Sub Diary 4

It seems that no-one goes on a subcrawl any more without their notebook PC. On the second World Record crawl, Duncan took up Jabba's mantle as scribe for the day. What follows is the familiar descent into incoherence and chaos (albeit with better spelling than we're used to). Comments are courtesy of Duncan himself.

"This year, in an attempt to avoid the blanks of last year's World Record crawl, I took a notebook to record times, places, people, and odd occurences. I was only partially sucessful.

12:00 ARRIVE TIMES SQUARE. That made a throng of two, since Mike was already there. Over the next half hour, others trickled in.
12:40 DOUG ARRIVES. He announced that more were on the way from Edinburgh. I had another drink.
13:05 DOUG TALKS 2 DANISH GUYS INTO COMING WITH US. Turned out they were sailors.
13:15 LEAVE PUB. RANDOM GUY TAKES PHOTOS. So theoretically, we have proof of the starting numbers: 24. They were: MIKE, KELLY, MARTIN, ELAINE, DUNCAN, TRACEY, AMANDA, HAMISH, LOUISE, DAVE, CRAIG, STUART, JIM, CAROLE, BRUCE, DOUG, PAUL C, TERRY, NEIL, LIZ, EFFIE, PAUL B, DAN, SUNE.. Other arrived later, we'll get to that...
13:25 ARRIVE GLASWEGIAN.
13:50 LEAVE GLASWEGIAN.
14:00 W ST.
14:10 ARRIVE LORD NELSON. HAD A PEE. COOKIE.
14:40 LEAVE.. Good factual stuff. In both pubs they put the pool table covers on within minutes of our arriving - still not sure why. Cookie was the first of the latecomers.
14:50 ARRIVE HONS 3.
15:20 LEAVE.
15:40 ARRIVE DISTRICT. RORY ARRIVES. SOLD JACKET TO RORY. CRUNCHIE NUGGETS. I had decided it would be the last trip for one of my jackets, and decided the kitty may as well profit. I got £1.60, as far as I remember.
16:05 LEFT. OTHER SUBCRAWLERS. TOILET! As we left the District bar, another group of crawlers entered. Thus began the race for the finish. Shame nobody knows who won... There was a toilet lying on the pavement as we walked from Cessnock to the pub. We have photos. Someone does, anyway. We probably even have film! (Martin, Kelly?)
16:15 ARRIVE KENSINGTON.
16:25 CLAUDIA ARRIVES.
16:40 LEFT. SUPERMAN.. It being only a week before Halloween, the shops were full of costumes. Doug (six-foot-plus) chose himself a superman outfit (age 3-5).
17:00 OTHER SUBCRAWLERS. WE'RE IN THE STADIUM BAR. MADNESS. (HELEN, MICHELLE, SCOTTx3, JIMMY, LES, WURZEL, ANDY, GREG.) We met the other subcrawlers (who left before us). Various people had various fancy dress on.
17:30 THE BRECHIN, GOVAN. ANNABEL ARRIVES. BRUCE SUPERMAN. AMANDA WAS A WITCH. More Halloween fun.
17:55 LEAVE. SUBWAY.
18:22 KARAOKE IN HAYBURN VAULTS. DRUNK! I'M SO EXCITED. That was the song they were singing. Not sure why my timekeeping became more precise.
18:30 DRIVER TAKES OFFENCE: `GET ON OR GET OFF'. I AM SUPERMAN. 19:00 UNDERGROUND. DAVE: SUPERMAN. DOUG: F**K. I'm not sure what pub that was, the Dolphin, perhaps?
Round about his stage the diary switches style to a train of thought (no pun intended).
HAMISH IS STILL HERE. ANNABEL IS ALSO STILL. TRACEY HAS LEFT. CAROLE AND JIM HAVE LEFT. HAMISH IS SHOCKED. COOKIE HAS NO SHIRT. TERRY SPILLED BEER. AMANDA PROVIDED BEER. AMANDA PROVIDED LOTS OF DRINK FOR LOUISE. AMANDA WILL EAT. I AM ALSO MUNCH. So, Louise, if you had a hangover on Sunday, you know who to blame. Also, I think this was Curlers, and the chip shop nearby.
19:37 ROSS ARRIVES. ANNA DID NOT STAY. LIZ WOULD BUY MY JACKET FOR AT LEAST £1.80. MARTIN: `LYCHEES'. KELLY: `JAM (AS IN STUFF FACE)'. ROSS: `MISC'.. I have no idea where this was, or who Anna was.
IN HUBBARDS. WHERE ARE COOKIE & NEIL? THE FILM PEOPLE (KELLY &TC) HAVE GONE 2 EAT. WE ARE ALL DRUNK. THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR HOLDING MY BOTTLE. 20:05 From this point on the diary becomes less clear. I make many claims as to my own and other's drunkenness.
CONFUSION. NO FLASH CAMERAS. ANNABEL IS DRUNK SO IS SUNE AND HAMISH. ANDY ARRIVED @ HAYBURN A WHILE AGO. I'm surprised I could remember that far back. Does anybody know why flash cameras are not allowed in the undergound?
Subcrawlers will know that round about Kelvinbridge is where things start to go seriously downhill. People get lost, found, and lost again. The next diary entry: 20:35 BRUCE IS LOST WE ARE IN PUB AT ST G X IT MIGHT BE CALLED THISTLE OR IT IS IN FACT `CLARENDON' HURRAH BUT WHERE IS BRUCE? 21:05 WE ARE AT ST G X. WE WILL SOON BE ON A TRAIN.
21:05 DOUG IS DRUNK SO AM I AMANDA IS COMING TO GET US.. Owing to some confusion outside Cowcaddens U station, the group ended up split. We 'phoned for help and were shepherded to the pub... I think this is the last pub Doug was seen in.
21:20 HAMISH IS STILL HERE. HAMISH IS GOING STRONG, MY FRIEND! CAROLE, JIM & TRACEY HAVE ALREADY LEFT. HELLO AMANDA. 21:31 AMANDA HICCOUGHS. 21:32 AMANDA SITS ON MY KNEE. 21:35 I AM DRUNK. I LIKE IT. IT IS GOOD. I'm not sure if that was the being drunk or Amanda sitting on my knee. I seem to be shocked about the early leavers, that's already the second time I've mentioned them.
At this point others stole my diary and wrote their own entries, berating me for stealing an IKEA pencil. This was (I think) on the underground going to Buchanan St. The end was in sight...
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TIME. I HAVE HICCOUGHS.
22:50 WE ARE IN LAST PUB. AMANDA, LOUISE, ROSS, MIKE, HAMISH, ANNABEL, RORY, MIKE, COOKIE, KELLY, MARTIN, PAUL D, BRUCE, LIZ, PAUL C. LAST PUB. TIME: 22:52. ROSS: `IT'S BEEN CONVINCING'. SUNE & DAN WERE HERE AT THE END. SUNE THOUGHT.... By my reckoning, that makes 13 of us (after adding myself to the finishing list) who made it all the way round. We completed the circle, and I think the above was written in Times Square, after visiting the Gallery.
Last entry: NOW I AM DRUNK. MIDNIGHT. I seem to remember some chips and cheese, and then waking up on Sunday..."