Ohhh the good ol’ days of free donuts, unbearable heat and an over-packed smoking area. Donuts at The Green Door Store was an institution for those who attended virtually every week. The sticky floors, sweaty walls and very drunk people are what made Donuts, Donuts before they relocated to the air-conditioned and somewhat lovely Patterns. Upon stumbling across old photos of ourselves at the club night we thought we’d take you on a trip down memory lane…
1. Arriving at 10:45 so you didn’t have to queue for half of your night
The queues were infamous at Donuts. If you didn’t get there early you risked wasting your night (and your drunkenness) on standing around.
2. Being totally unashamed about your dance moves because everyone was just as outrageous
The shapes that were thrown at Donuts were messy and drunken but there was a mutual appreciation between all of us that ‘anything goes.’
3. Making best mates with the bouncers because it took so long to get in
We never knew their names but they knew us and boy did we chat…the aforementioned queue meant you made best mates with the bouncers and queue-dwellers alike.
4. Waiting for what felt like a lifetime for photos that made you die a little inside when you saw them
The albums are all still there. Take a look if you dare. On the plus side, we found great joy in seeing people we’re now friends with in the same place as us before we met them.
5. Seeing everyone you knew or no-one at all…there was no in between
By studying in Brighton you’re bound to run into a few people you know from time to time. Donuts, however, gave you a chance to see everyone you knew whether you liked it or not.
6. Never getting a donut
Now on to the much disputed donuts. Did they ever actually exist?
7. Always getting a donut
Yes is the answer. The most savvy of you knew just the right time to run and grab. The pictures show it was the same people most weeks…props to you.
8. Dancing for 3.5 minutes and then needing an hour to cool down outside
THE HEAT. Donuts was fun, cool and exciting but the one thing it was not, was a normal temperature. The bravest could face half an hour, the weakest a couple of minutes. If it was summer? You’d end up half naked desperately trying to avoid other peoples sweat.
9. Sneaking your friends round the side
The ol’ door and fence technique. Friend running late? Sneak ’em in the side. Whether you wanted to risk being chucked out was up to you but we definitely skipped the queue a few times…
10. Being heartbroken when it moved to Patterns even though you hadn’t been for two years
The day we heard the news there was outrage! anger! contempt! aaaand then we realised we had just stopped going. Donuts was an all-or-nothing kinda night out and without it at Green Door, the old-timers decided no more.
This is a love letter to times gone by, it is in no way meant as a dig at Green Door which we highly appreciate as a venue…just not how it was pre-air conditioning.
