Every year the Royal Arsenal Tag Rugby club organise a final get together in the form of a good night out. This year slightly different the plan was a good day and a somewhat good night(out) for those who could handle the pace. It took place on Saturday 7th December this year with the 12 pubs of Christmas a Santa themed pub crawl with bells and whistles, through the highs and lows of the east end covering Hoxton and Dalston.
An intrepid group of Santa’s set off from the Arsenal with a warm up hot bevy in hand a bit behind schedule, probably something to do with the partying from the night before. Proceedings kicked off with charades on the DLR, but this was soon abandoned with the enactment of ‘Free Willy’ ruled out of order as there were kids in the carriage. The overground to Cambridge Heath nearly turned into a disaster. A combination of a carriage rammed with football supporters and not paying attention meant we had to wedge the doors open to get everyone off before the train pulled out. It was a close shave but we made it.
So on to the first Pub the Virgin Queen in Hoxton. A nice little homely boozer, where some more of the regular costume themed tag crew were lying in wait. Here the rules of the pub crawl were explained. A drink in every pub, a tangerine to be carried at all times and produced on demand, and a different rule in each pub. Among these, no eye contact, no talking, get a selfie with a stranger, someone else has to hold your drink when drinking, call the barman Guinness when ordering and if he serves a Guinness you’ve got to neck it. Break any of the rules and you’ve got to neck a drink or suffer a forfeit. Again, there were a selection of these like walking backwards to the next pub, sitting by yourself, drinking from the opposite side of the glass. you get the picture basically it was designed to turn into unadulterated carnage and only the brave, those with a strong constitution, or mates prepared to carry them, were likely to make it to pub 12 the Railway Tavern in Dalston.
Onto pub 2 and given that by now we were somewhere around 30 handed our arrival put a bit of pressure on the bar staff. Forgetting the no phones rule, I had to throw back a shot and already the pressure was on. Pubs 3 & 4 involved a meander through Broadway market, busy at the best of times on a Saturday but we managed to squeeze into the two chosen haunts which included the Cat and Mutton a well-known Gastro Pub. Only problem – food was forbidden unless you could grab it on the hoof, which the smart money did from the food stalls along the market.
A number of pubs then around London Fields with the rules being rigorously enforced and more and more shots being piled on top of an already hefty binge session meant that for some people, this lightweight included, the lights were starting to go out early. By about pub 8 my goose was truly cooked and the homing mechanism kicked in to take me back to good ole Woolwich Arsenal by way of a burrito, a double cheeseburger and a Domino’s pizza.
It was a wicked day out. Laugh a minute from start to finish and it’s hard to know how we top it for next year. It wis a pleasure to meet you all and in case you didn’t catch the name – My name’s Jacqueline……..Jacqeuline McCafferty!
Awrabest
Jacqui
RARC – New Member / Slag Player
***Major News: It has been confirmed that the next #Blackheath #TagRugby League will commence Saturday January 11th on Blackheath.
The undisputed champions are ‘Blackheath Taggers’ who won last season.
If you are interested in joining this award winning fun tag rugby league you can do so by following this link. Team and individual sign ups are currently open
Pictures from last season’s final HERE
Interested in Blackheath Tag League please let us know HERE
Interested in Away Tournament Ireland May 2020 (Limited Spaces Available – Invitational)
