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Date:             Saturday 31 December 2011
Location:       Green Carnation, Soho

Let me start this review with a confession - I love the Green Carnation (GC)! The touchy velvety wall paper, the friendly bar staff, the classy cocktails, what's not to love!?  So I was properly looking forward to Code at GC, advertised as occupying all 3 floors.  To be honest, I never even knew there were three floors at GC, and the discovery of the basement was an eye opener.  It had a small bar and an intimate dance floor which was well serviced by harder dance music.  It kinda felt like a mini-rave, what with the gyrating bodies in a confined place... mmm mm.  Highly recommended!

The dance floor on the ground floor was the pop and RnB area, with a pretty good mix of tracks and a great crowd of women.  Maybe it was the NYE spirit, or those double mixers they serve, but everyone was very friendly and up for a dance with a stranger.  Circles of stranger joined arms to sing the obligatory ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and my mate came back from the bar with gratis drinks - now that is the NYE spirit right there!!  There were also couches and little nooks that could be used for a break from the music, should one require this.

The upstairs floor had some great old 80's tracks early in the night, before I'd warmed up enough to dance, and before the cloak room queue had dissipated.  Unfortunately, later in the night, after midnight, when my dancing muscles were warmed up and my sense of shame drowned in a fog of booze, the promised 80's & 90's kitsch had become generic pop too similar to the main floor, leaving me wandering listlessly between the floors listening out for some fun tracks to boogie to.

Last but not least, the toilets were kept pretty well stocked with paper and soap, and despite a whole club full of women the queues were not the worst I’ve seen!

OK, that was the love-fest but there are a couple of things that did not tick my box this NYE so let's get them out of the way.  The cloak room was disorganised, the queue long, and not relieved by opening the second cloak room.  I've also been advised that there was some disorganisation getting coats at the end of the night.  I don’t think this was a failing by the organisers as I have attended other 'Rebecca & Nicki' events and not encountered this issue, nonetheless it was taken on board for next time.  The £8 price tag for a spirit and mixer is quite steep, and the fact that it is a double is a mixed blessing which can leave the night a bit, um... fuzzy (or is it just me?).  I didn't buy a beer but believe they are served in bottles, with the price tag this involved.  

Overall, I had a damn good NYE, and only wish there was more of it that I could remember ;)  Have a great 2012 folks, and I look forward to partying with you for the next 12 months.

Review by Tali