Sunday, March 1, 2009

Our first Sunday Roast

In Canterbury, students have a designated going-out spot for every night.

Monday is The Works, a sleezy nightclub that had a "Sex" theme last week welcoming students dressed like prostitutes and pimps. The club also hosted a stripper, who wore gloves and professor-ish glasses. Classy.

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday students go to more bars on campus. Every academic building has a bar, which are surprisingly popular. It would be strange to go wasted into Johnston Hall dressed like a rejected 80's prom queen or a bloated cow, but here, it's the norm.

Massive Mungo's, in a school building

Wednesday and Saturdays are the Venue, the University of Kent's own nightclub. You'd think it would be like the Annex, where you get chili cheese fries on Sundays but otherwise wouldn't go. Not here.


The Venue on Friday night

Girls dress up in black Topshop tube top dresses (a popular store where Kate Moss has a line), with black tights and black patent leather heels. The Venue also has a swanky bar and a two-level dance floor with a semi-cage and people grinding to Girltalk. It's an experience.

But Sunday, Sunday is Roast Night. No, not a roast of Bob Saget (which my friend thought), but a legitimate pot roast dinner at a pub. My roommates and I have tried all the other weekday activities, so tonight we made our way to the Penny Theatre for a full-on roast.

I was expecting to sit down at a rustic dining room table with a skewered melt-in-my-mouth pot roast while a guitarist strummed Bob Dylan.

Ah, no. We walked into the low-lighted bar, where kids were playing pool and "Lady Marmalade" blasted. We walked into a cozy dark corner, sat on stools, searched for the non-existent pot roast, and settled on burgers and beer.

While you eat, they have Quiz Night, where every table receives an answer sheet filled with different categories like "Celebrities" and "Sports." An announcer reads questions and you write them down, hoping to win free pints or horse shoes (don't ask).

I was excited to participate, confident of my Trivia Pursuit skills. Question one: "What second-rate star recently got a boob job?" Ah, Audrina Partridge? Joan Rivers? Wait, we're in England, shoot. No idea.

We were clueless for the rest of the questions as well, and put answers like "Charlie bit my finger" and "Pete Doherty."

We left slightly tipsy and with a score of zero, but glad we finally made it to Roast Night. Now for more academic bars...

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