly also made it along for only his 2nd appearance (really?) – we’ve been missing you Woolly.

The Rising Sun was a feisty affair with frantic catching up and fast-paced drinking.   Charlie fell at least one or two rounds behind as he opted to converse to his wife (on the phone) rather than to the Lads, whilst Brookie was recounting his unsettled high-flying life and Creights bragging on about the two weeks he will be spending at Wimbledon..   Mitch was telling us about his new house (and future games room), pretty much guaranteeing a house warming party, whilst we nearly convinced Bigs to  drop the water (driving) and pick up the Wherry (had daughter Katie not been on the lash that night…)

We set off on the 15m trip to Anokha where we were greeted by staff still reeling from Mr Meade’s aggressive bargaining, which secured 50% off food for the group (equated to £140).  Charlie did a great job on the starters (mixed starters for all), and the fine session was one of the better ones (Mozzer’s fines excluded) as there was a bit of a definite edge to them – probing, and a large potential backfire element to many of them (especially Kenny’s).   

The evening was drawing to an end as some of the out-of-towners (thanks Charlie) bade their farewells as others were treated to “one for the road” by Mr Rao, who reputedly had not bought a round for the Lads in over 10 years…

Wednesday 30th November 2016 - organised by Mr Meade

I really should do the write-up the day after each meeting - hangover or no hangover.   I remember it being memorable at the time, but I can no long remember why….   I remember it being the night when tubes were on the blink, but there was a great turnout nonetheless..  It had of course been planned on the day that we had originally meant to meet at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston…

Thursday 7 July 2016 - organised by Mr Meade

It was a mighty gathering to celebrate the 60^th Lads’ Curry.   St Paul’s was the venue which welcomed the 10 solid Downing-ites, including the return of two prodigal sons – Mr Brooke and Mr Riley (perhaps he heard about the event via one of his internet communities?).   Logistics were somewhat complicated as we were keen to drink, eat and drink some more whilst still endeavouring to capture some of the France-Germany Euro 2016 semi-final (where the conquerors of the mighty Iceland produced an exceptional performance to storm into the finals)...

We met at the Rising Sun on Carter Lane– well Mr Morris and I were there for a good 15 to 20 minutes before CJB rocked up.  I learned about Mozzer’s daughter’s tendencies (again) and his business (which involved sacking his daughter), whilst Mr Brooke was talking about his Masterplan of taking over the organisation of the HK 7s (no big bucks in property anymore).   People rocked in at regular intervals (one of my favourite parts of the Lads’ Curry) – Mr Moss, Mitch (surprisingly late for Mitch, but I guess that he is in property too), Bigs (Article 50 will not be triggered), Jules (this Brexit thing has really scuppered my plans) and AC (whose hair seems to get whiter every time we see him – if you need any advice, don’t hesitate)..  Oh, Ken was there too.

Off we sauntered to Anokha, a mere 20 yards away, where Mr Brooke installed himself behind a large stone pillar.  Questionable whether he got more out of the pillar than he did from Rob and Mozzer who were sitting opposite him..    We blitzed through the fines session (some great novel ones from Mr Riley, with the rest pretty much the same as during the previous 59 meetings).  Much banter, too many Naan breads, reasonable food, a 50% discount and off we stepped back to the Rising Sun for quite a few more beers and the end of the football.  

It was an excellent evening (I did hear AC mutter his “best ever” comment a few times), and it was one of those days when I wanted to stay out much later, as I jealously eyed up several of the attendees that did not have any professional commitments early the next day…  In fact, probably no commitments at all…

hat a gathering!   All records were beaten as the group congregated in Soho at the Marquis of Grandy, a pub carefully selected by Mr Amos (who seems to have a fair amount of time on his hands these days

Wednesday 3 February 2016 - organised by Mr Meade

What a gathering!   All records were beaten as the group congregated in Soho at the Marquis of Grandy, a pub carefully selected by Mr Amos (who seems to have a fair amount of time on his hands these days – as does Mr Proctor, Mr Pickstone, Mr Brooke, Mr…).     What caused this record gathering?   I put it down to exceptional organisational skills by one of   the   most humble people in the universe, but some might disagree.  Was it the allure of seeing Brookie, Woolly’s presence or the mystery guest (DC/DN)?    Perhaps it was the expectation of the posh-est venue yet (and comfortably the most expensive)?   In any event, there were 16 of us clustered into many subgroups, with the usual animated conversation/discussions.  Such was the excitement that even Biggles and Mitch showed signs of animation – it really was that good.  It was a challenge to get the likes of Selly to put down his beer (normally is) and head over to the Red Fort with the rest of us, where Ken was waiting for us triumphantly (yes, Ken came to a Lads’ Curry) armed with his expensive Cobra beer.

It has to be said that the Red Fort was awesome and the food delicious – a huge step up from the usual crass that I seem to find with my 50% off deals.   That said, we did manage to negotiate 25% off food, which coaxed into trying some of the starters– a mix of tilapia, samosas with pomegranate, mustard seeds and sultanas as well as monkfish tikka and the rest (particularly well-received by Mr Waller).   The mains were equally delectable, as indeed was the conversation.   Close to 750 years of Downing intelligence, before AC arrived, made for particularly spicy banter.  The fines made their way around the table.   Bearing in mind the identity of our mystery guest, the customary Cantrell fine was particularly interesting.  There was good mingling and plenty of seat swapping.  Nobody was getting between PAC and DC/DN and I did have to move when Gus and Mozzer started discussing Brexit…

It was truly an excellent evening (best ever?) and bodes well for future Lads’ Currys…  I believe that Bailo agreed to organise the next one?    As I rushed for my train, there were murmurs of batting on..

Thursday 2 July 2015 - organised by Mr Meade

As Dustin Brown terrorised Rafa, the Lads’ met up in Soho on a sweltering Thursday night.  Attendance was down to 7 of us with several late withdrawals (it really is not cricket).  I guess that Broughts could be forgiven as he was called out to a very last-minute conference.    We met at the Coach and Horses (Mozzer can bore you senseless about the history of the pub) where there was a lot of catching up.  Proctor, fresh from his retirement, was looking incredibly relaxing and Selly waltzed up (at least I think it was a waltz) in time for a quick drink.   Amos stunned us with his tennis knowledge (he is intimate with a national champion of course) and Mitch was looking youthful and unusually chirpy,  after his 5-a-side outing earlier.

The restaurant was a new venue for us – The Delhi Brasserie on Frith Street.   They were not overly happy about downgrading the group from 10 to 7, but they treated us well and the food was decent – no better.   Nobody ordered the quail and the they were not keen on attempting the Jal Beghunee.   After some good banter, a fairly tame fine’s session and a couple of Cobras, I headed home, leaving the mass (many of whom had few or no commitments the next day) to drink and chat the night away...

Thursday 4 December 2014 - organised by Mr Meade

A Lads’ curry with a twist....  

The twist being that females were officially invited for the first time (yes, there were some old flames present).   This boosted the numbers to a record level of 16 attendees...   The evening kicked off with the hardcore meeting in a cosy/dingy West End pub, right in the heart of Theatre zone – the aptly-named “The Cambridge”.  The crowds did not clear out at 7.30 as expected, as the 10 lads gathered around the small table and did some catching up.   There were some rare faces there, so the conversation was lively.  3 were nervously consulting their phones as their wives kept them in touch with their every attempt to hook up with their husbands.  None of the ladies actually showed up at the pub in the end – I guess to the relief of many of the men, who had all admitted in the pub that they were afraid of their wives (all but one..)

Onward to the high-class Mela restaurant, where the fine Downing lasses (and Dave London, I think) were waiting for us.  It was great to see the Janes, Michelle and Francesca.  They fit in seamlessly and the conversation was animated (especially down Francesca’s end of the table).  There was even time for a fines session.  Some extremely poor fines by some (and we are meant to be the crème de la crème of society), and some slightly more grown-up fines by others (although Shergs did not take long to lower the tone).  Memorable moments included Amos’s recital of the 50 signs that you have made it in life (Ken ticked them all off), Henry’s new trendy “I am a producer” look, the incompetent waiter spilling curry sauce (over Amos, I believe) and the hardcore of H, Charlie, Mozzer and myself going deep into the night finishing off all the leftover beer...

Thursday 17 July 2014 - organised by Mr Meade

It was another mighty Downing crowd for the second gathering of the year, this time in Holborn.   We met at The Hercules Pillars – possibly apt for the extent of effort that Mozzer put in to make sure he was on the attendee list.    Several phone calls, emails etc.. needless to say that he was first there!   The procession of arrivals ensued, some coming from impressive distances – Creights and Gus specifically.   It was disappointing that Mr London did arrive on one of his 3 bikes – he and his bike form a wonderful couple.

