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Club links

Club links section

A number of relevant or interesting links.


Best Dating Sites
Joe Morris’s 100 Best Dating Sites strives to be the most comprehensive, unbiased and objective resource for single people who are looking for a safe and affordable online dating site to try out. On this website you'll find articles dealing with a range of topics including online safety, tips, rankings and reviews of the top dating sites, and many other topics designed to inform and educate singles interested in online dating.  Click here to visit the site.



Warwick Drinking Studies Network
WDSN PosterA poster introducing the 2nd Annual Symposium: Drink and the Life Cycle of Warwick Drinking Studies Network - 23rd September 2011 at the University of Warwick.

Ruth is among the first group of speakers.  Her topic is described as “Ruth Cherrington (Club Historians), “Learning to Stand Your Round and Become a Man: Intergenerational Drinking Behaviour in Working Men’s Clubs.”

The poster is available for closer inspection and download in pdf format - pdf link



The Club and Institute Union (CIU)
The website of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union Ltd.
www.wmciu.org.uk



'Henry Solly and the Working Men's Club and Institute Union', the encyclopaedia of informal education.www.infed.org/thinkers/solly.htm




MP3 Backing Tracks - For Professionals and For Fun.


CIU Good Club Companion 2007/08
The CIU Good Club Companion 2007/08 - produced as a full colour, 500-page handy sized paperback book, to provide the most wide-ranging source of information ever published about the Union and its member clubs.

Each CIU branch is to have its own section in the book and these will build into a comprehensive guide to clubs and their facilities – a 21st century edition of the ‘List of Clubs.’
wmciu.org.uk/?page_id=13



Link to The Independent
“Death of the working men's club
They used to guarantee a cheap pint and a good night out but, as more close every month, a bastion of British life is now under threat”

By Ian Griggs
Sunday, 10 August 2008



Podcast by Ruth Cherrington
A podcast -  “The Rise and Fall of the Working Men’s Club”.  Ruth talks about the decline of social clubs on the  University website.

LIsten to the MP3 Podcast


Essex Working Men’s Clubs

Essex Working Men's Clubs.  A comprehensive list of Working Men's Clubs to be found throughout the county of Essex



Leicester Square Working Men’s Club

 


A working men's club in London's Leicester Square?  You're joking, aren't you? No,  I'm not but the stand up comics at the venue certainly are and get quite a few laughs along the way.
 
Ok, it's not a real WMC but you will find in this small downstairs room in Leicester Square Theatre, every 3rd Sunday in the month, the essence of club entertainment whittled down to fit the 3 hour time slot.  You don't have to be a card carrying member and it's probably best for adults rather than families with young kids.  But the organisers and comperes, David Hardcastle and Luke Benson of Get Happy Comedy, certainly tip their hats to the great club tradition.

At £5 a go, it's a bargain with a free game of bingo thrown in (only a line, I would have liked more but I'm just a bingo fiend!) and a chance to win a prize at darts.  You just get one throw but it's a laugh and there are dominoes provided if you want to pass your time in-between acts matching the spots.  There is also a raffle which any place purporting to replicate a club must have and the top prize is meat, as it would have been in real clubs back in the day.  I thought they were very generous with the meat but as as vegetarian, was glad my friend won and not me.  That's his cholesterol up this week!

Masters of ceremony David and Luke opened up the show with a bit of banter, with the lovely Miss Rachel Parris on piano.  Rachel had to step in at the last minute with some 'toons' as Luke said in his lovely Geordie accent, as the first act didn't show up.  She plays a mean piano.  After this we were treated to Christian Lee's magic show which was amusing and low key.

We needed an interval then to stock up on drinks which is what intervals are for, surely!  Big excitement followed with the bingo, with Rachel calling out the numbers in her own unique style, unlike any other bingo caller I have ever encountered.  Sadly she didn't call my numbers. Shake 'em up, Rachel!

We then had more 'turns', with first off American comedian Scott Capurro, a Perrier Award Winner at the Edinburgh Festival a few years back & a regular on the Wright stuff on C5.  This guy is very risque, very non-pc and takes no prisoners.

Then came Talent Quest when 4 aspiring comics were given 7 minutes slot to strut their stuff and see if they come out the other end. The quality varied but on the whole, not bad at all. This slot reminded me of the early days of 'alternative comedy' back in the early 80s. It's hard work for them to keep the audience and they all did well. But 7 minutes might be a bit too long- 5 minutes could be better for the comics and audience alike.

It was a small audience, around 20, but I was told they've had busier afternoons. Maybe people stayed at home to watch West Ham get defeated and relegated to the Championship? Sad. They should have come to the Club!

We were soon onto the final two turns. Comic magician Lee Hathaway is an impressive looking man before he evens does any magic but when he proceeded to swallow a 3 foot long sausage balloon without choking to death, I was hooked.  How did he do that?  Afterwards in the pub, he seemed fine and was drinking normally, still clearly alive.  Well done Lee.

Finally, Earl Okin stepped up to entertain us with his subtle dry humour, dulcet tomes and guitar playing.  He managed to 'play' quite a few other instruments just with his mouth and breath.  You have to hear it to believe it.  Again, I found myself asking, 'how did he do that?'  Earl is a seasoned entertainer, who has done the club circuit and knows how to win and keep an audience. A bit of class.

It was soon 'home' time but as this was an afternoon event, the pubs were still open.  Good timing lads!  Overall the event was like comedy club meets working man's club.  It's a good laugh and nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Go and see for yourself- the next one is June 19th.  You might come away a few chicken drumsticks and chops better off!

Leicester Square Working Men's Clubs.
Box Office 08448 733433


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www.clubhistorians.co.uk
 

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