Paintballing weekend - 'Troyfest 07'

Good morning from a battered and bruised Aussie here in London

Yes, after nearly 3 months of preparation I had my paintballing weekend in Brighton. Where do I start?? Well, after the numbers were reduced to 8 due to a few people pulling out I thought I would have to pay the difference as I paid for 10. Thankfully, a few more people were able to come along and we eventually had 17 in our group!! Nearly twice what I expected..
We all met at Victoria station to catch the train to Horsham (that was the closest station to where the paintballing venue) .. after organising everyone in the one spot and getting 17 tickets I thought we could all get on the right train.. unfortunately no.. poor Dan was waiting for us at the ticket window and a couple of girls went to platform 16 instead of 18.
So as the train pulled away, we realised that we were missing a few people!! (I wouldnt make a great teacher on a school trip!) Thankfully, they caught the later train and we all arrived on time..
There was plenty of nervous chatter and timid threats of what will happen on the battlefield.. deep down most of us (including me) were just a little nervous of what was ahead of us for the day.
We got to the venue and into our commando suits with our ammunition and we were ready for action.. the adrenalinwas pumping as we were allocated into 2 teams..

We hit our first course and we were split into either side of the game... lets just say I only lasted a short time before I was hit in the arm.. I kind of let everyone know as well that I was hit! (Hey, it really did hurt!)

We then had two more games and unfortunately my team failed to come up with a win. Then Bradd had the smart idea of asking the host what happens to the birthday boy??

Well, if he is up for it he can run the gauntlet with 17 barrels totally aimed at me.. Of course I was, so I took a deep breath and put my head down and somehow managed to make it to the finishing line with only a little blood on my hands!!

It was the end of a terrific day and we were all well and truly exhausted!

We then caught a train to Brighton and I checked into the one and only Hilton Hotel! Luckily, for me a friend of mine works for the Hilton so she got a discount room for £26!!! Bargin!!! It was my first time staying at the Hilton and when I arrived my jumper was muddy, I had paint all over my face and my shoes were a disgrace!!! I must say it was one of the best showers Ive ever had.. and the Hilton even arranged a complimentary bottle of wine due to my birthday!!! (So this is why I always make a fuss of it!!)

After cleaning up we had a group dinner (19 of us in total) before hitting a local club... At some wee hour in the morning I hoped into my double bed bruised but very happy after a successful day.

The next morning, I thought I would have to try the pool and spa.... which I found out was a perfect hangover cure! We then caught up for a look around Brighton before boarding the train back to London.

It was a terrific weekend, one of the best since Ive been here.. had such a great time and Im now planning on having my adventure weekends in the future!

Enjoy the pics

Troy