Friday 7th August
Booking, random shopping and car cleaning / loading aside, Bex and I piled the car high with the supplies we needed and made for the motorway. The going was reasonably good and the only main complaint I could think of (there had to be one!) was that my choice of clothing could have been a little more summery and comfortable. The room was passable, though all of you Bill Bailey fans out there will be dismayed to note that there was a distinct lack of Trouser Press :(

After a brief fight over who would get which side of the bed and sorting out internet connection, we made our way into the centre of London. Future notes were made that we need to get a hell of a lot closer to the meetup than Borehamwood. 40 minutes in, 90 minutes out is a little long to stand up if the train is packed...

Eventually, we found the White Swan & Cuckoo and made our way in to be greeted by Londoners, none of whom were wearing NG T-Shirts. While slightly worried, we ordered drinks and texted Luis, who said that he would be there in 2 minutes. Fortunately, his exact time of arrival was soon forgotten as Dave (Shalashaska-1), Keith (KaynSlamdyke), Harry (Kirk-Cocaine) and Kez (TheHappySheep) amongst others, whose names or presences I have sadly forgotten. Apologies, guys and girl. One notable absentee was Leo (BananaBreadMuffin), as he was still acquainting himself with beer at the festival. Please feel free to mock him, I don't mind.

A special mention to resident Swede of the London Meet V (January had Andersson, after all), Rucklo, as he was very welcome and also the biggest guy at the meet. Bex later admitted that she liked his arms, so I'll have to hit the weights, I suppose.

Some incredible, some memorable and some downright laughable performances on the Karaoke ensued, with Luis declaring "Get this man a drink" a few times after competitors stepped down from the rostrum. Alas, these evenings just fly by when you are enjoying yourself and all too soon, we made our excuses and left. It was a reasonable half midnight by the time we got back to Borehamwood, so sleep followed soon afterwards.

Saturday 8th August
All you can eat breakfast. Such is the way of the Travelodge, that I ended up eating as much food as possible, to maximise my gains on this wonderful offer (I'm not getting commission from Travelodge, honest!) Anyway, after that great start to the day, we bussed / trained / tubed our way to Charring Cross and then took a leisurely stroll along Whitehall towards Westminster Bridge. Next time we come, we will make more time to do the touristy stuff. Stopping only for Ice Cream on Westminster Bridge, we made our way to the Eye and the masses that were gathering there.

After Dave and Luis eventually managed to get people to stand on the edge of Jubilee Gardens, we had numerous photographs taken. Some serious, some not so serious. We weren't particularly fussed, as it was damned warm out, so we headed for the Namco and the glory of the Air Con that went with it. Most of the gang made a beeline straight for the Guitar Hero machine, that Keith spent some time issuing ritualistic beatings to most comers on. Harry wasn't having any of that and eventually challenged Keith for an ultimate battle.

Shooting, air hockey, biking, bowling, dodgems - this place has a lot of fun and games. Looking up at the dismal cricket score, I resolved to play my heart out and promptly got a crisp £20 note changed into coinage for my gaming pleasure. Having said that, I didn't ignore people completely - I did have a chance to catch up with Cally, James (liljim) and the finally arrived Leo. I was accused of hustling on the bowling alley, as the first ball I bowled went for a strike and then the game went downhill for me. Cally kept things interesting, with the air ball and fun was the net result.

Conversations turned to voice acting over my burger, butting rudely into a conversation between Bex and Bezman, whose facial hair was looking much better than January, I must say. Apparently, I might be getting a few calls in the near future, so if you guys need me, hook me up with a PM, I work for peanuts and the enjoyment of the thing :)

Sustenance and conversations achieved, we packed up and headed for Hyde Park, which was a few stops away on the tube. Harry had some of the most amazing "Tube Hair" that I ever saw, with his dark mane flowing straight back over his face, which proved amusing for all in our carriage. Three independent groups of Newgrounders eventually found their way there and a football mirraculously appeared from somewhere, where a kick about was started up. Dean (EviLDoG) showed off his skills with his Dennis the Menace tie and certainly didn't disappoint.