Plenty of banter outside the pub on a lovely summer’s evening before heading off to the pretty much adjacent Bhatti restaurant, where we were able to profit yet again from the 50% off Open Table deal.   Once the popadums had arrived, been sent back due to staleness and returned (still stale), Charlie assumed full control of the starters.   And what a treat the starters were.    We had a nice table and the food generally exceeded expectations (as did the final bill – but this was largely due to Amos’ poor maths)...   We had our traditional fines session (why do some people find it so difficult to come up with fines?).  it was a particularly lively session (especially on the left hand side of the table – as you look at the terrible plasterwork and disgusting tapestry on the wall), as we all made tracks.   I suspect that some of the lads got lucky, as Charlie and Creights wandered off hand in hand for a nightcap overlooking the Thames, and then back to share a room in Charlie’s flat....

Wednesday 26 March 2014 - organised by Mr Meade
 

It was another fine evening marking the first gathering of 2014.   Broughts held us all to ransom by insisting that the venue had to be Marylebone way for him to show.    I am not quite sure why that was reason enough to opt for that venue – but we did.    True to his promise, Broughts was there (first there in fact) and on lively form – fresh from his latest television appearance.  AC, Charlie and myself met up for a very pleasant sharpener in the City before heading along to meet Broughts in the aptly names Prince Regent.      Plenty of chat, the odd joke, general excitement etc..   I am sure that Gus even agreed to organise another Downing reunion (with wives) in the near future.

Off we trundled to the Bombay Spice (led by the nose of the ever-reliable Mr Mitchell).  After a poor attempt by Broughts on the starters (who we somehow convinced to come for food), Charlie took over and normal service resumed.  The food was fairly tasty (we did not opt for the quail this time in spite of Bilo's pleads) and the attempt at creating a Jal Beghunee could be classified at somewhere between risible and heroic.    We had a nice fines session with many of the old favourites coming up, before the Lads made their tearful farewells and their way back home (a long way form Marylebone for most of us...)

    
Wednesday 17 July 2013 - organised by Mr Meade
Does size really matter? If the latest gathering of the Lads’ Curry faithful is anything to go by – it certainly doesn’t. Quality not quantity of course! The numbers were indeed disappointing as we somehow dwindled from an original 12 or 13 to just 6 of us. What added to this disappointment (from an organisational point of view) was that most of the 6 would have been up for going “One Step Beyond” and going to the horses in Esher followed by the chance of a lifetime “Madness” concert at Sandown. It was the “let’s stick to the normal Lads’ Curry routine” who pulled out. The excuses were aplenty – mostly plausible and professional, but some (if there was an excuse at all) somewhat on the “dog ate my homework” level. Nay worry, what about the evening? The Lads were due to meet in the City a rather fancy bar. This was a bar where Mr Meade promised a truly excellent view of London’s delights. St Paul’s and London ladies dressed to impressed. I am not sure whether our hearts were up to it as fate worked against us, with Mr Pickstone (the first to arrive) being refused entry by the burly bouncer due to being underdressed (shorts and tee-shirt). A Lads’ Curry first I believe. Accusing the bouncer of being anti-Yorkshire and offering to buy his way in did not help.. It was off to the Pavilion End instead (which AC can nearly see from his executive office’s window) – a charmless pub which is only really good if there is a sporting occasion on. There was not, unless you take into account the rather fine and aggressive fines’ session (furious and frantically paced). Mr Amos was driving, but he paced himself nicely and Mr Proctor seemed on good drinking form since he has shortened his post night-out journey home to about 10 minutes, having invested in the London property market. Very nice too – I believe that I was one of the first guests. Off then to Anokha (opposite St Paul’s) for a curry of the highest quality. It did not bode well as I was able to blag one of the 50% off food deals from them shortly before the evening’s proceedings, but the lads were mightily impressed... Charlie did exceptionally well on the starters (isn’t he reliable?). Frenetic talk (mainly by Jules telling us all about his future plans to take over the underdeveloped world) and a wonderful evening all round.. Mitch was there too of course.... He seemed to be the one (with Jules and possibly Charlie) leading the “one for the road” gang..


Wednesday 27 March 2013 - organised by Mr Meade
What a wonderful evening... It had been close to 4 months since the Henley Christmas extravaganza, and it was certainly worth the wait... There was a buzz in the air amongst the Lads as they convened at the Tea Pub in Kensington. New Dad Henry was there, as was a rare appearance from Mr Rao. A few gaps in the attendees, but all in all, an excellent turn-out.
There was lively chat in the pub, before a third visit to the old favourite “is this food Punjabi food” Taste of Raj. We were greeted by the new Dad and Mr London, who had commandeered an excellent spot for conversation, and importantly, fines. There were some good ones, but the Father Anthony joke at the far end of the table seemed to steal the show and even reduced some of the Lads to tears (surprised there was not a fine for that).
In spite of Charlie’s absence, we chose to go for the starter option, and although Mr Rao had heavy reservations about the quality of the food, it seemed to be very much appreciated by most attendees.
Beer was consumed aplenty, and there was not a bored look in sight (I am not sure who was sitting next to Mr Pickstone, but all seemed well) and the evening was a reminder that gatherings like these can be a lot of fun (even without the “who snogged a Cantrell fine”, and even with the “who dyes his hair” fine).
We did of course have the TopTable 50% off deal, which Mr Meade had to forcefully remind staff of – bringing the overall bill to a manageable number (although some people seemed quite happy paying the non-discounted amount!) Oh, it must have been a good evening as at least 5 of us could not get enough of oneanother, as we gathered for a delightful nightcap near Waterloo.

Thursday 20 December 2012 - organised by Mr Broughton

First lads curry outside M25
Trains conspired against Biggs & Mitch (fortunately they were prepared and tinnies consumed). Broughts avoided the Paddington issues (he finishes work an hour earlier it seems and was clear by the time problems hit). Fortunately taxis from all around brought the party together.
Famous Five, Secret Seven but we were eight. What were we? Grumpy eight?
Gus had started early (it was his local after all) – clearly wanted to stay clear of (step)mother in law
Dr B knew the local ladies (well one anyway), but seemed to think Norway’s government had sent Henley’s tree to them. Anyway white lights are best (or was that red?)
Timworth discussed the merits of slaughtering bambi and dealing with roadkill (enjoy your dinner Biggs)
Then it was on to a posh curry house by the river (apparently boaties paddle upstream). The prices looked steamy although Chicken Tikka Masala a very reasonable £9.95 (not really a lads curry though). Proctor kept away from the ordering of starters but Dr B stepped in admirably and didn’t skimp on the food or beers (£45 a head!!)
Usual old time favourites discussed
Creights fumbling to remember what he was doing prior to football training
Docking procedures for Channel Islands
All Perked up when discussions turned to Toys (wrong spelling?)
Then we talked about Mickey (not Mouse)
But seriously we enjoy working hard (and pay our taxes – did anyone else notice Charlie went very quiet at this point?!) to enable Broughts to continue work part time and then retire early (but not as early as Timworth on either occasion or indeed the absent Pickstone).
Meado was missed when we discussed why the ladies in the restaurant were all wearing rugby shirts (and nothing else?)
And then we realised not everyone was a Griffin…..
 There was a fine for anyone who has been dropped from a first team by anyone else …..
Best Curry Night ever! Well done to Dr B for organising.
And then Amos, Biggles and Mitch were treated to Creighton hospitality culminating in being waved off to work in their matching dressing gowns (no pictures)


Wednesday 10 October 2012 - organised by Mr Meade

Chancery Lane was the venue the 52nd meeting of the Lads’ Curry.   Ok, some of the attendees got a bit confused between Charing Cross and Chancery Lane, but most people managed to make it to the Cittie of Yorke – a decent pub I thought, serving an excellent pint of lager.   I say most people, because there were late pull-outs by Gus (work?), Dave London (work?) and AC (couldn’t be bothered).   It was noted that nearly half the attendees turned up in their ties, so I felt that there was a certain feel of middle-aged professionalism about (until things livened up fairly rapidly..)    We were treated by a guest appearance by Mr Simon Morris and indeed a guest appearance by both Ken and Mr Broughton (albeit a brief one from Broughts). 

It was apparent that one or two of the members present had been listening attentively to Julian’s retirement stories – was there further retirement in the air?   I guess that we are all getting on a bit...   

The pub would have made an excellent venue for a fines session, but this sadly did not occur – to be rectified next time.  So the 10 of us wandered down (with Mitch at the helm of course) to the cosy Tandoori Raj (the Salaam Naaste was deemed too posh and too far away), where the group benefitted yet again to 50% off food (beautifully manufactured by Mr Meade in spite of not actually owning a Tastecard).   Charlie assumed the responsibility of ordering the starters (unimaginatively for him, the order was 10 mixed starters), whilst the Tarka Dal had to be sent back for a lack of density.   In fact I thought that the food was generally poor.. 

I was stuck at the end of the table, so it is hard to ascertain too much of the goings-on.  I do remember that Charlie got up, put on his jacket and threatened to leave unless I let him have his seat back upon return from the lavatories, and there were plenty of other interesting and intriguing snippets that elude me at the moment. I do remember time flying by extremely quickly and having to rush to Waterloo to get a train that would get me home before midnight...

