Walking in a Winter Wunder Sunderland (Part 1)

Another week – Another post!

So moving on from the bright lights of Newcastle, I headed south and towards the seaside to SUNDERLAND!

However it would just happen that I visit Sunderland on a Football Derby Day between Sunderland and Middlesbrough, not a great move on my part.

Sunderland reminded me of my University town of Eastbourne complete with the bracing sea air and high street stores. I was hoping that Sunderland had a nice bit of nightlife as well. We set ourselves a little challenge of visiting as many pubs/clubs as we could in the space of the 24 hours we were there. We decided we would create a mental list whilst having a cheeky little shop, and the locals were brimming with ideas for us, there was certainly NOT a lack of choice of places to go, quite the opposite.

Anyway, soon we had created a nice little list, we were to start at Chesters, up on Chester Road, then to Chaplins on the corner of Stockton Road, saunter over for a game of pool at the Ivy House then trotting over to Sunderland Centre to see what delights awaited us there! It was going to be a late one; Cinderella would be tucked up in her pumpkin by the time we were planning on getting home! Let the Party Princess Royal tour COMMENCE.

Chesters – Chesters was our first stop and was recommended was a good place to for a spot of dinner followed by several glasses of wine before heading towards the town centre.

My News Years resolution was ruined on January 10^th so I sacked off the salad and dived into a Jim Bean Glaze Burger complete with curly fries and shared a pudding taster platter.

Get in ma belllly

(Clockwise) Rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, chocolate fudge cake and cookie cup

The venue was huuuuuge and seemed to cater for everyone and everything. A snooker room at the back had two snooker tables and a few other tables. There were comfier seating areas with big tables on raised platforms, several sports/TV screens and a massive beer garden at the front. I can image the beer garden being choka-block in the summer.

 

There were already lots of groups of larry lads and glammed up girls pre-drinking and planning their nightly strategy. An hour or so later, with our tummies filled and after polishing off a few (THREE!) bottles of wine, we started to wander down to The Ivy House!

#Hick!

Scores on the (royal) doors:  

Food and service:  Jim Bean burger was AMAZING!
Atmosphere and decoration:  Buzzing, everyone was very friendly.
Facilities:  So much choice, can’t fault anything,
Talent Radar:  I’ll say! #Fitties!
Fun Factor: Great starter, now on to the main course!
Perfect for: Pre-clubbing, cheap food, Snooker, large parties, sports.
In 3 words: Big, tasty, whooper!

Part 2 coming up sooooooon!

 

PP XX

Party Princess Meets Geordie Shore

Hey Guys!

What do TOWIE, Desperate Scousewives, Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore all have in common? Well despite their obvious production values, complicated characters and deeply layered story lines, they have all created a persona and stereotype about their inhabitants. I’m ashamed to admit that I have given in to the addictive nature of Geordie Shore on a few occasions and when I got an invitation to party in Newcastle I was very excited about meeting the cast and finding our deep and mutual love of Partying.

Its only a matter of time before Im invited to be the newest cast member.

As it happens I didn’t meet Sophie and didn’t make James fall in love with me, Hooooowever, I did have a proper canny night and in an unexpected place – Trillians Rock Bar!

The stage back-drop

In my younger Party Princess days I spent a good deal of my time in various rock/indie music bars trying to be cool drinking pints of cider and battling with the sticky floors but I’m VERY happy to report that none of these party sins have been committed in Trillians.

Quietly hidden behind the main shopping street and opposite the city library is Newcastle’s diamond in the rough bar. Down a short flight of stairs you will be greeted with a deceptively large area with a more than adequate stage, sound system, dance floor and seating all around the edges.

On first glance you may think this was your average rock bar however, look deeper and there were some awesome little touches. The main bar was made up of old LP’s and CDs and the smaller tables were made of varnished old music magazines, photos, CD’s and LP’s.  Very unique, big fan. Several TV screens were showing a Transformer movie (little odd) but later it was showing Hulk, and I love a bit of Ed Norton.

Love this idea, so unique.

On my way to the bathroom I found myself following a long trail and lipstick marks along the wall. Even though the bar staff have tried and failed at removing the marks, I thought it was a really fun and interesting feature. I couldn’t go past without adding my own lips! MMWWWHHHA!

Loved the themed burgers, I didn’t chance to try one but the “Metallica burger” looked pretty kick ass.
I had come to see a band called “This Machine”, a cover band playing proper 80’s rock and roll. They played a great mix of Kiss, ACDC and Guns and Roses.  A pretty decent crowd had formed and the dance floor filled with dancing fans whopping their hair back and forth (Not in a Willow Smith way though!)

And a message to Geordie Shore, Trillians will give you a run for your money any time!

Left overs from the night before! That's quite a collection!

 

Scores on the (royal) doors: 

Food and service:  Staff were really cool, very friendly!
Atmosphere and decoration:  Very VERY clean, staff obviously take pride in their pub.
Facilities:  Kissable!
Talent Radar:  Few younger rockers #wink
Fun Factor: Geordie Shore can suck it!
Perfect for: Chill out with mates, quiet drinks, OR LOUD DRINKS!
In 3 words: Kissably Rockin roll!

Party at the Pub – Barracuda Party

Hey Party Go-ers

I had the MASSIVE honour of being invited to the Party at the Pub (Barracuda) Christmas Party! “A Christmas Party at this time of year?! ” I hear you cry, well to be honest that was my response as well, but the hospitality industry and Christmas kind of go hand in hand and now the streamers, fake snow and baubles have cleared, I guess they can all breathe and cut loose.

