The highs and lows of a turbulent election were shown in all their glory in a London bar last night, as one punter left grinning at a £70,000 windfall and another was carried out drunk.
At K Bar at The Kensington a variety of emotions filled the room as the election result ebbed and flowed throughout the night.
Some sobbed uncontrollably at Hillary Clinton’s loss, others sought solace in the bottom of a bottle, and one Frenchman simply declared the result was ‘sad’.
But among all that, one man was happily smiling in the corner as Donald Trump’s surprise victory meant a neat sum for his back pocket.
Having bet £100 on a Trump victory at odds of 700-1 when he announced his intention to run, the boisterous ‘Jolly Wager’ now has a considerably larger bank balance.
“I work with numbers every day, I look at the trends and analyse the next step, but I couldn’t have called it,” he said.
“Luckily I have good friends who were certain and now this win has made me a bucket load of hard cash.”
He might not have felt that way earlier in the night, when the first set of poll results came in and the cheers indicated the room strongly supported Clinton.
Soon though he was the one feeling quietly confident, happily buying round after round as results continued to trickle in and go his way.
Emotions were going in reverse for Clinton supporters as they endured blow after blow in the poll updates and it got a bit too much for some.
‘Miss Teary’ tried to hold back the waterworks but eventually crumbled into a full blown sob.
She didn’t want to talk, or to be consoled, not seeing past the dark mascara clouds killing off any final hope.
Crying was her way of dealing with events, for others it was drinking fast.
This was fully adopted by ‘Tipsy’, who eventually found her limits and had to be swiftly escorted out the front door.
Held in a small, intimate space, the venue made contrasts between characters clearly distinct.
Joining them came a Frenchman, who played the part of the international voice of reason.
“The first word that comes to mind about this election is sad,” he said.
“It has been a sad campaign season and looks like it will be a sad result for all human beings.
“The person apparently elected today is a sad person and sad is his outlook on people, including those he will be leading.”
These four were just a few of the multitude of characters this election has already produced, not least the man set to inherit the world’s biggest and most powerful job.
We will all find our own reactions and coping mechanisms over the days that follow. Perhaps befriending the ‘Jolly Wager’ would be a good start.
