Public dining might not be new, but it is for Horsham and Pretty Things was the venue ‘brave’ enough to put their head above the parapet and offer to host the first public Nothing On event.
Rewind to 23rd April, a Saturday night right in the middle of Horsham town at 6.30pm and you’d have seen a gaggle of people gathering outside Pretty Things, eager to get in and get their kit off to enjoy an evening of social nudity. A mix of naturist experience here; from the full-time naked person to the holiday sun worshipper. It was time for the doors to open and the evening to get underway!
On arrival, prosecco was offered as a nice welcome drink before the guests filtered upstairs to where 22 boards were laid out laden with different meats, cheeses, fruits and nuts and crackers. One unsuspecting highlight was the little jar of hot mango chutney. It really did add to the cheese and was good enough for one of the attendees to sweep up any unopened jars to take home!
There seems to be a natural order of doing things at naked events and this was no exception;
- Get undressed where you are comfortable
- Claim your preferred seat with your essential towel
- Say hello and introduce yourself to others
Whether this is to get the most out of the opportunity, to even things up with the people already there so you don’t feel over-dressed or perhaps to maintain that ‘anonymity’ that being socially naked brings, I’d love comments on why you think this might be.
So, back to the event – in a postive way, it was uneventful which is actually what I hope most events are. I’d never visit a restaurant whilst clothed and hope for drama.
The venue staff, whilst a little apprehensive to start with, settled in very quickly. Collecting drinks orders and bringing the drinks up like there was nothing different about the evening. Personally I’d recommend the ‘Premium Pink’ gin as pictured. One even said at the end, “Actually, it was a really good evening and you are just ‘normal’ people”, which is exactly the kind of comment we’d like.
The attendees all mixed and shared experiences, both personal and naturism related. Some were brave enough to venture downstairs to order drinks at the bar or go outside for a nicotine fix whilst nude.
So thank you to Pretty Things, we’ll definitely be back.
Thank you to the 20 people who made it on the night and apologies to the 3 who couldn’t. We hope to see you at another.
Speaking of which, the next events are listed below so get signed up;