The Calm Before The Storm?

I don't know about you, but aren't things just a little too quiet at the moment? It's not that I am looking for trouble, but the anti club brigade don't seem to be doing too much at the moment. Object appear to be rudderless, despite the appointment of Anna Van Heeswijk, a person I disagree with about almost everything, but I am surprised at the absence of energy and direction in their campaigning. I imagine that if the Leeds 7 had been closed, then things might have been different, but the fact that the licenses were granted must have come as a huge shock.

Tower Hamlets has gone quiet as well, with some vague ideas about a meeting in September and we've heard nothing from Charlie Dacke for ages. Some might think that the prohibitionists have given up and or gone somewhere else, but I doubt it. They are almost certainly trying to find another angle, something else that may give them the leverage that they think they need to achieve their objectives.

But what could it be?

Well we have seen that when licenses are granted, the moralists don't like it and start petitions, which is essentially a pointless exercise because once a licence is granted, I don't imagine that it can be taken away again unless it is infringed and lets face it, that's not going to happen....

Gives me a thought actually.....

Maybe I am paranoid, but if I was part of a rad fem group looking to cause trouble, I would be trying to get people working in clubs on a pointless search for shock stories. Lets face it Object made immense capital  out of their dancer testimonies, but the stories are at best dubious, unqualified but worse still, very, very old.

If I was a club owner I would quietly look at my staff. Is there anyone that seems ill at ease in the environment? Maybe sometimes hostile to customers or dancers? I am not saying there are spies everywhere, but I am saying be careful because dirty tricks are the only thing left in the rad fem armoury.

Maybe its also time to be a bit proactive as well. Wildcats in Leeds do some marvellous things for charity, such as the money they donated to 'Help for Heroes'. Its a great charity to help out and there are others out there that are just as deserving, so why not run a benefit evening, get some good pr and help out a worthy cause? I seem to recall the Queen Anne in London doing something for charity every year as well....

If I owned a club I would be looking to ensure that my venue was spotless as well, just to ensure that no one had any reason to complain against me. So maybe its time to think about sprucing up the outside a bit, tidying up the signage, just looking at every detail...The Horns in London is a spectacular example of what can be achieved with a venues aesthetics as you can see here.

These are just thoughts......