Staying in or out?

One of the mums at school today was asking me about my social life, i.e. did I have one. I have always enjoyed going "out", be it for a meal with my hubby or out for posh drinks. I don't go out very much, so I don't scrimp when I do. Last night Hubby and I ventured out to see the new Trinity Shopping Centre in Leeds. It's a bit sad to want to go out and do that you might think, but actually to us Leodites it's pretty special. Weirdest of all were that there were all these people out in the new bars and restaurants that made me think, "where were you before? Who knew that there were so many Mumford and Sons lookalikes in one city!". I guess for a long time Leeds has been resting on its laurels a bit, I never really know where to go when we go out so we normally end up spending a bomb somewhere like the Blackhouse Grill. It was nice to see more of a mix of people and ages in places like Friends of Ham and the Alchemist. That will be of no interest at all though to anyone reading this who has never been to Leeds. Anyway, we had a nice time.

Thing is, going out ain't what it used to be. I remember being all excited about a night out, for like, days. These days according to a recent survey it's more about sore feet and queuing for ages at bars, or not being able to find the toilet, or having your purse stolen or something. Actually that describes most of my nights out when I was 18 (erm 16, alright, 15). Maybe staying in is the new going out? You can have nice drinks, be warm and comfy, save lots of money, invite who you want round, go to bed when you want and best of all, no queuing for the toilet (hopefully). I reckon this is what most of the Mumford and Sons-ites were doing before these cool new bars with grass in jam jars were opened, biding their time at home, waiting for something decent to come along. When we bought our first house, we were forever inviting people over for dinner parties and it was really cool, maybe we should again? I guess now, most of our friends have children so it's a bit tricky to go out in the evening, and if you're going to get a babysitter then I guess you would rather go out than stay in someone's house. 

Maybe we should investigate this staying in with style, especially as the summer draws on, inviting our lovely neighbours round for BBQs whilst little ones sleep on sofas, like the good old days, yes, maybe staying in IS the new going out....