CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 the somewhat miraculous moment when you wake up after a session and have no hangover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 31, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted October 31, 2015 That usually means I'm still drunk and the hangover is still to come. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno_2004 Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I was gonna fire up the xbox for the first time in 3 months but couldn't find the game I wanted to play and stumbled across this bad boy. Boom! Despite being a big fan of the podcasts and other related shows I only got round to watching The Office in full a few months ago - can't believe I had neglected it for so long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 (edited) As Captain Sensible once said, you've got to have a dream. I think this woman might be my new hero. From the BeebOne woman's 21-year odyssey to visit every Wetherspoon'sBy Owen AmosBBC News31 October 2015 From the section MagazineMags ThomsonIn today's MagazineMany Britons enjoy a visit to the pub, but Mags Thomson has been on an extraordinary mission to visit every pub in one massive chain.It's 10.30am in Wetherspoon's.A family of four squirt ketchup on to fried breakfasts. A pensioner in a flat cap orders half a Guinness. A hen party, in pink T-shirts and matching headbands, knock back white wine and blue WKD.Sitting alone, on a round table next to the hens, is Mags Thomson, from Livingston. If anyone has seen this before, she has.Mags has been to 972 Wetherspoon's and - in every sense - counting.The chain only had 936 pubs as of July this year but Mags' total includes 80 that have closed. The empire stretches from Wick in Caithness to Penzance in Cornwall. Mags has been to both.She has, of course, been to this one before - the Shakespeare's Head in London. She can't remember when. After a while, they start to look the same.'Spoons factsThe chain was founded by law graduate Tim Martin in 1979The first Wetherspoon's was in Muswell Hill, LondonThe company is named after one of Mr Martin's old teachers, "a nice fellow who couldn't control a class"Sitting by the window, warmed by early autumn sunshine, 66-year-old Mags goes back to where it began - Reading railway station in 1994."My husband was a railway enthusiast," she says, sipping a half pint of cider. "We used to go on holiday and spend a lot of time standing on platforms."To begin with, it was quite interesting. But it soon got very cold and boring, so I thought I'd have a look around Reading. I came across this pub. I phoned my husband and said: 'Why don't we meet here?'"It was her first.Mags' husband, IanImage copyrightMags ThomsonImage captionMags' husband, Ian, who went to 708 WetherspoonsThe railway trips continued - if they found a Wetherspoon's, all the better. After a couple of years, they became Wetherspoon's trips. The hobby was born.From Aberdeen to Aberdare, Mags and Ian criss-crossed the country, one pub at a time. They even went to airports, if there was a branch before security.For some people, a tour of Britain means Stonehenge to Edinburgh, via Windsor Castle and York Minster. For Mags and Ian, it meant Beccles, Biddulph, and Batley. Theirs was a not-the-National Trust tour of B-road Britain.At first they kept a list of where they'd been. Then the firm printed a directory, with a tick box by each entry. "That made things a lot easier," says Mags.By 2010, they had been to 708 Wetherspoon's. And then, in July that year, Ian died.Mags "lost all confidence", she says. She didn't travel for two years. The directory stayed in a drawer.After a while, her friends encouraged her to start travelling again, if only for one or two nights. But it wasn't easy. "It was a thing Ian and I did together," she says. "But after a while I thought - I can't just sit at home all day. He wouldn't want that."Mags records her visits in the Wetherspoon's directory - green lines for pubs, red lines for hotelsIn 2012, she went on a two-night trip to Newcastle. It's an easy train ride from Edinburgh, and there were some newly-opened Wetherspoon's pubs."I didn't know how I'd get on," she says. "But while I was away, I couldn't wait to be away again."Mags again started collecting Wetherspoon's.This autumn, Mags had a two-week, self-organised tour of Wetherspoon's in south-east England. Her itinerary took her from Aylesbury to Aldershot, via Southend, Shoeburyness, and Bishop's Stortford. She does it all via public transport and taxis - even the branch at Beaconsfield Services, on the M40.So what do others make of her hobby?"It's a good conversation point - if I meet someone from, say, Swansea, I can say: 'I know Swansea - nice Wetherspoon's there, the Bank Statement...'"Beaconsfield services on the M40 - the Hope and ChampionImage copyrightPAImage captionMags' latest Wetherspoon's tour took her to Beaconsfield services on the M40Normally, Mags will reach her first pub of the day by mid-morning. She'll have coffee and toast, or a filled roll. If she wants something stronger, it's half a cider, a brandy and ginger, or a Fireball.A Fireball?"It's American whiskey [liqueur]," says Mags. "Very nice."She travels alone - although a friend, Evelyn, often joins her on one-day Scottish trips - and is usually back at her hotel by early evening."I enjoy other people's company, but I enjoy my own," she says. "The good thing about Wetherspoon's is, they're always places I can sit on my own - read a paper, read a book, have a drink."Alright, there's one or two you might think 'I'm not sure'. But the vast majority are fine."On the table next door, the hen party gets louder with every popped cork."Oh, I've seen a few hen dos and 21sts," says Mags, looking round. "I've even been asked to join a few."Wetherspoon's magazineImage copyrightWetherspoon'sImage captionMags featured in Wetherspoon's quarterly magazine, after someone she met on a tour wrote inBefore this trip, Mags had been to 969 Wetherspoon's, including 80 that had closed. When she returns to Livingston, she'll be on 990.She hasn't been to any in Ireland, either side of the border - that, says Mags, might be her next challenge.Her ambition is to finish the list. But at the rate Wetherspoon's expands - there were 12 new branches between July 2014 and 2015 - it's like painting the Forth Bridge."Since I got back from Devon and Cornwall, they opened branches in Teignmouth and Tavistock," she smiles. "Still, it gives me a reason to go back."Does she ever raise a glass to Ian?"Oh, I do think of him," she says. "Quite often things will happen and I think: 'I wish Ian was here'."I go to new pubs, but I also visit ones where Ian and I went as a couple. It can get emotional.""But what's the alternative? Sit at home and feel sorry for myself? He wouldn't want that. I've gone out and seen places, done things, met people."Mags heads off to number 973: the Manor House in Royston, Hertfordshire. A new pub, a new green line in the directory, and a new story to tell. Edited October 31, 2015 by dAVe80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Eastern European kids. 