The A to Z of the Vauxhall Tavern
O is for Outdoors
Spring is here, so summer can't be far behind. All the signs are there: the days are getting longer, fruit trees are turning pastel shades and daffodils are trumpeting their yellowness. On the pavements in Vauxhall, an equally glorious phenomenon indicates the start of summer - clusters of bare-chested men dotted around the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

It gets damned hot inside the RVT. The two industrial air conditioning units rented by the Tavern management for the summer months try valiantly, but in vain, to combat the heat created by 400 men dancing wildly in a windowless room. Going outdoors is not merely a pleasant relief from the heat, it is essential.

In the early summer months, before it really warms up, steam clouds billow out from the doors. Vapour can also be clearly seen billowing from the hard-nippled torsos of the guys outside, creating a strange climatic condition - sweat clouds. Perhaps this is why it's called a "chill out"?

On sizzling summer Sundays there are far more people outside than in; sitting on the railings or leaning against the building. And there's always one wide-eyed half-naked zealot dancing wildly on top of a bollard. There are many more sprawled on the grassy banks behind the Tavern. Which brings us neatly to tomorrow's entry...