Sunday, August 26, 2012

Carry On Stripping in Ampthill

They never made such a film, but we can still have fun speculating about the script.....

I think it starts in a nice market town, where a local property owner played by Sid James has a vacant shop and so decides to turn it into a strip club. This triggers a wave of protest from the local residents, that include Jim Dale as a prolific campaigner. Maybe it would have had Hattie Jacques as the owner of a local toy shop and Kenneth Williams as councillor. Barbara Windsor would have been a stripper along with Valerie Leon and if it had been shot in the early 1970s, Madeline Smith. Bernard Breslaw would have made an outstanding bouncer and somewhere Kenneth Williams as an aggrieved local resident.

The issue is that 'Carry On Stripping' is now a reality and its happening in the Bedfordshire market town of Ampthill. I discovered this when I checked the traffic sources for this blog and found that someone had linked to me from a blog called 'LoveAmpthill'. I followed the link back and found out about a story regarding a proposed lapdancing club. The article containing the link was some quotes from ex dancers talking about how degrading the job is, so I have to say that the blogger in question was mistaken in linking to this site, but now its been brought to my attention they are going to have to live with their error.

So what we have is an empty shop near the town centre that local business man, John Shayler has gained an SEV license to turn into a lap dancing club. This has triggered a wave of horror and protest from the local residents, who now fear their town will be destroyed. Initially, the 'Ampthillians' (as they call themselves), seemed to be taking things in their stride, but around mid august more radical and ill tempered people started driving the prohibitionist campaign. You can see for yourself how the views evolved by visiting the forum of their local internet TV station, where you will find at least 18 pages of comments, arguments and people insulting each other until the site admin called a halt to things after deleting anything that was contentious....


I noted the comment about the 'tattoo studio' and became intrigued so followed it up. It seems that a couple of years ago, someone opened the tattoo studio and immediately was subject to a campaign of lies and intimidation from persons unknown in the community. I gather that the 'ampthillians' became convinced that their town would be besieged by Hells Angels who would get some tattoos done and then go onto to destroy everything. This is not what happened and the anonymous mailshot (yes indeed, the prohibitionists favourite weapon) turned out to be a pack of lies and abandoned needles and blood stained tissues weren't left discarded outside the shop. The story started to give me a sense of what Ampthill is maybe like as a town, perhaps an unfair sense, but lets carry on.

It seems the protest against the lap dancing club is running in the same vein as the tattoo parlour and locals are not at all happy...

.
Please bear  in mind that the above comment was not one of those removed by the moderator, so you can imagine what those that were, were like. Apart from the barrage of childish insults, I have to advise Miss Rosy that taking anyones photograph while they are in the act of entering or leaving the club will end up in expensive legal action against you, so don't go down that line please. Below we also see the usual ignorance about what happens in a lap dancing club...


Scrabbler seems to think that the S.E means that people will be having sex in the club, which as we know won't happen, apart from in the mind of Scrabbler.

Now one of the things that is interesting here is the behaviour of an unknown party in the town that has opened a parody Twitter account that the prohibitionists were all too happy to believe was written by the owner of the new club, John Shayler.


Opposing the fake Sex Lord, we have the white knight of morality, who blogs under the name of 'LoveAmpthill'. Remember it was this persons blog that brought my attention to this situation. In the six months that I have been writing  'StrippingTheIllusion' I have managed to come up with just 170 articles. LoveAmpthill managed to knock just over 60 in August, which if nothing else demonstrates his commitment to the cause. The problem is though that something bad happened, which lead to LoveAmpthill deleting almost everything....


Our blogger made an ill judged comment on his twitter account (also now cleared out of anything dicey) and someone suggested involving the police and maybe informing his employer. Having seen the comment, I can say that the police wouldn't have cared less and what someone does in their free time, is not of concern to an employer, so our blogger is being a little dramatic here. He was also being dramatic when he made this comment as well....


LoveAmpthill creates the image of a pitched battle in the town square, maybe a Lord of Rings style confrontation between the forces of dark and light as our hero is brought down by stripper wielding a crowbar. Sorry? And don't write about your devotion to your family and how its forced  you to abandon the campaign and then two paragraphs later say that you would have risked a potentially fatal injury.

The fake Sex Lord noted the demise of the blog as follows and we can see the response, that almost seems to be as much of a parody as the fake 'Sex Lord' and I have to wonder on that basis exactly who is really behind the whole Sex Lord Twitter account.


The issue here is that this was not the first time that LoveAmpthill got a little bit excited about things.....


This is a posting that was made on the AmpthillTV site. This was I believe written before the licence was granted, but that really is of no relevance. What is concerning are the ideas of direct action that LoveAmpthill starts to suggest, such as parading about outside the club Solent Feminist Network style. I loved the fact that LoveAmpthill warns readers that they might meet up with 'some pretty unsavoury characters' but a least goes onto to reassure everyone that his 'balls are massive'. The best bit is when the plan of direct action is unfolded for all to see and we find that it includes a 'noisy picket' that will appear 'persistently, regularly and courageously'. So in other words, Ampthillians are going to be the cause of the trouble that their protest, in their view, is designed to prevent.

