Saturday 26th January I went to my first ever ‘proper’ furmeet in Chester. I had no idea what to expect or how many folks might be there. I’d followed the ‘plans’ on UK Fur Boards and took the plunge in saying I’d go.
Saturday morning I was getting ready to drive from Preston down to Chester (about 50 miles) when a friend called and said they would come with me. At least I would know one other person there. :)
We arrived at the meeting point: Chester railway station, just after 11.00 and easily found a group already getting together. After a few brief introductions everyone was already busy chatting away, and drawing curious looks from the rail police on the station.
By the time we moved over the road to the Town Crier pub there were around 30 of us! We basically took over the outdoor seating and drinking area and a day of fun, frolics (oh, and booze) began.
I guess we stayed at the pub for about an hour before heading into Chester City centre. The plan for the day? What plan? It’s a fur meet! In search of food we descended on mass to the local Pizza Hut. However, the place was small, already busy and not really geared up for a mass group turning up on spec. They said they could do a table for 15 in an hour to an hour and a half! Some folks decided to go over the road to the local Weatherspoons while the rest of us set out to walk the city walls (after a mass gathering in the local Boots to deliver a late Christmas Present – and all sign up for advantage cards, and a brief stop at Burger King for food)
Chester City walls are a great walk and going around with a group of furs was definitely fun – even if we lost a few along the way. We stopped about half way around and one person suited up. We finished the walls walk, past the river Dee and went through the city centre complete with a husky in a biker jacket. The reactions of the Saturday afternoon shoppers were great but there was better to come.
We moved on to the Roman Amphitheatre after failing to get into the local laser quest. The amphitheatre is an open park area and evidently the local hangout for Chester’s emos and Goths. Their reaction to being joined by a bunch of furs was priceless – as was the reaction of the local Community Support officers.
Finally we headed back to where we began the day: the Town Crier and the railway station. As darkness descended and we froze our tails off (apart from Kenno – who seemed immune to the cold – possibly thanks to large helpings of Lynchburg, Tennessee’s finest).
I finally left at around 7.30 after what was a fantastic day out, determined to make this the first of many. Sadly, I didn’t get any decent pictures – crap mobile phone camera, but there are links to pics from the UKFur Forum.
Apologies for the lack of name-checks but I’d forget too many people and don’t want to leave anyone out.
Highlights of the day: Kenno’s ‘big gay scarf’; multiple attacks on Cheetah kid’s tail; Goths playing ‘mock burials’ in the park; The chav kid who didn’t get a hug from the ‘fox’; my first sight of ‘The Art of Kennet’; Patter not only not being served but also having a drink taken off him despite being 'comfortably' over the legal age to drink (must remember to keep ID on me at all times in future).
Until next time :)
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