WMCs

[Steve]

Anyone here a member of a WMC?

What is the point of them today? And what was the benefit of them back when "real working men" from darn t'pit used to frequent them, over, say, a normal pub?

I went to one last night, to see a band that one of my friends likes. We signed in as guests, introduced by Mr Nobody.

The tables were arranged in long rows with chairs both sides, so everyone had to crane their necks to see the stage. We had to sit through 2 rounds of Bingo to start with, then the first half of the band's performance, then another 2 rounds of bingo and the raffle prizes, then the second half!

It seemed very . . . . stuck in the past. Why couldn't they have their bingo in another room so we could chat during the interval? As it was, the bingo caller kept calling for order

How are they supposed to attract new customers if everyone has to sign in and they keep having bingo every night? I know some members have been going for 50 years etc, always have bingo on saturday night tradition etc, but get with the times! And the decor was . . . . definitely decided on by some 60+ year old men at a commitee meeting! Dreadful.

 

[Deluks]

Did dad let you have a little sip of his beer when no-one was looking?

 

[Steve]

Dont start. Im 22.

 

[bernardgreen]

Dont start. Im 22.

Steve you are never going lose the tag of the contributor with the youngest perceived age. Run with it. ( or is that toddle with it )

But seriously a lot of Working Mens Clubs provide a link to the old days when life was more difficult but at the same time less stressful and had far less un-certainty in the future. The future was known, it would be the same as the past, not good but known. In the fast changing world we have today a lot of people need something that is not rapidly changing, a sort of security blanket, and the old fashioned WMCs often provide that for a few hours a week.

 

[Shutpa]

Anyone here a member of a WMC?

Yes Steve, I am a member of a WMC. I joined 16 years ago, not I may add, because I was a working man, (I had just retired at the time), but because they had 2 well-maintained snooker tables. At that time, the club was very busy indeed. We had to wait perhaps an hour to get a game, queue up for a pint and if you did play bingo (I didn't), you had to fight for a seat in the hall. What a difference 16 years has made. I can go in on any day of the week and start playing snooker immediately. I can walk up to the bar and get a pint, immediately. And in the bingo hall there are dozens of seats to choose from. In a nutshell, like clubs all over the country, my club is on its last legs. WMC's belong to a bygone age, the age before TV. The writing must be on the wall for all clubs that survive on bingo, ballroom dancing and other older-age activities. I wonder what you will be doing to pass the time in your over-ripe years/

 

[JohnD]

they have to either tip over into a more youthful set of customers, or close down.

the Returned Servicemens League clubs in Australia used to be crammed with ex-servicemen drinking cheap beer fifty years ago... when most able men had been in WW2 or Vietnam or somewhere.

In the absence of a major war since then (hooray you may think) their membership slid away and last time I looked, they were crammed with gaming machines and cheap meals as well as the cheap beer.

The cigarette industry has long recognised the business problems of being in a trade where your customers keep dying, and they address it by recuiting schoolchildren to make up for the established customers who drop off the perch.

 

[Miss G]

Wow i didn't even know they were still in existence! I am constantly being educated.. God bless the internet

 

[Shutpa]

Wow i didn't even know they were still in existence!

And I didn't you were until I read your reply - welcome to our world!

 

[Space cat]

And what was the benefit of them back when "real working men" from darn t'pit used to frequent them, over, say, a normal pub?

If you ever venture over the border into Geordieland, take a look around Ashington. Not so many years ago (OK, about thirty years ago!) it was the biggest pit village in the world. It was big enough to be ranked alongside Newcastle, Sunderland and Carlisle as a worthwhile target during the cold war.

But the most conspicuous feature of Ashington back then was the almost total absence of pubs. In their place were some fifty WMC's. Compare this with Morpeth, a farmers' market town a mere four miles away, which is bristling with pubs. The reason for the lack of pubs in Ashington has nothing to do with the preferences of miners as opposed to farmers. It's because the Coal Board were a bunch of miserable old party poopers and they wouldn't allow any pubs to be built on their land.

I used to be a member of Pegswood Ex Servicemen's Club myself (our other half is Pegswegian) but I let it lapse. You'll find Pegswood half way along the Morpeth to Ashington road. It's a typical South East Northumberland pit village in that it has two clubs, no pubs and no pit!

 

[bernardgreen]

Memories of Ashington and Morpeth from 40 years ago are revived. Camping by the measured mile tower at Newbiggin and guested into a WMC for a meal and a shower. Great times and very nice people.

 

[Nige F]

Dont start. Im 22.

Steve you are never going lose the tag

The future was known, it would be the same as the past, not good but known. .

....NOT good what`s wrong with a job "labouring" until you retire, then a state pension.....and while you`re working you get enough £ to pay the rent and feed+ clothe 2 kids ...If you want holidays, then your wife works part-time ....What`s wrong with that

 

[Space cat]

An ancient memory has just stirred. According to the book "Geordie on the Beer", working men's clubs have a longer history than you might think. They go back about 1200 years and the name is a corruption of "viking men's club". When the vikings arrived in Geordieland they weren't welcome in any of the knight clubs so they started their own.

 

[bernardgreen]

I wrote

it would be the same as the past, not good but known.

meanng that people in the 60's and before had a life style that we today would consider was not good. But it was considered as good in those days.

 

[billyo]

Cheap beer good old guys no kids dolly birds from when u were at school wot more do you want the bingo pays for the free turns they put on ever week.plus outings etc, we love i'm

 

[Steve]

While I appreciate the sentimental value of WMCs to many people, they have to change if they are to remain open. Many (most?) have bad, outdated decor, and are unpopular with young 'uns. Having a comittee of middle age men making decisions is always noticable walking around the place - dodgy wallpaper, out dated light fittings etc

Whats to stop a WMC changing to a normal pub, even serving food? Most have space for some kitchen prep area, as well as space for performances and even bingo, should demand arise.