Sunday. For most normal people this is usually a day of rest with a nice roast dinner in preparation for Monday. As you’ve probably gathered by now, the ET crew are far from normal so what are we doing? Preparing for Heilung at Camdens roundhouse!
The crew met at Paddington and then it was onto the bus
towards Euston and the ET crews’ lodgings for the night. Check in completed and
with 4 hours until stage time, it was down the road to the Euston Flyer for a
few pints of Fullers London Pride before heading round the corner to the
wonderfully named Mabel’s Tavern, a lovely Shepherd Neame pub. It was packed,
so the ET crew ended up sitting outside on the street but fortunately heaters
were available. This is a lovely little pub and thoroughly recommended if you’re
ever in the Euston Area.
With the stomachs starting to growl it was onto another bus
for the short journey up the Hampstead Road to Camden. With the ET crews normal
pre gig eatery permanently gone, it was into the decent looking Band of
Burgers. This turned out to be an error on the ET crews’ part as whilst the
burgers were delicious, they have no alcohol license! Still, the burgers made
up for it. With the stomachs filled and in desperate need of a pint, it was
over the road into one of the ET crews’ regular haunts, the Cobden. As usual,
there was hardly anyone inside so getting a couple of pints was doddle. Why
this pub never seems to have anyone in we’ve no idea. A couple of pints of Ale
for T and a couple of Ciders for E it was once again up Camden High Street and
to the Ice Warf (Wetherspoons). This pub was packed and it was here we saw our
first group of Heilung fans. This spoons goes down as one of the nicest the ET
crew have been in even if it was absolutely heaving with no tables.
With time marching on and knowing what the queue to get into
the Roundhouse is like, the ET crew made their way to the end of it and were
soon in. Naturally it was straight to the nearest bar for a vodka and orange
and G and T. It was then onto the floor. With no support act, it seemed as if
some members of the crowd had come up with alternative ways to amuse
themselves, mainly one chap reading. The ET crew also got chatting to a couple
from Glastonbury in Sommerset. The couple seemed to take great interest in E’s
fun tarot card t shirt (which he hadn’t worn specially for the gig and just
pulled out of the drawer earlier that morning). With hindsight E should have
expected a band with a large Pagan following to have taken an interest in it.
 |
| Nothing to see here, just a bit of pre gig reading going on |
Soon the lights were dimed and Heilung entered with the appropriately named opening ceremony. After a few more tracks, E needed to drain the tanks. As it turned out this was an ideal moment to buy some merch at the previously heaving merch stand. Naturally on the way back, he stopped at the bar and purchased refreshments, a rarity for the ET crew to be able to do during a gig.
Now, anyone who’s seen Heilung will know that after a gig you feel very pumped up. The ET crew were no exception. After a swift exit from the Roundhouse, it was down the road to the lovely elephant’s head pub. With it being a Sunday, late options were limited so the ET crew decided to settle here for the night given it’s 2am close. With a table secured and the beers ordered much debate was had as to if there were any other Heilung fans in the pub. As it turned out, there were. This became very obvious when one walked in wearing a stag headpiece. With the clock nearing 1:30 and last orders imminent two more doubles for the ET crew were ordered. After taking a sip, it became apparent that these were not doubles despite being charged for them. They were in fact quadruples (or at least they tasted like them!). The ET crew are used to feeling a little ‘merry’ during post gig nights out, but this well and truly sent us both over the edge!
With kebabs urgently needed it was outside and into an uber
for the short journey back down the Hampstead road to Crystals Kebab near Kings
Cross station. The ET crew settled into a bus stop (like the classy guys we
are) and began munching. Feeling suitably nourished it was time for the,
according to google maps, short walk back to the hotel. Unfortunately, E could
hardly see his phone and T was struggling to walk. After walking the wrong way,
the executive decision was made to get an uber. Somehow E managed to order one
and even put the correct address in (how he didn’t put his home address in and
end up with a very expensive journey back to Berkshire remains a mystery). Time
for the ET crew to sit and relax for a few mins, or so we thought. No sooner
had the uber gone round the corner and a short distance up the road, the ET
crew were outside their hotel. Wonderful. A £5 fare to go round the corner.
Next challenge for the ET crew, work out how the locked
doors opened with a key card. Somehow this was managed and soon it was upstairs
and to bed. The following morning feeling significantly worse for wear it was
round the corner to another one of the ET crews’ regular haunts, the Double 5
café. With suitably large fry ups demolished and lots of water drunk, it was
back to Paddington for the ET crew to board their onward transport back to the
Royal County.
This truly indeed was a Sunday Funday!
E
Comments
Post a Comment