'Sweet or treat!?! ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I was gonna fire up the xbox for the first time in 3 months but couldn't find the game I wanted to play and stumbled across this bad boy. Boom! Despite being a big fan of the podcasts and other related shows I only got round to watching The Office in full a few months ago - can't believe I had neglected it for so long! It's close to perfection in my mind. Just going through series 2 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PongRiddims Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 That usually means I'm still drunk and the hangover is still to come.Keep drinking, I've delayed a hangover for 4 years now and it ain't hurt me one bit (apart from the liver pains) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PongRiddims Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Meath knows you can drink through them Liver pains eh Meath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Been years since I have been proper drunk ...I hate hangovers as well I see the day as a wasted day .. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 the somewhat miraculous moment when you wake up after a session and have no hangover.No, no, no. That's the moment when you're about to become an alcoholic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PongRiddims Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 the somewhat miraculous moment when you wake up after a session and have no hangover.No, no, no. That's the moment when you're about to become an alcoholic.What Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I have two close friends that work for the NHS, they don't know each other. Anyway, both have admitted to using drips to treat a hangover. The one guy applied a drip to himself whilst still hammered, and went to sleep and apparently woke up feeling amazing. He's also admitted to turning up to work incredibly hung over and being given a drip and anti nausea tablets by a nurse to get him through the shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 wednesday went to the pub after work and had 5 pints, thursday had four cans on way home in the van,friday had three cans on way home in the van and last night had 8 cans and a few vodkas at a halloween party. had no coke at all which is a bit of a miracle for me good thing about it though is ive enjoyed just drinking and getting the buzz just off that and last night for instance although i was being a idiot fooling around and annoying my missus i actually had a proper laugh where as when im on coke your not really having a laugh. woke up this morning feeling fresh instead of having no energy etc, missus said all i kept doing was laughing at my own jokes and although i annoyed her it was a nice change to actually see me acting the way i was. anyway its off to spoons i go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 My imminent McDonald's.A Maccies every now and again is nice. I had one on Wednesday after a 'quick pint after work' turned into 6 or 7.Double cheeseburger, chicken selects and fries. Hit the spot. No doubt saving me from throwing up as well!me and my mate shared a 12 piece bucket from KFC the other day, absolutely stuffed me. cant beat KFC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 wednesday went to the pub after work and had 5 pints, thursday had four cans on way home in the van,friday had three cans on way home in the van and last night had 8 cans and a few vodkas at a halloween party. had no coke at all which is a bit of a miracle for me good thing about it though is ive enjoyed just drinking and getting the buzz just off that and last night for instance although i was being a idiot fooling around and annoying my missus i actually had a proper laugh where as when im on coke your not really having a laugh. woke up this morning feeling fresh instead of having no energy etc, missus said all i kept doing was laughing at my own jokes and although i annoyed her it was a nice change to actually see me acting the way i was. anyway its off to spoons i go I went out Wednesday night and went to Spoons this morning Its like Fight Club. Ruge is my Tyler Durden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Corona… Boxes of it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 (edited) wednesday went to the pub after work and had 5 pints, thursday had four cans on way home in the van,friday had three cans on way home in the van and last night had 8 cans and a few vodkas at a halloween party. had no coke at all which is a bit of a miracle for me good thing about it though is ive enjoyed just drinking and getting the buzz just off that and last night for instance although i was being a idiot fooling around and annoying my missus i actually had a proper laugh where as when im on coke your not really having a laugh. woke up this morning feeling fresh instead of having no energy etc, missus said all i kept doing was laughing at my own jokes and although i annoyed her it was a nice change to actually see me acting the way i was. anyway its off to spoons i go I went out Wednesday night and went to Spoons this morning Its like Fight Club. Ruge is my Tyler Durden never saw the film im afraid, is that bad? your always in spoons. Edited November 1, 2015 by Rugeley Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 (edited) I like spoonys. I would says its my guilty pleasure but I don't feel guilty! Edited November 1, 2015 by Xela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Amazing pics of the fog tonight London from the sky Manchester control tower 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tegis Posted November 4, 2015 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted November 4, 2015 Got a scam letter sent to me trying to trick me to sign it. It was disguised quite well looking like a directory assistance service. Not quite worth the £500 fee hidden in the small-print. Anyway, they also sent a pre paid postage envelope to send the document back in so I went to the garage and checked the mousetraps. Bingo! For good measure I also included two used batteries and some sawdust.It's in the postbox across town as I type this. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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