A load of balls

The Summer Ball is once more drawing ever closer. The time when the girls get to wear expensive dresses, and the guys get to wear tuxedos with a real bowtie, (not one of those pre–tied ones, which don’t allow you to wear it with the knot undone for that cool after party look). But wait, what’s that in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Yes, it is a plane. It’s actually several planes doing a flyby for the Royal Wedding, but the plane I was referring to is the metaphorical one behind them. It’s here to drop a bomb, a metaphorical bomb; this year the Summer Ball isn’t officially black tie.

The decision to not officially make the summer ball a black tie event has caused about as much debate as the AV referendum. If you don’t get that reference then basically that’s a referendum that, no matter what way you vote, will literally end in Nick Griffin being personally called upon to choose who the next Prime Minister is. He will say Donald Trump and all of the UK’s GDP will be put into trying to disprove Obama’s birth certificate (Sorry, a bit off topic there. This just shows the harm revision does to my mind).

This year the dress code for the Summer Ball is ‘whatever you think is best’, and that caused some debate. There are obvious solutions to stop the debate. The first being just change the bit on the logo/event invites that says ‘whatever you think is best’ to ‘black tie.’ You could also say ‘why don’t you just wear black tie anyway, you arsehole.’ You shouldn’t say that, as it is unnecessarily rude. Your point still stands though. When you read the two back-to-back it’s clear that they are just swings and roundabouts. So here is my advice to you – if you want to wear black tie, do it.

Think about it guys, how many women have you heard say that George Clooney needs to tone it down on the stylish suits?

It is an old saying, probably, that it is better to be overdressed than underdressed. Think about it guys, how many women have you heard say that George Clooney needs to tone it down on the stylish, suave suits as they make him repulsive. What about James Bond? You think he’d be a top secret agent if he walked around in shorts, flip-flops and a hat that ‘makes him look well indie and unique’. Now any women reading this, how many guys said that Pippa Middleton was a bit too dressed up at the Royal Wedding. I’ll tell you how many, none. She even got an appreciation group on Facebook, and so could you.

Another change you probably didn’t notice or care about is that this year it is not just an Imperial event. It’s joint with other universities, although it is held at Imperial. This is actually not a bad idea. If you think about it, getting some mixing of universities and more people could only be a good thing. There is a minor flaw though. Now, call me sceptical, but I doubt many people from the other universities will actually bother coming. No offense to the Union, but we haven’t exactly got a reputation for throwing amazing parties. Although I don’t mind that other universities won’t be there, you can’t force people to come. I guess it means we get more money for the Summer Ball, so why not?

The ticket prices are £40 if you buy them this week, with an extra £5 for the after party in Metric. I haven’t heard anyone complain about the price but I’m sure someone somewhere will. If you ask me the cost is pretty reasonable, considering the length of the event. Think about Cambridge, the May Ball tickets are usually about £100. They do have open bar, but still, with the wonders of pre-lash, ours will end up cheaper. If you are complaining about the extra £5, then good luck going to a club and getting in for that. I guess it’s like Spotify – you want the music, but don’t want to pay. Although I have already locked myself out of songs on Spotify, so fuck you Spotify.

I will end this by borrowing a phrase from Angry Geek. It’s not that I love or don’t love black tie being officially a dress code – it’s just that I don’t give a fuck. Once more, if you want to wear it, wear it. I will be. If you want to come over and thank me for my wisdom, please do. I’ll be the guy with my bowtie undone surrounded by women telling me I look suave.