Sometimes you come away from a youth groups night shaking your head going "Oh dear."

That was last night. We had wide games on the oval for an hour and played with glow sticks. At least that was the plan. The wide game didn't work at all. We just had 19 crazy kids running around the oval. I had some rules made up for the game but it didn't work. I stood on the oval wishing for the days when I had Michael as a youth group leader because he really knew how to run a wide game. We used to play them about once a term.

After the craziness that was the failed wide game we headed up the road for Chinese at the local bowling club. That didn't work either. We arrived at 7:05, we got our menus at about 7:15, we ordered at about 7:35. I started to worry at that stage that we might not get our food eaten by 8pm when the parents were coming. My phone got passed around the table as every boy rung their parents and told them to come half an hour later.

Meanwhile, everyone is getting restless (when is a group of 13 and 14 year-old boys not restless?) and salt and pepper shakers, plastic menus displays and flower arrangements were destroyed. Peoples drinks got filled with undrinkable substances and then spilt over everyone. We hadn't even got our food and the table was already looking like we'd had a hearty meal.

Finally we got our food. The first meal came out at 8:25pm, the last one came out at about 8:40pm. We had parents waiting and one in who decided to hassle the chef and any waitperson he could find, because our food was taking such a long time. It was useful having him their because I wouldn't have done anything. We would have politely waited till 9:30 while I assumed the kitchen staff were working the best they could.

Eventually, when almost everybody had left I got to sit down for my meal. My meal was pretty non-existent because the boys had attacked it while waiting for their food (mine was one of the first to come out). I was tempted to eat off the table because there was more food there than on plates (except for the boiled rice which I don't think anyone touched).

When all was said and done, I paid the bill and walked back to the park to collect my car.

Actually now, that I write this, I think the think I liked least about my night was that I spent the whole time running around organising the things that had gone wrong. I would rathered have just been able to sit at the table be silly. Then I could have joined in destroying salt and pepper shakers and plastic flower displays. How much more fun than fielding parents and chasing Chinese waiters?