Thursday 22 March 2012 - organised by Mr Meade

What an excellent evening – well, at least I enjoyed myself (which in spite of others thinking that I do it all for them, is the main reason for organising these things)..  

It was the first one in a while and we were honoured by the presence of some of the less frequent attendees, namely Mr Proctor now back permanently from Abu Dhabi, Shergs who was released for a couple of hours by RBS (which we collectively own) and Mr Pickstone, determined to work his way up the attendance league table.   We were lucky to see Jules actually as he now spends most of his time on the golf course (4 times a week now – must be a favourite for the Laggers).  Talking about the Laggers, it is now official that Biggles, the current Laggers champion has a daughter with a lower handicap than him (yikes..)  Broughts tops the “yes, I can make it – thanks for a great location” no-show list with his fifth in a row.  Perhaps he was too busy preparing for his appearance on BBC London news on the next Sunday.  After my big double-take., I had to conclude that he did look pretty slick.

The venue was in Marylebone, starting at a very nice pub called the Gunmakers and conveniently opposite Charlie’s temporary residence (where I happened to be staying that night).     The beer flowed nicely for the 8 non-drivers and parking was surprisingly easy for Shergs and Gus – a good outcome all round.   Conversation was animated throughout the initial session with many a pleasantry.   AC seemed to get a rough deal throughout the evening, with his skiing style being (unfairly?) mocked and the description of the colour of his hair drawing much debate (was it grey, white or green?).  I guess he deserved this as he spent much of the night (unsuccessfully I would point out) trying to get Ingrid to pick him up with a cab at his local train station.

We moved on the the neighbouring Bombay Spice – to a “private room” no less..  Meado (and Jules even more passionately) was upset that we could not negotiate any cut-price  food although the service was friendly and we did get a few free popadums.  The attempt at the Jal Begunhee was fairly pitiful however and Mr Bail’s quail starter was a first at a Lads’ Curry.  The food was generally pleasant and we even managed to squeeze in a fine’s session (much to my delight).  Plenty of the old favourites, with the dyed hair and rugby shirt making a welcome reappearance (Gus has since told me that he has a little thing for rugby shirts too – on women of course).    The bill came to £30 per head, with the small excess being donated to Mitch as a contribution to the annual fee he pays for the privelege of owning this very website...     I think that it must have been a good evening as when I nudged Mr London for the write-up that he had promised to produce, he said that he could remember nothing of the sort...


Thursday 24 November - organised by Mr Amos (late pull-out by Mr Meade)
Golden Jubilee meeting.

Attendees: Amos, Mitchell, Tinworth (left early), Biggles (arrived late), me.  Excuses included conference on South Coast, trip to Holland and babysitting (Ken).

Weather - clear and cool

Pub - Cheshire Cheese, off The Strand.  Has a games room downstairs with darts, babyfoot, quiz machines, bar billiards. We played for a couple of hours. Overall winner on points - Amos.

Curry - Sitar restaurant. Very posh - monkfish, I ask you, the bastards.

Afterwards - Girl with tiny shorts running over bridge. Weird.

Wednesday 7 September 2011 - organised by Mr Meade
It was a gathering to welcome Jules back to the UK.   Members of the Lads’ Curry club (can I call it a club?) gathered in their masses.  Even Ken made one of his rare appearances.  Actually, Creights and Selly had to pull out, Henry was on babysitting duty and Broughts did not show (why does he not just say that he cannot make it?).    We met at the quirky Wax O’Leary (I think that is the name) near Leicester Square.  In spite of fairly late start and the slowest service ever, it was an animated gathering.  Amos was taking it easy as he was driving (car parked in Hammersmith?!) as Mr London announced that he had come by bike and had left his bike in his London Club.   Very sophisticated.   Two quick fire pints and chats about various holidays (Amos 3000 mile trip through France speaking some excellent French on the way),  Meado’s Portugal fraud experience and so on Mitch led us to Mr Meade’s latest 50% off deal – a fairly average curry with no Cobra or Kingfisher and small portions.   So small in fact that Mr Amos declined to start until his main had arrived, until he realised that the main was already on the plate in front of him.  Much conversation, reminiscence of Bailo’s wedding (scene of Downtown Abbey filming) and great ambitions hatched of a curry evening where we could truly let our hair down and stay over locally (Bail was given this task which means that it will never happen I guess).    Biggles was there too, but funnily enough I can’t remember much about him that night..xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

What of Jules, I hear you ask?   Well. I was truly worried as he had told me that very morning that he was looking forward to meeting in the evening.  He was a no-show however..   He called early the next morning to say that he had somehow forgotten about it.  He then went on to say that having not worked for a while, his brain had gone a bit numb and apologised.  Not a great tribute to Grainne.      Next meeting will be number 50.....

Thursday 28 April 2011 - organised by Mr Meade
It was another fine gathering and it was the eve of the Royal wedding!  “Let’s go posh” bellowed Mr London in his e-mail – so that’s exactly (well kind of) what we did.   In spite of many late pull-outs (apologies to those who could make the previous date but not this one), we were able to make a good old night of it..  (I like it in a smaller group, you get to chat more – H. Naylor 28/4/11).  The meeting point was at the Captain’s cabin pub -  a nice little haunt near Piccadilly where we joined by AC junior (Creights) and AC senior (Mr Creights), who incidentally very kindly bought me a pint of lager.    I seem to remember that AC has a habit of bringing family members to these events (didn’t he once bring Ingrid along for a drink, only to leave her outside in the car while he munched on his curry?)

NT, Gus, Mitch and I wondered down to the Mint Leaf just in time before the 50% off menu offer expired (thank goodness for the 50% off, we would be pretty much broke otherwise), where we eventually met up with DL and H (on time!!).  This was after we had a wonderful time with the two Mint Leaf hostesses, who definitely showed a penchant for older men (older men who essentially looked like me)..

The food was pretty good, the conversation possibly spicier than the food itself.  It was a slightly more intellectual gathering than the usual riffraff that comes along, but a good time was had by all (although Mitch was obviously struggling to follow at times)..   The bill was slightly more than we are used to (Mr Tinworth being the exception - and not because he is used to expensive curries)

The early curry meant for a nice walk amongst the wedding preparations to another pub where more beer was consumed (some of us struggled a bit after the curry to be honest).  A rendition of the national anthem by men dressed in the Union Jacks was trumped by Mr London who classily reeled off the whole of the second verse (to the congratulations of the entire pub).  They stopped him as he started the third.  Oh yes, a game of Royal Top Trumps finished off the evening quite nicely.  It was bedtime for most, as H and I batted on until the early hours (ok, the slightly later hours...)xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Thursday 28 November 2010 - organised by Mr Meade
 The calm before the storm...   No, I am not referring to the imminent snow but of course to the Ashes.   This was most certainly the "Pre-Ashes" Lads' curry, where everybody seemed to have views on the outcome and intricacies of the forthcoming battle (except for Gus and Shergs who talked about rowing).  As it was the first Lads' Curry in my memory not to include a fine's session, they pretty much got away with it, and I must confess that even I was interested that Shergs had donated an 1/8th (I presume) of a boat to the Downing Boat Club (the boat came from Italy, but they nearly had it delivered to the Isle of Wight and rowed it across the Solent to avoid some UK tax - the things that this RBS bankers will do to avoid paying tax).
 The evening was a good one.   We met in an old favourite  - the Coat and Badge and followed this by the spiritual home of the Jal Bagunhee, the Samratt (venue where Ingrid once waited outside for AC as she felt that she was not welcome to the Ineer Circle)..  Banter aplenty about the Ashes, with Bail's experience, Mitch's collected views and Henry's total over-excitement..  We even had a 30 quid sweep with all our various projections - a sweep that will hopefully this will be forgotten about so that I can hold on to the cash (Mitch was the only person to back Australia...). Clearly none of us had anticipated what would occur on the 3rd delivery of the series.  As I  write this however, we are sitting in a fairly comfortable position after day 2 of the Adelaide test inwhat feels as a real shift of power, and this in spite of an unforgiveavble leave by the England skipper..
 Enough of the cricket, although I repeat, that is pretty much all that we spoke about.   Gus seemed very curious about when everybody was going to retire (he has already bought his second pad in London), making us all feel like underachievers by rallying off a list of ex--Downing contemporaries already to have done so..  As the evening drew towards an end, Shergs and the drivers made their way home to catch the first few deliveries as the usual suspects (Bigs, Bail, Naylor, Gus and Selly) stayed behind to sup a final beer or two..

Wednesday 21 July 2010 - organised by Mr Meade
A fine group of 8 of us gathered at the Cittie of Yorke for a midsummer curry night. There was a sense of anticipation in the air as it was generally felt that Meado had made an excellent choice of venue. 

