first time - the boys

unless i'm a lot more unusual than i thought, E/everybody's first munch is an exercise in brick-shitting.

my first munch was in edinburgh in 2001, at the caledonian bar, which at the time was next to haymarket station.

i walked in like i owned the place, spotted the roadmap on the table - and kept going. straight past the bar and into the gents' toilet.

locked in my wee amniotic cubicle, i gathered myself, went back out, ordered a pint at the bar. armed with that, i approached the "terrifying P/people" at the table and introduced myself.

i knew several of them from an irc chatroom i frequented - by name, if not by face. and i've never looked back.

almost nine years down the line and *that* munch is still going strong. so strong, in fact, that i now run a second munch in the same city. i've been to munches all over the north of england and across scotland.

point one about munch etiquette: everybody's in their civies. in the chatroom, She might command the attention of every male in the room, but at the munch, She'll be dressed conservatively. so should you be.

point two. no-one has to walk into a munch alone. if you're unable to meet a mate beforehand, then ask where you first heard of the munch. i can't think of a munch (even the really small ones) where no-one was available to meet outside and arrive with a new member, or arrive thirty minutes early to meet a newcomer.