Feb 14th Hantsfurs Meet

[slycat]

So yesterday was the first Hantsfurs meet of the year, the first of what should be monthly meets happening for the group. I was rather concerned that no-one was going to go and those who did go would end up bored from nothing to do due to me saying lets have a meet and then deciding to not take up the role of organising the meet. So the only thing set in stone was to meet at the train station at 12 noon.

Simple enough, however I left my flat later than I had expected so I missed the train and had to walk into Southampton. I got there around 12:15 and there was no-one there I knew. There wasn't even a group of people I didn't know who could pass as furries. Just people arriving and leaving the train station. I waited around for a bit but after 15 minutes no-one turned up. I tried calling beaitchtwo as he was the only person I knew who was going and had the number for. He didn't answer and so I decided to give up and went to the nearby Asda to get a drink. By the time I had bought the drink, I decided to give the station one more chance before properly giving up... and again there was no-one there. By now it was almost 1pm so I could only assume that the meet never happened and people didn't turn up. However I then got a call from Hedgie who said he had overslept and would be jumping on a bus shortly. Then while waiting around, hytiger and some friends of his (Diamond and Eclypse) turned up as they had just arrived by train at the station. They were in contact with branded_bunni who was in the nearby Starbucks in Borders and so we headed over that way.

When we got there, I found that the people who met at the station at noon had got bored waiting and left to go to Starbucks at about 12:15, right about when I must have been arriving so I just missed them. Found that rather surprising considering one person was wearing a tail and another some cat ears :P Anyway, by the time we got to Starbucks, Bunni and co were just finishing their drinks and so had already decided to go to the Forbidden Planet comic shop, for lack of anything better to do. Hedgie joined us making us 13 people strong by this point, not a bad turnout after all.

As I wasn't in the market for buying anything in Forbidden Planet, Hedgie and I decided to venture off for a snack... and ended up in another Starbucks where I had an overpriced panini. andysquirrel called me at this point to ask where we were, and so I told him so he could head in. Meanwhile Hedgie and I returned to Forbidden Planet to find the others but they weren't there any more. Tried Shakeaway too but no-one there either. Ended up trying the West Quay food court but no furries to be found. Hedgie then actually bothered calling someone with the others (I didn't have any of their numbers) and found they were at the gay pub, The London Hotel. So, we made our way over there, collecting Andy en-route. By the time we got to the pub, we found that everyone there had just left and was heading for the cinema.

So, on to the cinema then, Andy and I certainly wanted to see Bolt in 3D and so booked tickets for that along with DeeJay. The others seemed stuck unable to make a decision as to what to do. Some of them couldn't stay for a film due to needing to get home while others didn't want to see the film. Andy got impatient waiting cos he needed the toilet and so we headed for the nearby pub, Quayside while the others were still deciding what to do. Grabbed some beer and a burger (oddly the pub was out of beef burgers so settled on chicken) and without realising it, the others had finally come to the pub too but clearly not seen us as they sat in a different area of the pub. We couldn't move due to having ordered food and so stayed where we were, referring to the other group as "The Others" :P

After a while, most people disappeared and it was time to watch the movie. I'll have to say I was very impressed with Bolt in 3D. Not just cos it was in 3D but because I really enjoyed the film too. The reviews I had read beforehand had lead me to believe it starts off well but loses momentum as the film goes on. However, I enjoyed the story and the humour throughout. I also though that Bolt himself was simply adorable! :) Now to the American readers of this who are wondering why I've only just seen the film, well it only got released here last week... pathetic I know. Good old Disney and their skewed regional release schedules...

Anyway, in summary, the meet was OK despite a sketchy start. There were plenty of people who attended but it totally lacked organisation. The highlight of the day for me was seeing Bolt. I guess it's too small to have a central meeting place like the Londonfurs pub, but still felt very flaky. Hopefully the next meet for Southampton which will be in 2 months should be better planned for.

Comments

[beaitchtwo.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it! It's not often I get to hang with you and the squirrel!

[tktiger.livejournal.com]

I love weekend furmeets too. I never get to go to the bloody things thanks to work. Then again, it's nice to be safe in work when confronted with the more "interesting" members of the group are outside, heading towards somewhere I can't follow... ;p

[silverwindblade.livejournal.com]

I haven't been in the loop much of late, and also money has been a constraint for me too. However, an Arakin told me that the next hantsmeet is supposed to be in Portsmouth, which means (provided it's not on a weekend where I've planned something) I'll probably be there too. It's been ages since I've been to a meet and hung out with anyone too!
Sounds like this one was okay too.