Mitch was the first to arrive, attired in shorts (surely a curry night first) and to his disappointment discovered the fine venue to be only partially open, and worse than that it had NO BEER. Well no proper beer. So after a quick pint of lager (nut brown ale for Pacman which he loved all the way to the moon and back) the six who made it to the pub decamped to the Red Lion up the road where they served a proper ale.  

One of the earliest attendees (another first I'm sure) was Mr Naylor in his first appearance as a Dad so much head wetting was performed. Ken and Charlie P made up the rest of the original party and Charlie regaled us with tales of dareing do from his travels with vilified Tony. And whilst we discussed this we were able to intercept Biggles who was striding athletically up High Holborn towards the curry house.      

So that made seven of us. But what of our Leader Mr Meade. Well a series of texts and voicemails revealed that he "wasssh runninghhh late". It would appear that he had had a couple of swift ones a little earlier and declined our invitations to join us in the pub, choosing to head straight to the restaurant (to where he had tried to divert Biggles) and wait for us there sending an increasingly pleading set of texts.   

We joined him eventually at the curry house opposite the Masonic Lodge for some fine banter. A plot to fleece the bookies by implanting CP in the Ceo betting was hatched. And Bailo and Bigs became so excited they knocked their beer over. The food was frankly a little disappointing and we left with Bailo trying to persuade Meado to join him for one for the road. 

A brilliantly organised evening as always. Thoroughly enjoyable although personally Rick I would have preferred it if you had arranged it in Putney.  

Thursday 13 April 2010 - organised by Mr Meade

It was a gathering of an elite crew.  Notable absentees were Mitch (Meado is pulling away on the score) and Mr London (pulled a last minute sickie).    The Lads + Broughts gathered in South Ken, at a very respectable Hoop and Toy pub.  We managed to squeeze the 8 of us around a fairly small table and banter was abound after such a long break.   Unfortunately for Charlie, it was mainly revolved around the impending golf tour to the Belfry  (where Meade should have little problem defending his crown).  Amos had different ideas and AC was extremely keen to tell everybody about the excellent progress he has made on the slopes (he can now parallel turn on the green slope), and Broughts looked a picture of summer in his well-thought out costume which included green, yellow, brown and no doubt a bit of pink.

Meado could not quite finish the pint that he had never asked for and Henry joined us just in time to head off across the road (without Broughts) to the infamous “”Kwality Tandoori”.   The food was tasty, although the portions were not overly generous.   Charlie (who is heading off to Dubai in June, I believe) somehow resisted ordering the starters and the bill came to a recent record low of just 20 pounds.    Conversation was interesting and diverse.   I remember making inappropriate fines and convincing Bail that I really did believe that I was more talented than they were and could have been a better tennis player than AC and cricketer than Bail (and they seem to take me seriously..)    Amos drove AC back home again (apparently AC was full of fun), and Henry assumed his future parenting responsibilities by not accepting Bailo’s (congrats on the new job) offer to go clubbing.   I imagine that Bigs and Bailo grabbed their usual cab home and compared their traditional notes.


Thursday 17 December 2009 - organised by Mr Meade
The Christmas Lads’ curry.  What started with initial interest of 13 people ended with 7 jolly punters.  Various excuses were offered – the usual bad one by Broughts and other somewhat more plausible weather and work-related ones.   Meado and Mitch met early doors at the well-attended Princess Louise (fast turning into the Christmas venue), followed by Biggles and the rest of the group in fairly steady succession.  Charles announced his arrival with some aggressive baiting, to which several of us rose to.  He also announced a sixth member of his family (a little puppy) – nice to see him smitten.   The beer (inexpensive, but certainly drinkable) flowed nicely (more lager drinkers than bitter drinkers – must have been a first), and the banter commenced.  Sports and women essentially.   Good to see Mr Sellars turn up (against the odds) and Mr London (non-confirmed)

 We then braved the icy roads of the West End and ended up in a restaurant opposite the posh venue from the previous year.   The Bhatti was not posh, and the dinner started with a bit of friction when we found out that they had given away our table (admittedly we were 30 minutes late, but they did not use that argument).  After some diplomacy by Mr Meade, followed by some threats (a bad review on the website!), they booted out the other group (who were much bigger and tougher than us) and sent them packing downstairs.  The food was ok, just ok.  Wasn’t overly impressed by Charlie’s ordering.  The conversation was animated however.  We played a lot of I spy (well Henry and Dave L did), followed by amusing conversations about Mason’s.  Much beer was consumed, before the final argument/discussion with the staff about the amount of tip on the bill (Biggles was particularly adamant that they did not deserve the full amount), before being greeted by the much-anticipated snowfall as we trundled back home...

Wednesday 26 August 2009 - organised by Mr Meade
I knew that I should have written this latest meeting up earlier...   My weary and often numb mind struggles to recall many of the highs of our lively Covent Garden escapade, but I will try.....   Indeed it was Convent Garden which hosted only the second gathering of 2009.   For some reason, I found the venue of the “gathering for beer consumption” amusing – the Punch and Judy.   I was excited at basking in the sun with some good pals, observing the tourists and the fun that Covent Garden offers.     Lots of rain and a few dodgy pints later, the gang decided to change venue – to the significantly better pub down the road, opposite Oliver the play.  It was a pretty good turn-out.  Mr London had made most of his journey by bike, and Mr Sellars was a late acceptance and managed to wangle a night in his London residence (shouldn’t we all be staying with Selly?), even Henry was able to find us after a few initial problems.  Broughts didn’t join us.  Meado also managed to widen the gap from Mitchell by a strategically chosen date....

What else do I remember about the evening?  Another 50% deal, which always seems to come to the same price (deal or no deal) – namely early 30 pounds area, a lively fines session, another failed fine by AC for anybody dyeing their hair (AC, jealousy will get you nowhere old man), an otherwise empty restaurant, some passionate post-Ashes cricket chat, a fun game of I spy,  Bail and Naylor looking for victims for a couple of post-dinner drinks, a lively cab ride home for Meade, Kenny (thanks for the bed) and BigLegs.   Biggles also announced that some of the wives were upset about previous comments  about them on the website.  I must say that this was totally unintentional - we never meant to give girls access!  Oh, and Amos was there too...
 

Thursday 23 April 2009 - organised by Mr Meade
We decided to revisit the unforgettable restaurant where Bobby Rao finally made a name for himself.   It was quite emotional (even though Bobby was not with us this time).  The evening started at the Tea Clipper in Kensington, a last-minute replacement for the Bunch of Grapes.  The venue was met with a mixed response from the 9 lads, and although it was chosen for the outdoor space, it was pretty much devoid of this and the sun chose not to be present.  The Tea beer proved interesting (until it ran out) and the goings-on in the toilets raised a few eye-brows.    The clientele was pretty upmarket and the barmen were fairly useless.  The cars driving by caused some envious looks and the old conversation of “if we had each put £50 aside each month for the past 20 years, we could have bought a pad for us all to crash in.....” came up again.    Other normal conversation resumed, talking about the exploits of yesteryear and how the girls from college did not look quite as “fresh” as they did in the olden days (with the exception of Bridie of course)...

Off we tootled to Shezan for another 50% offer (to Ken’s dismay, the bill seems to come to £30 whether we have the offer or not).  The fines session was fun, although far from being lethal and it was particularly good to have Charlie back from Baku (and to order the starters).  Charlie is climbing the ranks of BP, reporting directly to the CEO (in fact, he is his dog’s body).  I seem to remember that Gus is moving house soon (I might have made this up, but he makes things up every other year when he writes the Downing “class of 85” update), and I remember ordering about 10 naans too many...  Broughts was chauffeur to Mr Proctor and possibly AC for some part of the way.  Mr Amos seemed strangely to be pushing for a bit of clubbing, whilst Mr Bail headed back to Twickenham with Kenny.  Separate beds of course.  Oh yes, I was quite fixated by the grumpy waitress...



