I've had the revelation before, but every now & again it's worth revisiting to prove your own conclusions.

I'm talking about night clubs & long gone are the days when I would even suggest going out to one. In the last few weeks however, I've been out & about with friends of varying ages & have walked through the doors of such establishments.

The experience generally consists of; standing in line, paying a cover charge, a walk down some tight stairs into a dark, pulsing basement full of sweaty teenagers, ear splitting "doof doof" music & the spending of considerable amounts of money for a small amount of drinkable beverage.

Clearly, my idea of a good weekend get together with friends has changed & waking up without a croaky voice & being able to hear has become more of a priority. I still love the occasional noisy place with bands & a bit of dance music, but being able to slide into another room to recalibrate the senses is something nearly impossible in a night club. Hell, even the bathrooms in clubs usually have speakers in the corners of the ceiling so no one misses any of the action out on the floor!

I suppose it's one of those experiences in life that you just have to go through when growing up. Unfortunately, very few of those times are memorable. Having drinks spilled down your back, getting elbowed in the head by an over-eager dancer, & have you ever been to a club when a girl hasn't been crying from a break-up?

All the memories came flooding back & with a ringing in my ears as I left, walking past the queue still trying to negotiate their way in, I keep hearing that little voice "You're too old for this!". Indeed at 32, I am too old to not realise that behind it all, some club manager is squeezing just a few more people in over & above the legal capacity & short serving the drinks just to score a few extra dollars.

I wake with blood-shot eyes & a desperation for something fried & vow "never again". Well, at least not for another ten or so years!