RICHARD'S NIGHT OUT

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A strange couple of days have just passed. On Thursday Trish and I ended up in a gay bar in London and it happened again last night, this time in Luton! The story behind this latest alternative night out has a lot to do with our friend Richard, Arsenal ticket purveyor and his charming wife Annette. I must state here for the record that Richard is Welsh and like my other Welsh friend in Scotland, likes nothing better than a few pints or more.

So when we eventually turned up at The Black Horse in Luton to meet them for a chat and a drink it was enevitable that when last orders were called, Richard was anxious to continue drinking elsewhere in town. It turned out that the nearest bar open late was The California Inn just round the corner. 'It's a gay bar' Richard told us and although I am old enough to remember 'Gay Way' reading books at school I was under no illusions about where we were headed.

The pub in question used to be known by another name, and was a deadly place where the most exciting thing that happened was when the number of drinkers inside the creaking watering hole exceeded single figures. Someone then had the bright idea of turning it into yet another gay Luton bar. And what a good idea it was too. Instead of the dreary, drab, dark interior of yore it has been transformed into a lively and very friendly pub/club/bar. We were soon accosted by a six foot transvestite who I think was selling raffle tickets, I didn't ask what the prize was. The music was loud and crap, but the drinks were cheap, six good glasses of wine for £8, which was the price of a bottle, although as usual the beers were the usual crappy lagers.

We stayed there for about two hours before wandering back to Trish's where I just about had enough energy to watch Amy Williams win gold in the womens' skeleton. Now that's what I call class!

GOLDEN GIRL