Friday Night Fun in Aldershot

On Fridays both my cousin Sid and his girlfriend Sonia get off of work around lunch time (thanks to working a bit longer the rest of the week). This Friday, Sid and I walked down to a pub near the local football pitch called The Crimea with Sonia joining us later. We enjoyed a couple of pints on some picnic tables while continuing to enjoy the contrail-less skies.

After some dinner back at home with Carolyn, we walked down to the Funky End for a drink or two. Later that night we ventured to a place called the “Shiva Lounge” which was located just above a small grocery store called the Co-op at which we frequent for those small items that run out or that we forgot on the last big run to Tesco’s. This lounge was obviously a hotspot for the local Nepalese population. There are a fair number of Nepalese people in Aldershot which, being an army town, happens to be the headquarters for the Brigade of Gurkhas. When I was in Nepal in 2007, I remember hearing the stringent and incredibly difficult sets of physical and mental evaluations that the candidates would undertake to be recruited by the British Army. Those who succeeded would leave their families behind and live overseas but would earn up to 10 times what they typically would at home. Thankfully in just the past few years, the British government changed their policy and now allows the families of these soldiers to also relocate to England.

It was a fairly large room with a traditional band and fully costumed up dancers on a small stage at the front...quite a sight and I felt transported back to Nepal. I couldn’t help but look around in admiration and awe at all of the Nepalese men, knowing that these guys are la crème de la crème from a nation where I’ve seen a 50 year old woman carry not one, but two paragliders up a steep hill (about 85 pounds) wearing flip flops! I also couldn’t resist using what little Nepalese I could remember so I asked a number of gentlemen: “Namaste. Tapaiko nam ke ho?” (Hello. What is your name?) And I would respond when asked back “Mero nam Dave ho.” It definitely made me some friends...or at least I thought it did. They probably got a kick out of my dancing too...but when in Rome!