What I should be doing now
Discussion
Tyre Smoke said:
Pint glasses with handles, in France????
We once found an old school local boozer in the country which only had small glasses, so we ordered two glasses each at a time. Within 30 mins he wandered back in with a box of pint glasses just for us. Now that’s service. He even opened once on a Sunday after the race just for us, ended up leaving about 2am after drinking champagne and being shown pictures of his roadie days.davidd said:
We'll be in the town square missing the drivers parade, at some point we'll wander into the old town and find somewhere good to eat.
Ahh yes, the Drivers Parade. 4 hours of anticipation, 4 minutes of participation. There are some great restaurants in the old town. One year the Spyker team and all the drivers sat down next to us.
Great times.
Vette_1978 said:
We once found an old school local boozer in the country which only had small glasses, so we ordered two glasses each at a time. Within 30 mins he wandered back in with a box of pint glasses just for us. Now that’s service. He even opened once on a Sunday after the race just for us, ended up leaving about 2am after drinking champagne and being shown pictures of his roadie days.
Great when you find a place like that.We found a little wine shop ‘Le Bar A Vin’ just of the Place de République, spotted some friends inside, Monsieur offered some wine to taste and some bread. 2 hours and several bottles later we left. No charge!
My group would have spent most of this morning, having woken at 7am in a roasting hot tent after 4hrs sleep, wondering why it seemed sensible to take several bladders of wine up to the circuit for quali last night.
We'd get up, inspect the damage to the marquee, the sky dish and the ping pong table (or 'the obstacle course' as they are known on the 2am pee trips), and sit around moaning until our chef fires up the BBQ and puts the kettle on.
We'd reminisce about the sounds, sights and smells of quali, and ask why we only manage to do this every two or three years.
Cafetieres of coffee would be passed around, with occasional pauses for bacon sarnies and those weird little individually-packed croissants, and we'd all congratulate ourselves for surviving another night.
We'd do a stocktake and somehow, implausibly, work out that we were almost out of beer, again. In spite of smuggling almost 400 stubbies past the campsite gestapo on Wednesday. And after popping to Mulsanne for another 180 yesterday. Someone would be nominated to do 'a run', and someone would dutifully offer to accompany them.
Someone would suggest putting some music on, and the older contingent would probably grumble a bit. We'd settle on Classic Rock Hits. The first person brave enough to spark up a duty free Marlboro Light would set off a chain reaction, and in no time at all we'd look like we were sending out smoke signals.
One of the group would tentatively text a mate or two working on the teams to quadruple-check if it was ok for a bunch of hungover louts in wellies to come and poke around their garage during the pitwalk. We'd all wait tentatively for the response.
The pitwalk would be, as ever, fantastic. We'd all return 'energised', and ready to set up for the World Championships of team Beerpong. Well, England vs Rest of the World anyway.
Friday night would descend into a haze of Marlboro smoke, loud music, terrible beerpong, more terrible beerpong and Serbian brandy being handed out as fines. Never again, we'd say.
We'd all agree that we were the greatest of mates, and ask again why we don't do this every year.
We'd get up, inspect the damage to the marquee, the sky dish and the ping pong table (or 'the obstacle course' as they are known on the 2am pee trips), and sit around moaning until our chef fires up the BBQ and puts the kettle on.
We'd reminisce about the sounds, sights and smells of quali, and ask why we only manage to do this every two or three years.
Cafetieres of coffee would be passed around, with occasional pauses for bacon sarnies and those weird little individually-packed croissants, and we'd all congratulate ourselves for surviving another night.
We'd do a stocktake and somehow, implausibly, work out that we were almost out of beer, again. In spite of smuggling almost 400 stubbies past the campsite gestapo on Wednesday. And after popping to Mulsanne for another 180 yesterday. Someone would be nominated to do 'a run', and someone would dutifully offer to accompany them.
Someone would suggest putting some music on, and the older contingent would probably grumble a bit. We'd settle on Classic Rock Hits. The first person brave enough to spark up a duty free Marlboro Light would set off a chain reaction, and in no time at all we'd look like we were sending out smoke signals.
One of the group would tentatively text a mate or two working on the teams to quadruple-check if it was ok for a bunch of hungover louts in wellies to come and poke around their garage during the pitwalk. We'd all wait tentatively for the response.
The pitwalk would be, as ever, fantastic. We'd all return 'energised', and ready to set up for the World Championships of team Beerpong. Well, England vs Rest of the World anyway.