Wednesday 18 December 2008 - organised by Mr Meade
A festive lads’ curry a week ahead of Christmas.  A reasonable turnout (Charlie came all the way from Baku) and as well as the customary last minute pull-out from Broughts, there were late pullouts by Birch, Jez (I have been out too much recently) and a no-show by Henry (although I did receive a text from him at 1 am asking if we were still about).   The venue was the Holborn area and I received several commendations for the choice of pub :  the Princess Louise.  The beer was apparently good (as was the lager) and the pub was cosy to say the least.  Beers flowed aplenty (cheap at £1.80 a pint), but the highlight of the session was when Gus asked Charlie and Mitch (?) to try to find a less crowded area in the pub.  They duly found an area only to return half an hour later to ask Gus why he hadn’t joined them.  “It suddenly seemed to get less crowded in this area, so I didn’t feel the necessity to move any more”.
We moved on to an extremely plush restaurant – the Moti Mahal (another ½ price deal which nonetheless still cost £35 a head).  A posh cocktail followed by a nice meal.  We were surrounded by the local language school in full festive swing, but it struck me that we had a few high flyers around the table ourselves – Shergs single-handedly running the ABN / RBS merger (or perhaps asking himself why RBS did it in the first place), ambitious Bobby soon to take over the reins at Vodafone (well, he still has his chauffeur), Charlie reporting in directly to the CEO at BP, and well, the rest of us.
It was another fine evening as we all went our different ways in the fine December rain..   Happy New Year

Friday 27 June 2008 - organised by Mr Naylor
Another fine outing, but this time with an extra little bit of spice to it to it…  The starters were most certainly not left to Mr Proctor (although back from Baku, still could not make the outing), but were in the form of a 20/20 cricket match at the Oval wonderfully orchestrated by Mr Naylor. A disappointingly late 3 pull-outs owever. Cruel as it is to mention the names of Mr Tinworth and AC, some would say it is unsurprising to find the name of Mr Broughton amongst them (apparently one of the lights in his new conservatory wasn’t working properly). Their £15 will go nicely towards the next meeting (even though we managed to place two of the tickets with some shrewd touting by Mr Meade).
The cricket itself was just alright (dead rubber between Surrey and Middlesex), but there was entertainment aplenty. The beers were downed fairly swiftly (and we even succeeded in the challenge of forcing Bail to lift himself off his backside to get his round in). Plenty of bets were had throughout the game (Dave – stick to your day job) and we were even able to spot a few beauties in the crowd (especially towards the end of the game).
Off we trundled (and trundled and trundled) to the Indian establishment (it’s only at the next set of traffic lights – said Mitch for the tenth time).  We were welcomed by an empty restaurant and a somewhat baffled restauranteur. He didn’t seem too ready to get to work, but the beers soon flowed and the fines session was one of the longest that I can remember. I think that we picked on Gus quite a lot. We tried to pick on Jez, but somehow he gave it the "I can’t drink too much, I have a wedding to drive to tomorrow" excuse  not really in the 20/20 vein I feel. He will learn.…  Oh, and Biggles was there too.

Wed 27 February 2008 - organised by Mr Meade

DA - WAT???
The Lads braved the Brick Lane ghetto and there were plenty of relieved faces upon entering the relatively safe surrounding of the "Pride of Spitalfields".  We somehow managed to negotiate a nice little corner of the pub and soon got stuck in to the fine selection of bitters and my lager.   It was good to see Gus again (all the way from Newbury - somewhere near the Welsh border) and of course Mr Waller, the prodigal son recently (well over a year ago) returned from the USA.  Biglegs and Jez had plenty to talk about (US schools, commutes, chilly winters - it really was quite fascinating).  At a par was Mr Amos' (over) excitement at owning 10% Power Shared - his horse who was designed for hurdles, but seems to be running on the flat (and courteously regularly finishing after his fellow competitors).   AC was good enough to join us for a few beers before crying off with a pretty nasty (and well-concealed) cough and Mr Tinworth arrived just in time to buy his round.  Mitch, well Mitch was  his reliably self notching up yet another tick on the attendancy record.

Over to the restaurant.  Now I had done some prospecting (well 2 mins of it) and was won over by the management of the Dawat's (basically lots of discounted food and the best table in the house).  Funnily enough, somebody was already sitting at our table (by the window) when we arrived.   In spite of this, the food was pretty decent and I thought we did ok for £20 a head (I only paid £10 - reminder for next time).   Conversation was aplenty, with remarkably few embarrassing ordeals.  The fines sessions was fun but although initially picking on Jez (he has never gone out a Downing girl, although he has since stipulated that he has snogged several), but we gave this tact up as he never seemed to take his fines properly.

The evening drew to a close as all headed homeward (Tinworth to his dual-residence in Canary Wharf and Meado to the flat that he managed to borrow from a friend at the remarkably convenient St Katharine's dock).    Brick Lane was a surprising success...

Thurs 15 November 2007 - organised by Mr Meade
It was another successful evening. The location was in the extremely elegant surroundings of Chelsea (ok, Meado got another half price deal that took us there). The quality of the clientele at the Pig's Ear made up for the somewhat remote location (ok the directions should have stated from Sloane Square tube, not from Sth Ken tube - sorry Kenny). The group grew to a solid number in spite of the now traditional last minute pull-out be Broughts (car broken down - excuse number 13 on his list) and Mr Sellers being called up to Nottingham for the night. Beer was drunk, Broughtie's party was discussed (sorry Dave), as was of course the big news that the Proctors were moving to Azerbaijan (something that everybody apart from I seemed to know). Ken also bored us to death about his strange theory about Russian football clubs (what was it again?)

We moved on to Nirvana on the King's Road, ad this proved to be a fine venue. There was a mysterious private room at the back seemingly full of stunning (well, say 5 cobras) young girls, but none of us could pluck up the courage to try to impress them with our wit and general good looks. The food was more than edible (the diminutive starter order seemed to go down well), and nobody could seem to get in between Mr Mitchell and Mr London (known as snippy) - the new Tumbridge neighbours. We hear that they even do their shopping on Saturday mornings together.... Bail and Timworth turned up a bit later on in the evening where the effects of a fairly fluent fines session were beginning to show on a few of us.

A healthy session indeed, with many a laugh and surprisingly few drivers this time around. It was agreed that we would head off to Brick Lane for the next one...

Thurs 9 August 2007 - organised by Mr Meade
Brookie is back...   After an initial unenthusiastic response to Brookie's homecoming, the turnout was nothing short of spectacular. Brookie and Meado warmed up with a swift couple with Carry and Wints in the City before proceeding to a surprisingly good Clarenden Pub in Brookie's old hunting ground - Pimlico. Athers (sporting his lovely pink tie and fine wit), Broughts (with his slicked back hair and smarting at having avoided the congestion charge) and Mitch (just being Mitch) greeted us passionately (well greeted Brookie passionately) . The gathering grew to an extremely commendable 10 people including an unannounced yet very welcome turn-up by AC and his full head of hair (apparently you cant tell that he has grey hair when it has been cut..). Good banter was had, the fines session was nearly forgotten, but turned into a good one and we all agreed that Amos had gone weird and that we should find him a job.

We moved down the road to Nutmeg - a fine Indian establishment which offered the now customary half price food deal. In spite of abuse aplenty, Charlie found himself ordering the starters again and I seem to remember that they even made an attempt (albeit terrible) at a Jal Beghunee. The rest of the meal was animated to say the least and we all had a pleasant surprise when the bill arrived. Biggles had to help Meado with his 10 timess table and both Meado and Athers avoided paying (AC is owed 10 pounds).   Meade had clearly had a few too many as he ranted on provocatively about his Doomsday scenario for the financial markets to a resolute trio of Bigs, Bail and Naylor (only Naylor seemed to heed caution) before heading off on his eventful trip to his Travelodge in King's Cross.    It was all about Brookie this time however - he was on surprisingly (some would say) good form, and the evening was very much the better for it (let's get him slightly tipsy again before the next one ....)

Thurs 14 June 2007 - organised by Mr Meade
It was another highly enjoyable outing by the Lads' curry boys. The Kensington pub was excellent (4 pinter on facyapint.com), with a quaint old-type interior and a nice terrace. The only problem was that it was smoky inside and damp outside. We managed to make the most of the conditions (a bit like Mr Creighton and his fine cricket display at the Oval that day) and what might have been a small gathering turned into a highly respectable one. Mr Tinworth even managed to join us at the last minute as we unprecedently drove to the restaurant (not Bobby's chauffeur this time, but simply Amos, Broughts and Charlie). The cars did help, as there wasn't a decent curry restaurant in sight (in spite of my reconnoitre and help from a flower salesperson, a local Indian person and a cute female PC who seemed quite taken by me - possibly she knew about my cosmetic surgery).

The 10 of us did manage to squeeze around a tiny table at our old Notting Hill favourite, Malabar - the one with metal plates. AC was so emotional that he could not even think of a first round fine, whereas Mitch seemed to be suffering from a long day watching Queens (and the prospect of a long journey home). Mr Rao's regional food expertise (were we a bit mean about him last time?), but the food itself did receive an overwhelming voice of approval and was reasonable. Mr Naylor had some real positives about his career and Mr Sellers announced a newcomer to the family (and yet he did not buy the drinks..). I cant quite remember what reduced Amos to tears, but the fact the we were able to convince Broughts that my cosmetic surgery (eyes lasered) involved first my left ear then another member of my anatomy (which thinking about it could probably do with it) caused much amusement, as did Broughts neglecting to consider any light/reflection issues of installing a big screen in his new conservatory (to watch the cricket in the summer...) As Mr London and Tinworth marched off to the tube (left right, left right), it was time for us all to reflect on another fine evening.. Bring on August 9th and Mr Brooke...

