A sin to be sober: we tried Sinners without alcohol

Newcastle: officially voted number one for student nightlife in the UK, and who could argue with this? From Basement to Bijoux, Tiger to TupTup, it’s fair to say that the city caters for every student’s needs.

But with every great night out, comes an even greater hangover . We decided to defy the laws of nature by giving the value vodka a miss for the evening and heading to the infamously sweaty Sinners – stone cold sober.

We walked through the doors just past 11:30, clad with both coats and dignity. Sadly, the same could not be said for our fellow club goers. It was hard to miss the large group of twenty  ‘party animals’  fist pumping and ferociously grinding in the middle of the dance floor.  Drinks were flying everywhere, as were the lyrics to Kanye West’s ‘Golddigga’.

Sinners cage stood in all of it’s glory. We thought it was built for 3 people max, however we were soon proved wrong when  we counted a total of 12 burly and boisterous young men clinging and climbing on to the metal bars like a pack of wild beasts. The ‘mortal’ students around them were collapsing to the floor as they made their way towards the bar in a bid to down a few more cheap trebs.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the mood of sinners disturbingly shifted. The fist pumping ceased. The cage stopped shaking. The dopey smiles vanished from the students faces.  Coldplay was playing. Suddenly, all around us girls were hugging and declaring their love for each other. Boys were swaying, arms in the air and eyes closed shut. One girl even appeared to have tears rolling down her already damp cheeks.

We evacuated the dance floor swiftly – this was no place to be sober.

Creepy…

As the night progressed, the students got drunker, rowdier, and significantly more confident. This was made apparent by the constant groping of our behinds.

We decided to bite the bullet and ask outright why the hell anyone would come to this s***hole?

Third year, Kanika Kapur responded defensively “because sinners is the best place on earth – my Mecca”.

Financial Maths student Chris Norris’ summed up Sinners in one simple word: “grim”.

This dim view was echoed by two members of the 20 minute society who replied bleakly to the question, “How did you feel when your surprise destination turned out to be sinners?” with a mournful, “disappointed”.

It’s safe to say that the next time we return to Sinners, we will be suitably bevved.