I have un-knowingly blogged about a number of Barracuda pubs including the whole Varsity chain, The Alchemist in London, The Albi in Manchester, The Capitol in Bolton and even The Abbey in Liverpool.  So when my invitation for the Barracuda Pub Managers Ball popped up I grabbed it with both hands and ran up to Loughborough.

The party had a Hollywood theme to it and I liked the little touches such as the giant Oscars, casino tables and the film prop statues. You know what else I liked? The nearly free bar, what a result! What with a dedicated Bacardi Mojito bar, a free for all bar and the shot/J-bomb waitresses, I’ve never had so much alcohol in front of me. Surprisingly I took the sensible option and only had a few drinks (HONESTLY, I was actually really good!!).

Fully enjoyed the Barracuda Pub Group Awards, and it was nice to see that everyone’s hard work was being acknowledged and rewarded.

Some bright spark decided a foam machine would be a GREAT idea. Note to self, don’t mix new suede shoes and foam together. I don’t know why I bothered doing my hair, one minute in that stuff was enough to strip nearly half my make – up off and de-fluffed my hair. I have to say I do love a good foam party though, it brought me back to my Uni days!

Me and Ian from I am Vip

I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Hello Bacardi Bar!

Winner from the Barracuda Awards 2011

I made a friend! Awwww "Friend"

Im in there somewhere (Middle right-ish)Blurh Jager-Bombs.

Scores on the (royal) doors:  

Food and service:  Handy hot dog stand to soak up the Barcadi
Atmosphere and decoration:  Great fun!!
Facilities:  Great big venue and lots of areas to chat or dance.
Talent Radar:  Can’t name names, they might be reading!!!!
Fun Factor: HUGE servings of fun!
Perfect for: Pre-clubbing, cheap food, large parties, sports. Would def return for a student night.
In 4 words: PARTY AT THE PUB!

Leicester, Take Two…ACTION!

Huzzah dear readers! x

Given that my last jaunt to Leicester was so fantastically awesome, it would be incredibly rude of me to turn down an invitation to hang with those crazy Leicester students again. This time my invitation was from the second Varsity on London road.

Expecting a heavy night, I packed my berocca, my heels and a toothbrush and whizzed up to Leicester. Talk about timing, it would so happen that my visit coincided with the end of exam celebrations, I couldn’t have asked for a better excuse to round up the students of Leicester and De Montfort, and boy were these guys ready to party!

Even at 12pm, hoards of relived, blurry eyed and smiley student piled through the doors of Varsity looking for food and most importantly…booooze! The J-bombs started to flow and even got a cheeky few passed my way. Yes I know 1pm is a little early to start but, whilst in Rome an’ all! An army of burgers and curly fries made their way out of the kitchen to feed the students.

I got talking to one very lively (to put it lightly) group of chemists. Well, one thing leads to another and I ended up challenging one boy to a Man Vs (Varsity) Food!

Mission (Should you choose to accept it) “Consume a Dirty Dogs Dinner in less than 5 minutes, with your hands tied behind your back!”

Granted, that doesn’t sound too bad, well hang on and let me explain what the Dirty Dogs Dinner actually is. Imagine a mountain of sausages, a big pile of chips smothered in Heinz Baked Beans and smoked bacon pieces, all served in….(wait for it) an actual steel dog bowl! Doesn’t that sound beautifully glamorous! Unsurprisingly it wasn’t! Seeing the poor bloke bobbing his head in and out of the dog bowl, we didn’t think to cut up his sausages beforehand which made watching the whole gut busting experience a little gross. Soon he had the whole bar including the staff cheering him along and he managed the dish in 5.30 minutes, so close, dang and blast!
Surprisingly, I lost my appetite for lunch and dinner!

"Hi Im Jonny Knoxville and Welcome to Man Vs Food!

On to the nightlife! Shots, J-bombs, pints, glasses of wine and bottles all £1! The Varsity Pound Party had begun. The tunes were rolling out and the crowds were rolling in to join in the party. The upstairs section of the bar had been booked out for an international students party and the downstairs was split between the cool kids at the back of the bar on the sofas playing pool and the rest of the nutters throwing out some choice moves on the dance floors.

I couldn’t have a night out in Leicester without visiting my buddies over at The Reynard and Varsity on Friar Road. (Read my previous Leicester blog here) I met my future Party Prince, Jef (DJOneEf), and sat and had a nice drink with the guy at The Reynard who told me about the success of their own student social parties on Wednesday, do I hear another invitation?! I think so!!

Scores on the (royal) doors: 

Food and service: Doggie-licious?! I did actually share a dirty dog bowl, and with proper cutlery, it’s pretty darn good!
Atmosphere and decoration:  Big and airy, mixture of sofas and booths along the side.
Facilities: HUGE girl’s bathroom!
Talent Radar:  If you love chemists with a face full of beans, then YES!
Fun Factor: As always, Leicester rocks it.
Perfect for: Filling your tummy and rocking out on the dance floor.
In 3 words: Student hang out.

Read other reviews for Varsity London Road here at View Leicester, Inapub.co.uk, BBC.co.uk and Qype

See you on Friday for my Newcastle/Sunderland Tour Part 1 through 3