Thurs 22 Feb 2007 - organised by Mr Meade 
Who says that I do not update the website after each curry night?
It was a classic. The turnout was one of the best for a long time and the atmosphere was exceptional - attracted by the upmarket venue, perhaps?. Another late pullout by Mr Sellars and Mr Broughton, but it was Mr Rao's first attendance, and he made his mark - more later. Mr Russell was also missing and I am just waiting to see how long it is until he actually realises that we are intentionally sending all messages to his old address.
Enough of that - we started off in Knightsbridge at the Bunch of Grapes . Amos threatened to buy us all beers to celebrate his 40th, but I cant seem to remember if that actually materialised. It was a lively 3 or 4 pints, where Mr Meade was mocked for not knowing where Bordeaux wine comes from (who's the fool?). Bobby has in fact insisted on buying his Bordeaux in California (rather than Bordeaux) as his arbitrage on the forward Eur/Usd exchange rate had worked in his favour.
After 3 phone calls from the restaurant (did they really think that 12 hungry lads were going to turn down a 50% off food offer?), we braved the Brompton Road and made it to the select London area known as Cheval Place and the fabulous Shezan restaurant, where we met Mr Creighton. Fine form was displayed by all. Mr Proctor had the luxury of ordering the mixed starters (which were as delicious as they were expensive) and Mr Bail was able to order his favourite Jal Begunhee (which proved somewhat disappointing). We were sat around a square table with plenty of beer and a high-quality fines session. Mr Rao not only seemed to have most fines directed towards him, but this is where he truly started to take over - beating the poor waiter into submission. "What's good here? Do you know my friend who comes here all the time? Is this Punjabi food? Where do you buy your mutton?" Entertaining in a slightly excruciating manner. Henry turned up later on in the evening (in time to join in the fun) and it must have been a fun as Henry, Charlie and I decided that we should try to get to the Windies for the cricket (somehow, Ines was not too impressed when I mentioned it). The food got everybody's seal of approval (esp. Bobby's), although the bill  made for some interesting analysis , with quite a few extras.
There were further heated conversation and I seem to remember that Mr Timworth nearly showed us all his Lamb Sheesh Kebab. It was a late finish as Mr Rao pulled away in his chauffeur-driven Merc and Mr Proctor dropped Meado at his Gloucester Rd B B (£25 - for the hotel room that is..).

Thurs 12 October - organised by Mr Meade 
An eventful evening was has by all. We visited some of old haunts starting at the Coat and Badge in Putney. A notably late pull-out by Selly and a no-show from Mr Tinworth, but an otherwise excellent turnout. SW London talent was upto its usual fairly high standards, I am sure that most were impressed with a fine array of middle-aged men sporting their best suits and all sorts of modern technology (Broughts was there with his memory stick - yes Broughts actually turned up this time). Henry turned up with the mildest of colds, which the lads all believed was his excuse to ensure that nobody would stay at his that night (harsh, I think), and AC was looking somewhat nervous ahead of the weekend festivities which involved playing doubles with a former British number 1. Although many of the lads were driving, they managed to whet the whistle and some of the old favourite conversations popped up (notably Broughts' stag and the list of women he did or didn’t sleep with). Football was pretty much off the menu after the Macedonia debacle.
Things spiced up as we headed off the Samratt - the home of the Jal Begunhee. Mr Bail was not disappointed.. The fines session was humorous before yet another vicious assault on Mr Meade and some of his apparent fantasies (notably the rugby shirt one - what's wrong with that?). It was an extremely funny evening with much laughter - who says that lads cannot have fun without having a gallon of ale inside them?
Brick Lane was mentioned again as was a barge w/e - to be considered...


Wed 19 July - organised by Mr Meade 
It was a pleasant meeting on a pleasant July summer's evening.  The venue was Kensington in a rather lovely pub called the Devonshire Arms.  It was in fact chosen by an enigmatic and beautiful Greek female colleague of mine, who insisted on convincing me to try one of the superb burgers served at the pub.  Some people simply will not understand the meaning of a Lads' Curry.  Anyway, she is looking for a man, if anybody has any ideas.  The pub had a fantastic terrace with plenty of interesting things going on (especially if you get inside Mr London's vivid mind).   I must admit that the two pretty girls leaning on the wall did in fact only  have eyes for eachother.   The beer flowed and Mr Bail and Mr Creighton were celebrating new arrivals in the family,  so the atmosphere was good.  There was also significant talk of how to turn our curry eating habits into a profitable organisation (or at least a free curry for the night..)  This will be on the agenda for the next meeting..   There were however not too many curry houses in the area, but we managed to find one that had simply the worse review I have ever read.   Luckily, the curry was of a fairly high standard, and post fines session and after AC had to shoot off early (I am out every night this week - football one night, tennis the next etc..), the conversation got rather heated and the topic of the Middle East dominated.  Many a view, and an eerily thorough understanding displayed by Mr London.  Not everybody agreed with him of course.   Mr Amos started the exodus (driving again) as Mr Russell followed shortly afterwards.  Mr London was conveniently stayng 200 yards down the road, causing much jealousy.  That left Mr Meade (staying at Henry's and desperate to go home), Mr Naylor (desperate not to go home), and Mr Bail (on a mission and desperate to finish everybody's beer - including mine) chatting to the waitor for an hour about why England did not win the World Cup (again...).  By the way, Brookie is in town from the 14th August.

 

Thurs 7th February 2006 - organised by Biggles
An excellent turn-out (when did we last score a dozen?), which served to overcome the disappointment among some that Monstro did not show up . A commendable number of bitters were drunk at the Chequers with scarcely a lager on show (in part due to the late arrival by mr Meade). Ken was clearly celebrating on the back of BP's record profits by ordering such a large round that all three brands of bitter on tap gave out.
After a brief fines session (old favourite of anyone who does not drive a swedish car), we then proceded to a rather upmarket curry house where we were joined by messrs Naylor and Tinworth (in his coat of many colours). We then settled in for a very enjoyable couple of hours of eating (a passable jal-begunhee was served, even if mr Bail did not consider it to be quite the real mccoy) and merry banter which was only punctuated by the arrival of what was easily the biggest bill in LadsCurry history.  Oh, and yet another no-show by Broughts.

Thurs 8th December
The Lads met up in a somwhat different venue - central London.   It is hard to find somewhere that suits everybody, but we opted (under AC's heavy influence) to meet at the old, traditional and heavily over-crowded Red Lion Pub in Mayfair.  There were no-shows from Shergs and Bail (although admittedly, they were never 100%) and a tremendous performance by Biggles, who opted for the Lads' Curry option ahead of his office party.  A nice turnout nonetheless in a pub that I am told serves a good pint, but certainly not a quiet relaxing one.   Mr Russell was amazingly generous with his rounds (he seemed to buy every other beer) and Henry was unexpectedly on time.
We popped across the road to the un-posh posh Mayfair Tandoori in Shepherd Marrket.   Mr Amos soon turned up, although he (and only he, I think) was hugely amused by the fact that his tardiness was partially caused by the fact that Elvis was between him and the exit.  I guess that we will forgive him as it was his third event of the evening.   It showed, for soon before ordering the popadums, he quickly became infatuated by what must be described as a rather delectable waitress called Cynthia (beats the hell out of some of the people that have waited on us up to now).  The evening flowed nicely as we welcomed the christening of Mr London to the Lads' Curry.   He has turned into a proud father with a normal-ish job, but the Lads still have their doubts (not about the family, a lot of spies do have families)..   The curry itself was nearly as tasty as the hands that served us.  A short fines session was had, the highlight being for Bigs, who was fined for being a year below David Cameron at Eton, but had only ever heard of him about a month ago (a bit harsh, but...)
We had one for the road and then headed our merry way - Mr Meade back to H's for some Ashes highlights, and Mr Amos to whichever station is at the end of the Harpenden line... 
A worrying prospect - the girls want to have a joint curry with us sometime in March - I will collate views shortly...


Thurs 14th July - The first Lads' Curry for over six months mixed the good with the bad. It was pretty much all good, except Charlie's choice of restaurant (note how I try to deflect the blame - more later). It was a fine gathering of some fine individuals at the old favourite White Horse in Parsons Green. In spite of some difficult parking for Broughts (there was a space right next to the pub..), and Bailo turning up in a suit and tie (he has got a job!), a fine and lively time was had by all with some customary beautiful scenery. Charlie's initial remark of "I do not find younger girls attractive anymore" encouraged some passionate arguments from the lads and it was not long before Mr P reconsidered. Mr Mitch brought out some cute pictures of young Sophie Elisabeth (is that her name Broughts?), and it was great to see Mr Sellars in town all the way from somewhere Yorkshire way. Talking about the north, AC had the cheek to call up explaining that he was at Muirfield and therefore couldn't make it (he wasn't missed) and Mr Naylor had excused himself as he was on a 2 o'clock flight to Inverness. Needless to say, he missed his flight and was still on the train an hour away as I texted him at 11 pm. We picked up Biggles (some people have to work hard..) and went on to an old favourite - the Raj.. Well this must have been one of the greatest disappointments of all time! The ambience was good and we were expectant. The service was slow (I told you not to order starters), the staff were just about approachable and the food was pretty awful. We finally made it out about 2 hours later, and because so many people were driving, we didn't even have a decent fines session. We will have to make up for the disappointment at the next gathering - early doors in central London...

