Matt’s Journal

Stag Weekend

My lack of updates coincides with my lack of sleep as of late.

This weekend saw a group of ten men travel up to Northampton to enjoy two days of laughing and general fun. Having taken the Friday afternoon up, we meandered up to the hotel in the afternoon, taking a very confusing route.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we dumped our bags, got changed and then headed out for a bite to eat. Luckily just across the road there was a restaurant type complex that housed a TGI Friday’s, a KFC and all the major fast food places. We made a beeline for TGI Friday’s, this turned out to be a good choice (you have to love Ribs/Steak/Onion’s in abundance!). After a few beers, taxi’s were ordered and the ten of us ventured into Northampton.

The night itself was fun, we ventured to a Vodka Bar’ and other night spots and consumed a fair few drinks. It wasn’t meant to be a big night but it kind of gained momentum, my Stepdad falling asleep in the disabled toilet and apparently I was egging a Policeman on to Pepper Spray me in the face “because I was Police trained and I could take it”. We got home at around 2:30am and slept for only five hours before waking for karting.

Waking at 8am and walking over for breakfast, it really showed from people’s faces that the night before and the lack of sleep had caught up with us. Everyone ordered some sort of American breakfast from this US themed diner and then we ventured off to the Karting arena to race to the death.

Upon arriving, we were shuffled into a little hut and told to put on our waterproof clothing, a helmet and racing gloves. After putting on the gear, we were briefed on the course and then herded over to the track all giggling like little schoolgirls. Having been assigned a vehicle for the day, we all leapt into our karts and waited eagerly for the practice laps. You could see as soon as we got going people were thoroughly enjoying themselves, people sliding off in the wet, people nudging into each other, it was a riot (and that was just practice!).

Times and positions for the start of the race were sorted, I qualified in fourth place. As the race started, it was a mad dash for the first corner, everyone slipping off the track and trying to lead each other. We continued to race for 25 laps, it was honestly the most fun I have had on a day out for years.

Two other races followed this race, with us starting in reverse order for the second race and having a sprint to our karts for the third. My brother and my friend Mike really excelled themselves, managing to not slip off the track in the wet as much as everyone else, much to the annoyance rest of the racers!

Lunch quickly followed the conclusion of the racing, with Sausage and Mash or Lasagna being the order of the day. As soon as we were fed up, it was over across the fields to where the clay pigeon shooting would take place. Being the Stag, I was pushed into going up first……I came in with 6 out of 6 shots, not bad for my first time! The others soon followed, some doing very well and some not getting the hang of it. It was a good crack though, everyone was supporting each other and everybody really enjoyed themselves. We returned back to the hotel, had a quick nap and then headed out (to TGI’s again) to get some well earned food.

After stuffing ourselves, it was time to hit the town. The older members of the group retired to the bar at TGI’s and left us young folk to continue our night. We hit the town again, this time going to a few other places, all with me sporting a Viking blond wig and a moustache.

We partied ’til we could no more, got a taxi home and then fell into bed. We were up early-ish in the morning to get home quicker, that day was pure relaxation! I had a fantastic time, I would recommend Karting to anyone, it’s especially fun in the wet!