Saturday, December 01, 2007

I was a Jolly Boy

I recently got in touch with an ex-workmate from my IT days, because I hoped he could get me some part time work as a software tester. Well, he wasn't able to help me right away, but he did send me a copy of an old TV news item, which had been posted up on YouTube.

The item was about the Jolly Boys, who celebrated each Christmas with a themed pub crawl. And back in the days when I could have a couple of drinks and not immediately feel like passing out, I was an honorary Jolly Boy. This particular year, the blokes (I was one of about 3 females; there were about 10 or more guys) decided to all dress up as Elvis impersonators.

But that wasn't my favourite JBO (Jolly Boys Outing) though. The one I remember best was the one with the Village People theme. That year, the downtown pub trail was overrun by about two dozen fake policemen, builders, Native Americans and leather-clad, walrus-moustached bikers. (I was one of the latter). Needless to say, the YMCA song was a frequent request. Being a mere girl, it was okay if I didn’t down the required number of drinks at each establishment. And being a girl, nobody asked me to prove that I was wearing ladies' knickers (which all the blokes were). And because I was surrounded by scary-looking males, I didn't exactly have handfuls of strange men’s phone numbers by the end of the night. But by this nice girl’s standards, it was a wild night.

That must have been about 8 years ago, but I might still have the leather trousers and cap in the back of the wardrobe...

6 comments:

Angela said...

You wild thing.
That sounds like a good time. Sometimes it is better not to be pounced on by a bunch of drunk guys. You should pull out your old stuff and go out for a night.

nigel paddell said...

I would love to know these people.
I'm on the lookout for the obnoxious drunk heard of Santas I heard about last year on the radio.
They were Ho-Ho'ing to Black Sabbath's "Ironman" I think.

No Milk Please said...

the idea of a whole place filled with village people is extremely cool. i wish i was there! i would've definitely been a cop.

Violet said...

angela: it's probably a thing best left to nostalgia. Even if I could still fit into those leather pants, I wouldn't fit in with that boozing culture any more.

nigel: they were the most un-PC bunch of guys you'd ever have to put up with.

no milk: it was such a great theme that, years later, I'd still get all excited whenever I heard YMCA. I was glad to be a biker, and I'm not even into leather.

Casdok said...

Yes wild thing!

nigel paddell said...

Yay!
PC and alcohol don't go well together at all.