Mon 17th Jan 2005 - organised by Mr Meade again...
A Lads' curry on a Monday - a definite first. The prodigal son was back (Mr Pickstone), and Monday appeared to be the best day all round, although no-shows by AC, Birch and amazingly PAC brought the attendance figures down to 8. It was also remarkable with an early start to the curry (9 pm) and end to the proceedings (10.30). End for some, as I am told that Ken was in need of more some topping-up and dragged a couple of the lads down to the local Coat and Badge for a lively final tipple.

So, what of the evening? It was a celebratory evening after Mr Hoggard's remarkable feat in the test match, but it was of course the homecoming of Jules that was the highlight. His wit, elegance, cute little one-liners makes his current remoteness that much more difficult to accept (hmmm...) There was even a restaurant (next to the dingy and smoky little pub that we met in, and which we will not be meeting in again) called Chez Jules - another poignant plea for him to come home (hmmm...) The T-shirts that the waitresses wore (and that Jules try to buy off them) in Chez Jules said : "Oui mon Jules, c'est du poulet"

We moved on to the Khyber Pass.. Ken joined us after his 5 meetings (doesn't he work hard?) and we tucked in to our rather tasty curry (with a half decent Jal Begunhee). The highlight comment to me was when Amos was telling us when he was approached by a lady in a fast car late one night calling out - "are you looking for action?". Richard ran away in a shot, but we all concluded that she must have said "Are you looking for Acton?" Nick T, to his credit, phoned up at just before 10 saying that he was on his way, but it was all a bit too late for us on a Monday night. It was pointed out that Meado left some of his beer (really?) before embarking on his long trek home.

We all look forward to the Friday night Lads' curry in Henley over summer - good luck.

Thurs 18 November - organised by Mr Meade

It was a dark and stormy night. Meade and Williamson got absolutely drenched, much to the amusement of all others. It was a hearty few ales with a fabulous fines session back in the Coat and Badge in Putney, and AC was muttering his "best ever" again a few times during the evening, which speaks for itself. He even decided to keep some notes as he was having so much fun.  2 weeks on and I have given up waiting for them, so detail might be somewhat scarce.
Notable were Amos' special gift of being able to see in to the future. So convinced was he and so gullible were we, that we all chipped in some money and put it on Sir Rembrandt running in the 2.15 at Exeter the next day. It came in last and Amos is now known as the ex-predictor. There was much amusement caused by Meado's French movie star story and much delight at Charlie's announcement of a future third child. Others present were Ken (who yet again nearly came to blows with Broughts), Broughts himself looking smart as ever, Mr Bail and Mr Mitchell, who I seem to remember produced a cracker of a fine about somebody's name.
We then moved on to the Samratt - the spiritual home of the Jal Beguhni, which Mr Proctor had passionately advised us to avoid (become too posh, too expensive, not like the old days etc..). Although the restaurant was unusually noisy, a fine curry was had by all (although my dish was somewhat disappointing and the beers were tiny). The bill came to less than £20 each which was both pleasant and unusual.  The final impetus to the evening was provided by Mr Naylor who rolled in as drunk as he has ever been and started to talk his usual nonsense.
There was also lot of talk of some of the lads staying in hotels, but this proved to be a tad too difficult to organise... Next time...

Thurs 16th Sep - organised by Amos (and Meade).  Written by Amos

We met in Pimilco for what was a fine if relatively relaxed curry night.  Charlie got the evening off to a flying start by turning up on time and whilst waiting for company, busied himself by musing that Pimlico was actually a particularly poor choice of location, being equally inconvenient for everyone  - still its probably better than Angola.  Shergs, who was just popping in for a quick one, was perfectly content, having found a parking space right outside, but Biggles sealed the argument by pointing out that the Orange Brewery was actually flagrantly in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act, being that it is actually neither orange, nor (now it no longer brews the dodgy SW1 bitter) in fact a brewery.  We won't be going back me thinks.
The evening was notable for a number of no-shows.   Broughts had cried off earlier in the day, disappointing those who had anticipated a re-run of the paralympics argument with Ken.  Selly on the other hand just never appeared, and given that he lives near York, cannot really complain that Pimlico is any less convenient than any of the other venues we normally frequent.   Ken, Meado and Mitch were so late in arriving that I feel they should only be awarded half an attendance mark, however we were just about to depart for an earlyish curry, when in a display of unusually good timing, Henry appeared.
Ten days on from the event (I appear to have lost the report I wrote straight after), I'm struggling to remember the conversation at the Great Indian Tandoori, other than some interesting thoughts on wife-swapping provided by Mr Meade, although not to be repeated here!   Anyway we managed to persuade Charlie not to order starters, and generally the curries seemed to go down well.  Shergs (who was only popping in for a quick one) was still deeply ensconsed at 11 when Amos and Meado left to catch the train back to  Byfleet whereupon we engaged in some silly games and sillier drinking until 4am and both struggled badly the next day.


Wednesday 30th June - organised by Mr Meade (again..)

And what an eventful night it was. They turned up in the masses on what should have been an England semi-final night at the rather smart new Putney riverside location called the Boathouse. It was a splendid turnout – 11 of us in all including a marvellous debut by Mr Tinworth, a long-awaited reappearance by Mr Brooke (who flew in from Hong Kong especially) and a surprise appearance from Mr Russell, who promptly decorated the table with 11 pints of beer. Mr Creighton turned up after a hard days' work at Wimbledon. Beer was flowing nicely and the conversation was its usual animated self. We moved on to the Putney Tandoori (Proctor having banned the Samratt for being too posh). The curry was good, and the amount of sidedishes (ordered by that cheeky Mr Russell) matched the number of people present (in the whole of Putney). The bill was over £20 and I cant seem to remember Biggles complaining about it, which was somewhat bizarre. . The only complaint came from the restaurant as we had omitted a tip (by mistake), and poor old Kenny was the only one left in the restaurant to incur their wrath. Amos was a notable absentee, as was Athers (who was working at Kempton Park - hmmm...), and Brooke, Broughts and Meade trundled back to Mr Naylor's – and funnily enough Mr Meade got the floor, whilst the two others purred away in their lovely double beds..
 

Thurs 15th April - organised by Meade and Proctor

Small in numbers, great in quality. It was an excellent evening full of fun. We met in the Coat and Badge in Putney. Mr Bail and Biggles were the first there, looking like brothers. They have so many things in common of course - a dark overcoat, homosexual; black briefcases, and very impressive blackberries. Mr Meade was next, arriving to the very uncomfortable high pitch sound of the alarm inside the pub. He braved the pub to buy a beer, and by the time that Mr Mitchell and Mr Proctor (no he does not live Bray yet) sauntered along, we were being enjoying the charming waitress service on the terrace. The alarm was finally fixed, and we were then treated to a free round of drinks (a lads curry first?) and some chips for our discomfort. Conversation was animated and interesting, although Meade and Proctor got a ticking off for discussing schooling  - a bit harsh when Mr Bail spent most of his time telling us how he has now mowed the loan for the first time, Mr Mitchell kept talking about his sons infla'ted organ and Biggles spend a long time on his Blackberry. Oh, and we ran through Charlies Netty story '- one that Mr Mitchell had never heard..

We snubbed Samrat (too posh apparently) and ventured to the Taj Mahal on URR. What a treat we were in for. The food was excellent, although the music wasnt (Pretty Woman sung with an Indian accent?). We didn''t over-order the starters (Proctor was banned from ordering), and were taken aback as three of the main dishes came with a salad decoration. The stack of the rejected salad was impressive, but notwithstanding, the food was delicious (and they even had a very reasonable stab at the world famous Jal Begunhee). The bill was surprising in the sense that it was actually reasonable at only £16.13 each, and Biggles even left a 2p tip.
 

Thurs 12 Feb 2004 - organised by Mr Amos and written up by him too...

They came from all parts of the country for the first meeting of 2004. And so they should, given that this was the 25th Lads Curry Night. It developed into a fine evening although exhortations from a slightly T and definitely E Creights that it was "the best ever", were probably exaggerated. How could it compare with the Ken/Broughts "****ing tosser" debate (26 Oct 2000); Meade's killer dart humiliation (22 Aug 2001); the White Horse G-string scenery (29 Aug 2002) or indeed the champagne to celebrate Bailos engagement (1 May 2003). It did however make its mark in two ways in particular. At 12 attendees, it was by some margin the largest gathering ever and, by a considerably bigger margin, it was the most expensive, although more of that later. The attendance built steadily over the evening. Selly, AC and Meado bagged us a nice spot in the Antelope and with the appearance of Amos, Broughts, Athers and Ken we were soon into the swing of things celebrating Selly's new house and AC's new son. It was good to see Shergs again, straight from work, unlike Mitch who was rightly fined for being late having de-toured home. Bigs and Charlie completed the pub turnout, and the size of the throng meant a wide number of conversations, most of which I either couldn't hear or can't remember. I do however recall an "interesting" debate on the method of keeping the tyres inflated on a double buggy (AC/Broughts) and an intense interrogation of Meado as to why he has taken to carrying a black leatherette handbag with him.

