These were compulsory and happened twice a night and thrice on special occassions!
First it was "This time we're gonna ssslow it right down" or words to that effect.
Followed by "Starry, starry night..." or "You drink your coffee..." or
"There's a lady who's sure...". Followed by either "Would you like to dance?"
or more often than not "Will you dance with me mate?".
It was the chance to go in for the kill (if you had enough Dutch courage or
Dutch Gold in you). THAT girl or guy you'd be eyeing up all evening, let's call
them Champs Elysees. Now was the chance. But if ya didn't have enough confidence,
artificial or otherwise, you'd just end up doing laps, like you would round
the Arc de Triomphe, chickening out. Procrastinating. Next time! Next time
I'll ask her!. Next time I'll take that turn down Champs Elysees.
But no, you'd still be doing the laps,and by the third song, Bob Dylan's
Lay Lady Lay for example, you'd be feeling that you'll never take that turn off
this roundabout, you'll never get that girl. She's still giving you the "glad eye"
but you just can't get the nads up to approach her. Then when you finally DO decide
that it's now or never and you've put your indicator on, then all of a sudden, from
out of nowhere, some other ballsy driver (most likely a native) would swirve right
across your path and before you know it, you've missed your turn and you end up on
Avenue Victor Hugo instead!!! For the peacocks among us, it was a chance to see how
many birds we could snog in one night ( I can't tell it from the peahen's
perspective). This time it didn't really matter what road you drove down (within
reason, that is!). It was more like, how many miles can you clock up?! Then if I
remember correctly (well during my term served at the Grove anyway), Lola by
The Kinks, was one of the songs that signified the end of the slow set. So NOW what
to do? Do I like this girl? Does she want to go out and get some "fresh air" in
The Compound with me? Or can we find a seat where we can continue the groping in the
warmth? Or should I just cut my losses and wait and see what the next slow set brings
my way? Decisions, decisions, decisions!...