For better or worse, Arsenal fans behaved like people who had finally been released from emotional prison on Friday night at Old Tymerz Ntinda.
Every few minutes, someone somewhere inside the venue found a reason to bring up Arsenal’s long-awaited Premier League triumph after 22 years. One table debated whether the current squad had suffered more than previous generations. Another argued about who deserved credit for “believing when everybody else was laughing.” Meanwhile, Manchester United fans did what Manchester United fans do best these days: defend history loudly.
And just like that, the fifth edition of Gilbey’s Hangouts was in full motion. By now, regular attendees already know the formula. Gilbey’s Hangouts is where Kampala comes to loosen up after a long week, enjoy good cocktails, laugh unnecessarily loudly and somehow end up in debates that feel half-serious and half-therapy session.
As glasses of Gilbey’s cocktails made their rounds across tables, the football conversation only became more animated. Arsenal supporters celebrated like people finally cashing in years of accumulated suffering, while rival fans tried their best to downplay the achievement. Nobody was letting anybody breathe.
That has slowly become the culture around Gilbey’s Hangouts. The beauty of the night was how easily strangers joined conversations, added opinions and laughed together like they had known each other for years.
As the football banter slowly settled, the room shifted into a more relatable discussion: the pressure of the back-to-school season and the difficult decisions parents constantly have to make.
The conversation centered around one uncomfortable but familiar question: When school fees and rent are both due at the same time, which bill comes first?
The laughter reduced almost instantly. People who had spent the last hour arguing about football suddenly became reflective. Some spoke about growing up while watching their parents quietly struggle through school terms. Others admitted adulthood had humbled them enough to finally understand why their parents always looked stressed during the back-to-school period.
One attendee said paying school fees feels urgent because “you never want your child to feel left behind,” while another argued that missing rent can destabilize an entire household. Around different tables, people shared stories, frustrations and small jokes to soften the seriousness of the conversation.
Host Ronnie McVex, who has become one of the defining voices behind the hangout experience, said that openness is exactly what keeps people returning every week.
“People come here because they know they can genuinely be themselves. One minute they are arguing about football, the next minute they are talking about life, relationships, rent, politics or anything else without feeling judged. Gilbey’s Hangouts has created that kind of safe, relaxed environment where conversations happen naturally and everybody feels included,” he said.
Throughout the evening, in-house DJs kept the energy balanced with nostalgic throwbacks, old-school singalongs and crowd favorites that blended perfectly with the easy-going atmosphere inside the venue.
Speaking after the event, Gilbey’s Brand Manager Raymond Karama said, “Today, people spend so much time online reacting to each other through screens, yet very few spaces still allow real conversations to happen face-to-face in a natural way. However, Gilbey’s Hangouts brings people back to that simple human experience of connecting, sharing opinions freely and enjoying authentic moments together.”
Gilbey’s Hangouts will continue to roll out every Friday.