We decamped to the Great India Tandoori where H was waiting patiently for us and Charlie decided to break with tradition and order everyone a starter. Having finally managed to persuade someone to make us a Jal Begunhee the curry was promising and most seemed to enjoy it. A lacklustre fines session preceded the arrival of the bill which at £30 was extraordinary. So extraordinary in fact that our usual negotiator Biggles was completely lost for words and we ended paying up meekly.      Here's to the 50th.

 

Wed 3rd Dec 2003 - The highlight of the session was undoubtedly the international appearance of Mr Russell, who very kindly invited us all to his house in the French alps. I hope that he wasn't too put off by the discussions that centred principally around golf and rugby. Mr Meade and Mr Broughton were driving, something that should really be banned on a lads' curry evening (although there was a noticeably poor showing by the London based boys..). Blame the late pull-out of Henry for that. Mr Mitchell was also a last minute pull-out (children, eh?) - and he will be paying for it on the next one (a pint down in one, isn't t it?). All this made for a more mild-mannered affair, in spite of AC's unforgettable shirt/tie combination (although they were fairly horrid on their own). We met in a splendid pub in Gloucester Rd (the Hereford Arms) and were graced by a newly-wed Mr Bail and where AC must be congratulated for interior decoration tips (where should they put their newly-acquired Christmas tree?) .. Although a fine time was had by all, the beers never really flowed and the conversation never really became too spicy. There is genuine concern at the lack of support for a good fines session. An extra effort next time please. We need Sellars back to push the pace along. The curry itself (down the road) was fairly tasty. We had a joker as a waitor and the general ambience was civil until the bill arrived. Biggles had a fit.. How could something so small cost so much? I guess that Biggles doesn't go out too much, cos to me £20 was the going rate these days. He left a nice tip - 15 1p pieces and 5 2p pieces. Happy New Year everybody...

 

Wed 17th Sep - Another fine turnout as member of the Lads' curry welcomed Mr Brooke to town. The evening started at 6.30 for the Brooke/Meade team, who got stuck in to the beers early doors after their team haircut. The lads met in the Leinster with Mr Broughton looking as smart as ever (you can see that he is now in the private sector now) and Mr Mit

Thur 8 Nov - The numbness of my head indicates that another fine evening was had   last night.  It was a good turn-out and a pleasure to welcome Biggles back to town.   We started in the Brick, with our raffle ticket lady, and some very tasty peanuts.   Conversation was based around United’s current demise and a revelation that most of   you blokes are decidedly below the national average (esp. Amos).  On to our favoured   Samratt, with its delicious food (no longer £13 a head unfortunately) and its ability to   bring out some interesting conversation (something that Mitch enjoys a lot at home, apparently).  The committee was hard at work (thanks for bringing the printout Mitch),   and the lads have agreed to March 30 2002 for Bailo’s stag, although a number of   those present thought this might be inappropriate for a man of Bailo’s dispostion.  All   sorts of suggestions were put forward (Reykjavik, Hamburg, Northern France, Spain etc..)  I will put forward some cost analysis before  the next Lad’s Curry evening to be organised by Mr Broughts.  The evening was nicely rounded off with a night-cap in the Jolly Gardeners with a game of let’s pick on Meado killer pool (which Meado won   anyway – the joy of writing these things!)

Wed 22 August  The hard core were present (no show by Broughts again) last night and the conversation was suitably spicy.  Fruit and veg were very much at the “front” of  everybody’s minds.  Randy Amos (on Orange juice and lemonade) was eyeing up everything in sight in the Coat and Badge.  Lovely pub, but terrible service..  The trip to  the Jolly Gardeners proved a disaster (lousy beer, and Meade first out in killer darts).   The Samratt was up to its usual high standards (as wall the Jal Begunhee) and Amos complained bitterly about the chairs no longer falling backwards.  Fines were a tad on the mellow side, but beer was consumed aplenty (which explains the lack wit and fruitiness that you come to expect when reading this column..)   Bail’s stag postponed  til next March..  Any more comments???

Thurs 28 June - As Henry did not send me a report as promised, I will endeavour to recount yesterday's jaunts...  It was a smallish party (5) organised by Mr Naylor (you all work too hard) last night, the highlight undoubtedly being the presence of Mr Biggles. The lads were on fine form as always, and the criticism of a couple of drinks at the Duke's Head followed by a curry on the other side of Putney Bridge proved unwarranted.  We in fact crawled our way to the India Cottage via the new O'Neills to be greated by a fairly excellent curry.  Beers were consumed aplenty and there was a noted lack of smut and controversy, although the topic of young, nubile, scantily clad maidens was broached occasionally and thought about often (though perhaps even less clad in our thoughts).  The thoughts of a lad's lunch time curry was suggested - any views??

Wed 17 May  After some last minute organising by AC, it was pleasing to see that the  hard core were present in Notting Hill, on a night to be remembered for Liverpool's fabulous UEFA cup victory (see Mr Mitchell's match report), and Kenny's bank machine incident.   It was difficult to keep our eyes away from the football match or from Broughtie's questionable shirt/tie combination (should ties be allowed on curry evenings?), and the beers flowed as they should do on a Lad's Curry evening.  The lads were in their usual high spritis (Broughts should really follow Mr Meade's example  and stay in London next time), and the Alphabet game was quite revealing (what a stud Mr Naylor is and we'll leave the X upto Bailo).   It was a late night which finished up with its usual controversy (unfortunately,  this time the topic was the rather mundane elections and the state of Britain - calm down Henry, you'll get your democracy back one day!).  If only we had known about the Prescott incident before... Oh, and beware, Henry is handling the next meeting.

Wed 29 March 2001    Another well-attended evening organised by Mr Amos in spite of  the tube strike (lucky the buses were working).  We went back to the Rat and Parrot on Gloucester Road, which provoked heavy criticism for slow service and lack of character.  The truth is that there were no pretty girls drinking in the pub.  We were graced by the presence of Mr Waller, and even Athers (who had to leave early to clean  up Izzy's flat), but Mr Shalders was not able to beat the tube strike - next time hopefully and Mr Creighton disappointed by not bringing along Tunners and Selly. Back to our usual curry dive round the corner in an evening that surprisingly lacked heavy controversy (where was Broughty?), but was in some part made up by Mr Bail's accounts of South American culture (or should I say conquests?) during his recent foray out there.  This was enough to ensure that his pre-stag stag will take place at the  beginning of September

Thurs 21 Dec 2000   "The Best Ever" AC kept muttering.  True it did have everything.   Frantic discussion, controversy, and a hard-working commitee. The restaurant, the Moti Mahal in South Ken  ("been around for 45 years Sir Richard") was the scene of many a revelation.  Mitch and his Magificent 7, Meado's Solitaire and Amos's Not Nearly Enough.  AC showed the more gallant side of his character with his "Ladies First" approach..  Much time was also spent discussing the lady in Bailo's life (Tricia, I  believe) and the prospects of wedding bells and a good old Stag night.   By the way, where was Nicky P.????

Thurs 26 Oct - Another well-attended evening organised superbly by Mr Mitchell in Pimlico.  Mr Broughton was in his usual controversial mood, provoking comments such as "You are a f***ing tosser"  from a usually mild-mannered Kenny. I am afraid that Mr Broughton's views were not shared by anybody last night.  Anyway, heated debate, plenty of beers, too many naan breads and a dodgy tummy the next day - the perfect ingredients of a successful Lad's Curry evening...  

Thurs 24 Aug - Organised (at the last minute) by Kenny in Putney.  Highlights were excessive drinking and Broughtie's Karaoke (Never gonna give you up...)

Mon 12 June - Organised by AC in Notting Hill (Broughts due to give birth imminently)..Highlights -  Poor game by England vs Portugal in Euro 2000 and numerous false alarm phone calls to Broughts. Good turnout.

Thurs 20 April - Organised by Mr Bail in Putney (Meado due to give birth).  Highlights - Ingrid being the first girl at a lad's curry evening (and the last), and AC drinking her fines.

Wed 8 March - Organised by Broughts near Sloane Square.  Highlights - Meado's absence due to ante-natal classes.  

Thurs 27 Jan  2000-  Organised by Meado in South Ken.  Highlights - Athers' attendence and his 2nd curry that day..

Wed 21 Dec 1999 (I think) - Organised by Mr Amos in Gloucester Road.  Highlights - a  couple of beers too many and a shabby curry.