willc.me

Since the ban on smoking indoors in public spaces the naughty ones have been forced outside into cattle pens they call the smoking area. But looking at it now, it’s interesting to see what this has meant for smokes and non smokers.

Working in clubs both before and after the ban there has been a clear difference. The government wanted to ostensibly stop the affect of second hand smoke on those innocent lambs who decided to destroy their livers instead of their lungs.

They thought that by ostracising the smokers by banishing them outside would cut don the amount of smokers and make people smoke less.

If anything, I’ve seen an increase of smokers as the people who don’t smoke accompany their smoking friends and gradually over time take up the themselves. It’s what happened to me.

Add to this the fact that now a new social culture has grown around the smoking area. In a club it’s certainly the easiest place to pick up members of the opposite sex. It’s quiet and you have the ultimate chat up line at your disposal. Got a light?

So instead of ostracising the smokers, the smokers have ostracised the non-smokers by creating their own little exclusive VIP area where entry is a cigarette. Well done government.

If you ever frequent the heart of London then you’ll be used to seeing open bus tours. The Original Bus Company among others take the tourists round the sites. Though last night I took a bus tour with a twist. The Corona Bus Tour.

The Corona Bus is a bright yellow bus covered in Corona livery. On it you can get as much Corona as you like and take in the sites round London.

They have a pretty impressive sound system on board which makes it a truly impressive party vehicle. They played dance music and we obviously danced.

Yet there are some concerning problems with getting drunk on a moving vehicle. It was the first time I’ve ever appreciated traffic lights as they provided a lull in the rocking motion with didn’t combine well with the copious amount of alcohol consumed.

If you’re ever invited aboard or want a special party then I’d definitely recommend it. There’s something about partying on a us with loud music and loads of beers under the stars that has a certain ring about it. At worst, it’s a different night out from the norm. At best, it’s a crazy ride. All hail Corona!

It seems that not a week goes by that I don’t receive an invitation to a masquerade ball. Or more normally just a themed night at a club. Last night was the first one I was actually excited to go to. The Last Tuesday Society put on a masquerade ball at the V&A t celebrate the opening of a new gallery. I normally would never go as by the very nature of them, they are always doomed to failure.

This is for a number of reasons. Namely that there is a massive air of expectation that we all have and as has been previously written about here, always sets a night up for a fall. When people go to these balls they want to live the dream of Eyes Wide Shut or the party in Gossip Girl. But in reality you never, ever, get that.

You arrive at one of these things in masks or whatever and the immediate thing that you notice is that most of the attendees aren’t wearing masks. Even the best of parties see a mediocre percentage of people in masks. And that kind of spoils it for everyone. It’s not really a masked party if people aren’t in masks.

Another annoying thing about it, especially last night at the V&A was the amount of people taking photos. It felt more like being on the set of a shoot than at a party and the people who had got into were permanently harassed by people with cameras.

So what was last night like overall? Surely great party people dressed to the hilt would bring about a masked renaissance. Well, no. To put it simply. It suffered the same problems as all the other masked balls despite being set in the beautiful Victoria and Albert Museum. Plus there were only 2 bars for about 2000 people so you had to queue to get drunk. It comes down to the fact that masked balls are balls.

It seems that every rapper at one point sings about having hotel parties. But it’s an experience that most people only have when they’re on holiday. Why don’t we do it more.

Hotel parties are great for a number of reasons. Namely the fact that you don’t have to do any washing up or even better cleaning the day after.

The fact that anything within reason can be done without consequences means that people lose their inhibitions much faster.

Last night a group of us ended up back at Blakes. Within seconds of arrival music blared from laptop speakers and room service had been called to bring us a load of booze to be left outside the door.

Someone wetted a towel and aimed to break champagne glasses by cracking the whip so to speak. Others stumbled and swayed. Everyone had a good time.

The thing is, you can get a hotel room on last minute for hardly anything, especially if it’s split between a load of people. Bring on the parties.

So as New Years rapidly approaches people are obviously preparing costumes. Last year was the first year that i found out that you’re meant to dress up for New Years even if you aren’t going to a costume party. This year there is a Las Vegas theme where I’m going. But how does one dress for that?

Some costume parties are really easy to dress for. Your 1920’s swing parties are relatively straight forward. Merely dress smart. They used to do an amazing night at the Grill Room in Cafe Royal where everyone would adhere to the 1920’s dress code really strictly. It meant that walking in through the door was like being transported back in time complete with music, proper champagne glasses as opposed to flute and beautiful outfits.

If they’re done well, costume parties are amazing. However, if they’re done badly and the dress code is along the lines of, “Come dressed as x, but if you don’t then it doesn’t matter that much”. It just means you have a few people dressed like clowns and the rest in normal clothing. Which takes away from it.

The problem with dressing up in theme for New Years is that so much happens and there are so many parties that by dressing in costume for one means that you’re direly out of place at the others. You don’t want to go to a toga party dressed like Elvis. That’d be a little strange.

The best place for costumes is Angels who supply TV and film costumes so they’re always amazing. I want to throw a Tudor party and have everyone dress up specially. That could be cool. If you need an outfit then definitely check out Angels.

So basically, if done well, costume parties are amazing. If they’re poorly organised then they’re normally like a normal party, just worse. Now where am I going to find a Vegas outfit?