Subject: Report for Sat 9th Nov 2025
Here at LNL HQ, we are always thankful for nights when it is not raining/snowing/freezing/cold winds blowing and tonight was one such night, despite it being almost mid November. Our team was a member down tonight which always limits our ability to undertake our regular 'perspective' patrols that allow us to say hi to those who are regularly employed or engaged in the night time economy of our wonderful City.
The team arrived and duly set up camp outside the almost, neon brashness of Betsy's Dessert shop on the corner of Bore Street and Bird Street. This repositioned spot seems to have given us a bigger profile as we seem to engage with quite a few more people throughout the night than we did when we were tucked up further back in the corner.
Our night began with a nice bunch of polite young lads, (it's interesting to note how nearly all the young people who approach us seem to be so polite - in some cases, much more than their elders!!). They were from out of town and were looking for a place that was not a pub but that did karaoke! Not being au faux with regular karaoke haunts ourselves, we couldn't really help them. A conversation was struck up that eventually came around to us having to guess their ages, as they seemed to take a pride in being mistaken for being younger than they looked and acted...teas, haribos and biscuits abounded whilst they dispensed their early 20's experiences and wisdom.
This was the first night with our new walkie talkie Radio, thanks to some funding from some of our wonderful local Councillors! "zero one, zero one, this is 75 signing on for the night - over?" ...and there we are, linked into the NITENET surveillance system.
Our two person patrols were brief and only covered very short distances as it was a busy night, peoplewise, and the team did not want anyone straying too far from base. On their short walk, two of our team witnessed a bit of an affray outside the Eden bar in Market Street where a rather aggressive man was apparently being encouraged to 'back off' by the security staff.
One young man came to our table seemingly a bit cynical as to our motives for being there but after some gentle engagement from one of our team, ended up in quite a lengthy conversation covering a range of topics from family to jobs...it was one of those where two ears were just not enough!!
Local BID person Paul, arrived at our table sporting a very expensive and designer looking handbag (not his usual night time apparel, he informs us). A lady had left it in a pub and it seemed to contain some important items including her passport and various cards. Paul was unsure where to leave it but eventually decided to leave it at the Kings Head pub should anyone come to us looking for a lost handbag.
The night seemed to present us with a number of more mature ladies in need of flip-flops...this is normally the remit of younger ladies, stepping out in heels resembling mini stilts and finding out as the night goes on that quantities of alcohol, pub-crawling and 4 inch heels are not an ideal concoction. We were happy to dispense and even help these more mature ladies into their 'beach wear', nearly always concluded with words along the lines of "ah thank you - you've no idea how better that feels"! - I think you will find that we do.
The other recurring theme of this night was people offering to buy us chips! We had to decline the kind offers as we knew that the ever 'bountiful Bobby' would be supplying us this culinary delicacy towards the end of our shift. As the night drew on there was a bit of a to-do with one of our homeless guys who had positioned himself between the Kebab shop and Walkabouts. He was clearly being incited by someone and was retaliating with loud verbal aggression. We considered approaching the situation but could see that shop security had got it covered and were endeavouring to calm the situation.
We realised that we had dispensed more than our usual amount of drinks throughout the night as the flasks were getting very low. The night concluded for us with a young lady enquiring as to whether or not she could volunteer with us... she was encouraged to have our card and give herself a wee bit of time to have a think about it and contact us - we do hope she responds in a positive way.
With our teams growing, we have plans to be out in December doing three Saturdays, 14th, 21st and 28th...so we might see some of you over the Christmas period...stay warm and cheerful!