When a few couples cleared the way for our raucous tomfoolery, we set up some goalposts and "lucky number 6" was the first pick of what would become team moderator, with Harry selecting both myself and Leo to his side. The game was on!

Some bright spark had set the goal up so that any bullet shot from 6 yards would be straight into the lazier / less sporting of the meet, so I reolutely stayed in defence for most of the first half, much to Leo's amusement - I'd like to see you belt a screaming shot at your girlfriend and get away with it, mate :P

Some amazingly frantic football followed, mostly dictated by Dean and Dave, opposing Harry and Paul. I got involved a bit and was really starting to flag by the time that we called it time and the group split into those wanting to freshen up, those after a quick drink and those like myself and Bex, who just needed to go home and collapse. 2 days down and what an amazing meet it had been so far.

Sunday 9th August
"We'll meet up for dinner and go for a few drinks" was Luis' decision for Sunday, so that left the pair of us with the day to ourselves. Tourism beckoned, so we hit the partially closed tube and headed for the Natural History Museum, where there is so much to take in that we would need weeks to describe it. The highlight for me was a cross section of the famous Sequoia, which was about 4ft thick and easily 40' in diameter. Looking at crystals and finely carved jewels had Bex in here element, so we stopped for a while. After being told by Luis that the gang was in Oxford street, we headed out, but not before a trip through the butterfly garden, which was certainly a relief to get out of, with the now refreshing summer sunshine of London actually feeling cool.

A quick route march across Central London was in order and walking 2 miles just to catch up with the group was fun in itself, let alone fighting through the human traffic that was walking against us. Still, we caught up with the group, just as they were leaving the meetup spot and Leo was making his way home. Another group breakup ensued, with the sheep of the group following each otehr in some sort of order (I presume) toward Leicester Square, where we met up with Tom and Dim, the Super Flash Brothers, neither or whom knew who I was. Bezman pulled out and unusual deck of cards and asked "Does anyone fancy a game of Jungle Speed, which he described as "Snap, but psychotic". It certainly proved to be that and we got so lost in the game that sadly Dim's bag was taken from outside the circle. A search ensued, but nothing followed. A quick whip-around was taken care of in the pub later and Dim thanked us all, but refused to take the money.

Did someone say Pub? Yes, we walked off down from Leicester Square and into the Slug & Lettuce, where beverages were consumed. Down to my last few pennies, I purchased a pitcher of pimms and distributed the fruity concoction to the masses. I think that it would have been nice to see Rucklo drink this stuff, as that's the best thing I can think of to welcome someone to the UK with. Perhaps next time - he seemed to enjoy the meet so much that I suspect he will return.

Dog tired and legs aching from all of the walking, we headed back across London to the hotel once more.

Monday 10th August
After a near heart attack inducing moment of fear - arriving back at the hotel and finding out door wide open, but nothing stolen, we needed a good night's sleep. We got the first seven hours of it with no trouble, but then someone started digging the road up outside the room at about 8am, so I was awake. Checking Newgrounds for the results of last night's drinking, I found a lovely picture of Rucklo sleeping it off on a sofa with only the Newgrounds Flag to keep him warm. I'll look for more photographs and will sort some out over the next few days, I promise

Another hearty breakfast and we hit the road. The sat nav decided that it was going to lose signal in the most awkward of places and a few patches of heavy rain made for bad driving conditions - this was made worse by a VW Golf driver who passed me in the fourth lane, then dived across all four lanes to hit the exit within about a 1/4 mile :$

Despite the roadworks that plagued my return home, we made reasonable time and I was pleased to be able to fall in through the front door, before attempting to settle back into life as normal.

Well, it's been quite an experience, both meeting old friends and new ones. I've been glad to see you all and Bex has said that she enjoyed the experience so much, that she'll probably come back next year. As for me, most definitely.

Now all I've got to do is sift through the photos and in the fullness of time wait for Luis to update the Hub page.

Thanks to everyone who turned up, I'm glad that you all enjoyed it and I hope that next year's will be even better.