There is nothing quite like an evening at Globalls to brighten up a dull Monday, and this trip was no exception. We eagerly made our way into the colourful hub, where the helpful staff welcomed us. We made the decision to push the boat out and give the Carnival Games a go, and boy was that the best choice!
We were given our scoreboard, which listed the 10 exciting challenges we were going to face, and an air of competition came over us (some more than others, I’ll admit.) Game faces on, we entered the carnival.
We opened a dark curtain to find a weird and wonderful world of colour as the UV dazzled us. To upbeat music loud enough to make one break into a jive, we stepped into the vibrant wonderland. We were immediately greeted with our first challenge, Feel the Buzz. The instructions, framed on the wall next to the entrance, directed us to a series of buzz wire games.
(It is a lot harder than it looks.)
After what was certainly more of a challenge than expected (lots of buzzing), we were ready to take on the next game; Gotta Get Down. Essentially, limbo - a crowd pleaser.
The first round was far too easy for us flexible gals, but as the bar got lower and lower, so did my ability. “How low can you go,” you say? Well, apparently not very!
After all that hard work, we had to take a quick break to dance in front of the distorted mirrors, which provided a lot of laughs.
The next challenge, Meet Me at the Carousel, was Globalls’ take on the classic game, hoopla. A nice, gentle game after the highs and lows of the limbo round, I’ll say.
This part of the carnival, in my opinion, was the best decorated. You immerse yourself in the carousel and its fabulous ponies, traditionally in a full gallop and attached to large striped poles. It was truly magical to walk around the glowing creatures, taking in the superb designs of the saddles, highlighted with luminescent pinks and blues. This room plunged me back into happy memories of riding the carousel as a child, an uplifting experience that I’m sure many of us can relate to.
Whilst I was daydreaming about the smell of candy floss and powdered donuts, the others had commenced the game. Silly me, I had almost forgotten it was a competition.
UV hoopla definitely beats regular hoopla. The beautiful fireworks display painted in the backdrop really made it feel like an evening at the funfair, whilst the awesome colours of the targets gave the nostalgic carousel an ecstatic air of raving late into the night. That, and the dance music set to a volume high enough to encourage even the most bashful soul to dance like nobody’s watching.
The competition was tight as we each took extra care in our aims of the glowstick hoops.
After the challenging agility games, it was time to test our strength. This is most certainly not my strong suit, so I shall keep it brief.
First, a game we had never come across before, The Incredible Flying Pigs. It was a race to try and get your piglet to ‘fly’ the highest, achieved through winding up a pedal contraption with your hands that would raise a platform carrying your chosen piggy. They were rather sweet, and I guess I just couldn’t let mine go too far out of my sight. And I’d skipped arm day a few too many weeks in a row…
Next, the classic high striker game that we all know and love (or hate), but under the name, ‘Carnival Queen.’ Well, I am no carnival queen it seems as I could barely make it past the first mark. Carnival Baroness seemed more fitting.
Moving along swiftly from the tests of strength to the really exciting stuff - first up, the Fortune Flurry. We entered the wind chamber, which was fantastically decorated with illustrations of a fortune teller and her crystal ball, black cats and witchy candle sticks. The game was this; frantically jump around trying to catch as many bits of magical foil as possible before the timer runs out. Oh, and, in a whirlwind simulation.
What came next was the catapulting of softballs into various goals and fishing for rubber duckies - the childlike delight washing over us all like a radiant beam of light, illuminating a memory unlocked.
Onto the final two challenges, and they sure were saving the best till last!
The penultimate game, and my personal favourite, was The Drop AKA Dunk Tank. I volunteered to be the first dunkee (did not take much convincing at all) and made my way up to the platform. The others got to hazard a go at dunking me using just the force of the measly bean bags against the big, metal button. Naturally, once the attempts were up and I was laughing smugly to myself from my throne, the others pushed the button with full force and I was immediately engulfed in a pool of rainbow balls. It was honestly a delight for the senses, even if it was a challenge to fish oneself out of the pit.
I also had tremendous fun dunking my teammates.
Finally, we made it to The Last Ride. This was the clown themed room that the staff and previously warned us about. Despite the garish clowns, we couldn’t help but admire the design of the ghost train, fit with little carriages that were surrounded by huge, neon clown faces. It was quite a sight to see.
The task at hand was simple; or so we thought. Attach your balloon to the nozzles ahead of the carriages and pump as fast as you can to pop them. Well, as I already established earlier, my upper arm strength is not what it used to be. We still had a whale of a time, clowning around (no, I shan’t pardon the pun).
With our carnival games completed, we totted up the scores and found that we each had come in strong in the beginning, but ended up having way too much fun to think about keeping track or competing.
To the bar! And what a fine cocktail bar it was too, named ‘The Great Globalls’ and themed like a 90s rave take on Great Gatsby. We made our way in, and as the first customers there (probably because it was about quarter to seven on a Monday evening), I’ll admit we were a little sceptical.
But in the mood to unwind with a funky beverage, we claimed an elevated booth towards the back of the room, surrounded by fluorescent jungle themed patterns. We studied the menu for some time. There was, to our surprise, a huge choice of flamboyant, fruity and fabulous cocktails.
In the end, we opted for the Drumstick Sour, the Strawberry Daiquiri and the Watermelon Margarita, and these did not disappoint. Nice and sweet, garnished to perfection and fairly strong considering the type of venue. All in all, a fantastic end to a merry evening!
