Creatures big and small

For Halloween this year, I traveled with a selection of my fellow English Postgrads on what is referenced as the Otley Run! You can find more information about these phenomenon on Wikipedia as I discovered, I will do my best to succinctly sumerise this festive tradiation.

The general idea is to start in Headingly at Woodies Ale House and then hit all 16 or 18 pubs and bars to downtown having at least one drink at each. YIKES! Other stipulations in the Otley run tend to involve the themed costumes of any given group. I sat one sunny sunday afternoon with friends at a Starbucks along the same road in Headingly down which the Otley Run holds its course. I was surprised/appalled/amused to see groups of 8-15 students at a time pass by as clowns, golfers, mimes... you name it, the more creative the better. So the unique aspect of our venture is not in that we wore themed costumes, zoo animals, but that it was Halloween where such attire is relatively expected for parties, also that we orderded half-pints for most of the evening and saved our livers a little extra work.

Drinking is interesting to me here at Leeds. As a subwarden (and someone obssessed with cultural activities,) I often see large groups of freshers start their nights out on the town and the general attitude about drinking seems to be: "hey! why just get drunk!? when we can get drunk wearing a tutu, clown wig and drawn on with highlighters." and that's just the fellas :o) Well... not our fellas... They were proper animals! In England, were people are a bit more reserved this dressing in costume and then partying is a social construct that seems to have created a loop-hole in standard propriety. In the states, we employ this device on most readily on Halloween, seems to be a little more called upon here in Leeds.


the Otley Run was an adventure I was told I needed to experience at least once while I was here in Leeds, so there it was, now I have completed it.. nearly... I did drink water at the last few pubs... the Otley RUN! To be honest, it was an awesome good time, and I think a good cultural experience for a book worm like myself... I mean, when else will I have a chance to go out to a bar dressed like an animal, let alone 18 bars with an entire group of people dressed as animals?! We facepainted, everyone had great costumes, I went as a zebra (pronounced zeh-brah) We started the adventure at roughly 4:30 in the afternoon and were finished with the pubs at around 2:00 AM... Happy (Late) Halloween! I definatly slept in on Saturday. :o)