Friday night would descend into a haze of Marlboro smoke, loud music, terrible beerpong, more terrible beerpong and Serbian brandy being handed out as fines. Never again, we'd say.
We'd all agree that we were the greatest of mates, and ask again why we don't do this every year.
Yup feeling pretty sick thinking about it, go in a massive group, around 30 of us from labourers all the way to an MP and a surgeon - fantastic leveller, everyone having the time of their life, sitting around chatting crap
Friday eve was always my favourite, still lots to go on, but most people there, the calm before the crazy. I’m going to really miss it, really learn a lot about people and the world there. Every year without fail something spectacular happens.
First went in a 205 hatch back with a mate aged 18, latched onto a bigger group and never looked back. Still speak with them on a weekly basis, but the annual meet up is a truly magical time.
Friday eve was always my favourite, still lots to go on, but most people there, the calm before the crazy. I’m going to really miss it, really learn a lot about people and the world there. Every year without fail something spectacular happens.
First went in a 205 hatch back with a mate aged 18, latched onto a bigger group and never looked back. Still speak with them on a weekly basis, but the annual meet up is a truly magical time.
Its Friday night!
Most years by now I would have drunk too much, eaten too much, and talked too much.
I would be trying to work out where my tent is!
Last year it involved an Uber back from Jeanies!
In the early years I would have kept drinking, but I have learnt that the more I drink Friday night the less I see of Saturday!
So now, I head for my bed, a little sad there is no real race tomorrow,
a little happy from the 1664's consumed and very happy having seen many Beermountaineers on the V.AGM..
Enjoy your weekend as best you can.
Most years by now I would have drunk too much, eaten too much, and talked too much.
I would be trying to work out where my tent is!
Last year it involved an Uber back from Jeanies!
In the early years I would have kept drinking, but I have learnt that the more I drink Friday night the less I see of Saturday!
So now, I head for my bed, a little sad there is no real race tomorrow,
a little happy from the 1664's consumed and very happy having seen many Beermountaineers on the V.AGM..
Enjoy your weekend as best you can.
but no socks were injured in the eating of them!I would now be waking up feeling utterly s
te 
having been to the drivers parade and then out in the town.
Friday is without doubt a great day and I have so many stories about Friday, jumping over the fence and getting involved in the parade etc I could write a book.
As it happens, 6 of us are meeting today, camping with a big marquee, loads of beer, a BBQ and virtual LM on a huge TV.
I will no doubt wake up tomorrow feeling utterly ste!
te having been to the drivers parade and then out in the town.Friday is without doubt a great day and I have so many stories about Friday, jumping over the fence and getting involved in the parade etc I could write a book.
As it happens, 6 of us are meeting today, camping with a big marquee, loads of beer, a BBQ and virtual LM on a huge TV.
I will no doubt wake up tomorrow feeling utterly s
te!The Leaper said:
Been going to LM24 from 1996, not every year though. Sometimes with my son.
Always been a late starter for heading off to LM so right now we'd be on Le Shuttle and then a drive to our hotel for Friday and Sunday stay over, usually near Alencon or Falaise. Stop for lunch today on the way.----if we are using the N128 then we'd stop just after joining south of Rouen. Get to the hotel and then a few beers before heading off to a local excellent restaurant ahead of the great day/weekend.
Saturday morning. Had a good breakfast at the hotel, now on the A28 for an hour or so run to the circuit, outskirting La Mans itself. Park up at our designated space in Parking Blanc, say hello to our new neighbours for the next two/three days, then get inside, get to our tribune seats at La Racccordement, check out the large TV screen opposite, and crack open a few tins of 1664 to soak up where we are etc. Will have our first jambon et fromage baguette for lunch I expect along with more 1664 after buying the obligatory plastic glass as a memento of 2020.Always been a late starter for heading off to LM so right now we'd be on Le Shuttle and then a drive to our hotel for Friday and Sunday stay over, usually near Alencon or Falaise. Stop for lunch today on the way.----if we are using the N128 then we'd stop just after joining south of Rouen. Get to the hotel and then a few beers before heading off to a local excellent restaurant ahead of the great day/weekend.
(More to follow)
R
Sat morning: Friday was early to bed after overdoing Thursday night, and late to rise. Someone will pop to the shops (probably me driving) for ingredients to cook a big late breakfast for the whole group. Probably relieved its stopped raining ( well it has in the Midlands). We will head to our grass bank for about 2pm.
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