Weakened

 The rain on Sunday continued to come and go.  We felt a bit sorry for the EBBT and wondered how it was going.

Temple Quay was generally very quiet.

I was writing a funding bid, we watched the text of BHAFC's match with Chelsea and didn't do much else, to be honest.

Around 4pm we mused about finding somewhere non-EBBT to grab a beer.  The forecast still indicated heavy showers so we didn't want to venture far.

In the end we decided we'd do a lap of the "block" - Glass Wharf, Avon Street, Oxford Street and maybe as far as the Barley Mow to see how busy things were.  It would allow us to stretch our legs a little, eavesdrop on proceedings and, at worst, return home.

There were a few people sitting in the middle of Oxford Street but it certainly didn't look rammed.  The under-arch areas for several of the places there were set up with tables and a few people were sitting outside there.  The pasty shop was open and seemed to be doing a bit of trade.  The area outside Marthas was very busy, but the bar looked manageable.  We ventured inside.

Seats appeared to be at a premium but the team at the bar greeted us warmly.  "Sorry, only pints and halves..." Laurie said, waving plastic glasses at us.  We had pints.

We managed to tuck ourselves into a table near the door and look at what was going on around.  There were groups of all types and ages, and a few lone drinkers.  There were conversations; there were young parents with younger kids; there were card games being played (including us).  What there wasn't much of is the dreaded "vertical drinking".  I mean, there were people standing in groups, and they were drinking but it was much the same as the people sitting and drinking.

Groups ebbed flowed: tables emptying and filling, Almost no one's voice raised above others, but the general sound level did increase.  There was exemplary use of tables and liminal spaces (can we just perch our drinks on the corner of your table, please?) and the atmosphere was inclusive and friendly.

The key for this event was that there were plenty of bar staff so there was seldom a queue at the bar.

We managed to grab a quick chat with Bryony when she was empty glass hunting.  It was a bit quieter than they'd hoped but they'd expected the August event to be quieter than May.  That makes sense - May is at the beginning of the "oooh the weather is improving" event season.  August bank holiday is right at the end and next week schools, colleges and Universities will be returning.  It's possible some people just needed a non-event weekend.

I do hope everyone who organised and ran it found it a success.  Judging by the number of people who were having to consult a map to find the next venue, at least some of the customers might have discovered somewhere they'll return to in quieter times:  let's hope so.

The beer?

Oh yeah, actually I had their core beers (felt slightly odd in pint measures) but the BBB did try the Good Chemistry/Martha colab lager brewed with NZ hops.  It went down very well indeed, depsite the hated (but totally understandable) plastic glasses.

We left quite pleased we'd gone but glad to get home to the quiet of our flat (dear lord, we're getting old).

Today is more funding bid writing, hopefully followed by a check-in with the chaps round at the BM.

Onwards!