Did you know that on Sundays in Cardiff you're not allowed to drive in bus lanes...

So the phrase of the day yesterday was 'In Scotland, on a Sunday...'. It came about as I took four of my new friends on a road trip to Cardiff Bay. First of all, Cardiff bus lanes are still in action on a Sunday - how pointless! My reaction to this revelation was 'In Scotland, on a Sunday you can drive in the bus lanes' - it seemed pretty common sense to me...apparently not! Next, we arrive at Cardiff Bay and I naively ask where the Sunday parking is? Silly me! In Cardiff, on a Sunday, as with every other day, you have to pay for parking. Admittedly it wasn't as pricey as I expected, but it still wasn't free! For me, it's these little things that hamper the smooth cultural transition when a Scot moves to Wales!

Anyway, enough of that. So last night there was another Union pub quiz on the go, except this time it wasn't just for Postgrads, but a free-for-all. As our team gathered we were all getting pretty cocky, thinking that this would be like taking candy from a baby (or taking lots of free booze from lots of booze-thirsty freshers). How wrong we were! The quiz was a bit alternative, to say the least. First of all there were two hosts, who would have been better suited hosting some late night channel four mess about. Then, there was the obscurity of the quiz rounds! One round was all about super heros (not just shallow super hero knowledge required, more like 'what colour were the incredible hulk's socks?') while a later round was all about Steve Irwin. In principle I liked this sentiment, but then the sporadic playing of the theme tune to Stingray soured the atmosphere somewhat! Needless to say, we didn't shine in this pub quiz as we had in the postgrad one.

After the quiz we all headed to the Taf, the hip and trendy name that disguises the main union bar. To give it its dues though, it does sell very reasonably-priced drinks and accommodate several games machines! At this point, I should maybe name and shame the usual suspects present for this particular evening of fun and frolics: there was myself, Claire and Karen in the girls corner, and Ed, Alex and Pete in the boys corner. Once we'd all had a few drinks, Alex took it upon himself to organise another classic pub game - the one where you all write your name and phone number on a piece of paper, swap the paper and then hand out the phone number at your discretion! Everyone got into the spirit of the game, although Karen and Pete were being a bit coy at first, and everyone successfully distributed the numbers, although the outcomes weren't always as successful. Late-starter Karen had the most luck, when she started chatting up some guy by the dart boards, only to then find out he was a mere 18!!!

Eventually we got kicked out of the Taf. A new custom, which I am finding agreeable is this whole food-after-the-pub concept. I didn't partake in it too often during my St Andrews days (normally cos I was too legless to get there) but here in Cardiff you need a good meal inside you before you attempt the gruelling walk home! Hence, our first stop on the way home was CHIPS. By this time it was maybe about 1:30am and we'd messed around in the streets of Cathays for long enough - bed beckoned. Our next group night out will probably be Thursday (yes, the next postgrad pub quiz) so no doubt there will be more stories to be told then!