Hotsy Totsy

On our way up and down the main street that passes University Village we have often walked by a bar that is always open. It was open at 5.30am when we caught the train to go to LA. It was open at 11.45pm when we came back from the end-of-orientation-week party. Vince has been keen to go in for many weeks and, as he's an army captain with two tours of duty in Iraq under his belt, he seemed like the perfect companion. I borrowed a Texan hat and agreed that he could do all the talking.

Disappointingly the music didn't stop as we walked in, and no one greeted me with the phrase "you're not from round here, are you boy". One of the most shocking and uncomfortable things about America is that people are very friendly and talk to each other - on busses, on trains, in the supermarket. It's not natural, and certainly not British, and as I took my seat at the bar someone told me they liked my hat. I avoided eye-contact and pretended not to hear.

Vince became excited when he spotted a shuffleboard table. This turns out to be the US version of shove-halfpenny (i.e. 20 times bigger, played with giant metal pucks) and soon I was shuffling with the best of them. The barmaid told us that it was the only table for miles around and that people make special trips here to play. She put some English songs on the jukebox to make me feel at home, including a bit of Dire Straits. Nice.

Move over Ye Olde Elm Tree, The Hotsy Totsy Club might become the establishment of choice for the discerning Californian drinker. Now what night is their pub quiz...?



Spot the Texan.



Vince calls on all his powers of concentration at the shuffleboard table. He lost.



The bar trip was only a prelude to a games night at Vince and Christine's. Lauren (left) and Fini (right) listen intently to the rules of Cranium. It helped, as they won. Note margaritas and guacamole.



Hannah mimes "tornado". Not for the game, just because she felt like it. Angus looks on astonished.