That said, LoveAmpthill  does stress the need to keep things legal, but I fear it's already too late for that. Activist groups are generally speaking are committed people with an understanding of the need to keep the right side of the law. That said, in every group there is a fringe that believes violent action or intimidation is ok if the end justifies the means and I fear Ampthill has a few of these people. The site of the club has already been vandalised by someone writing the word 'Scum' in lipstick on the new frontage. It may seem like nothing, but it could be a straw in the wind.

Ampthillian attitudes are further revealed by the comments on the petition that was launched in order to force of review of the licence....


George Potter must, I guess keep a Register of Perverts so must know what he is talking about.


Again we see someone objecting without a clue what they are talking about. If children pass the site, they will do so when it is closed, but most disturbingly we see that Jean Reeves is all about people behaving in a 'morally acceptable' manner. Morals play a big part in this campaign, LoveAmpthill admits his objection is on a moral basis and like many local residents was surprised to learn that personal morality plays no part in licensing issues.

The petition has gathered almost 800 signatures, which is impressive but it only accounts for 11% of the towns population. Yes it can be said that 11% are against the club, but this also means that 89% don't really care either way or are actually in support of its opening. The issue is that now the SEV has been granted it cannot be taken away unless there is a clear breach of its conditions, so lets have a look at some of them...


I would say after seeing what I have read about Ampthill, that the above condition is among the most important. Dancer safety is paramount and I am concerned about the proposed protest getting out of hand.


Four door staff, one of them female will be a good size team and two of them could help police the area in front of the club and help ensure order.


If I was Mr Shayler I would ensure that there are cameras that record the area outside the building on a 24hr basis, largely because we don't want anymore Club Redds, do we?

In the musing of various Ampthillians, I have seen the usual references to the Lilith Report, but as soon as someone goes through the report with a calculator, they will see what rubbish it is and even Licensing Departments don't take it seriously anymore. I also saw that someone recommended Rachel Reeves Leeds campaign as a possible activity template, but only go that way of you want to fail like Rachel did.

There has been only one sensible contribution to this debate and that is from local blogger, Ryan Austin. I strongly recommend that you view his posting on the subject here and then read the comments left by his fellow Ampthillians.

I almost feel the need to offer advice to Ampthill and I will. I think you need to engage with a feminist group with campaigning experience, so why not try Femen. They are the only credible feminist group in operation at the moment and their exploits always gain much needed publicity for their cause.

There are times when I am tempted to believe  that almost all of this is some kind of gigantic joke, certainly someone, somewhere is taking the piss. But nontheless it is my view that the inhabitants of Ampthill and the soon to be open club can live together in peace. If it turns out to be badly run, it will be closed. If its run well and I think that it will be, then no one should have any problems with it. My advice to Ampthill is to accept what has happened, but don't let this spoil your lives. As it stands, this is all very 'Carry on Stripping', don't let it become 'Village of the Damned'.

40 comments:

  1. Yokels of limited intellect incriminating themselves on public fora? I'm tempted to say something about inbreeding, but that might be bordering on defamation... ;-)

    I suspect that Lord Shayler's real concern ought to be whether a strip club would be commercially viable in a location like Ampthill, rather than the ravings of a few childish, ill-informed idiots who seem to believe that they're somehow above the law.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you've got in one. Quite amusing how the locals wanted this kept low profile and now because they linked to my, I found out about it and now they have world wide coverage. I think the venue will do alright, as long as its left alone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I live in ampthill, and you are so right in assuming that people here are like this. They do this with everything. They did it to Waitrose (which they now love), they did it to the tattoo parlour (which got more business from the complaints - take that complainers!) and they also complained about a tiny Alternative Clothing store called 'Clobba' which was near the bakery - one complaint was that they didn't want 'Vampires' walking around the streets!

    I'm sick of it really. Ampthill is a good place to live in - if you're a little kid or over the age of 40. People in my age group - 18-30 somethings have NOTHING - a handful of shitty pubs and an even shittier 'nightclub' which you can't even really call a nightclub...and gah. There is absolutely nothing here to do. I just think it's something a bit fun? I mean, yeah it's a strip club but that's all it is? It would be a good night out - I mean, a bit racy but fun. And I bet you any money that most of the people that complain would sneak in there at some point.

    Ugh, it just frustrates me that this town is so damn backwards sometimes, and so conservative in their views that they've forgotten how to have fun. Or let the younger people have something to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kazzy for your comment and I am sorry for not replying sooner. Amazed about 'Clobba', because it does really seem that Ampthill seems to want to live in some of bubble all by itself. I am truly sorry about the lack of things to do in the town and its not like you have easy access to the railway station either. The club will be well run and I know a number of people that see such places as being a safe night out, so I hope customers find it to be a welcoming place...

      Delete
    2. As a "young" resident of the Ampthill area, I am offended by the posts on here slating the residents of Ampthill. When are people going to understand that there is a place for strip clubs. If I want to go to a "sex related" venue I know where to go, I make the effort to go to these places. The reason why people move to towns like Ampthil, Maulden etc...is because they are quiet family friendly placs and have their own uniqueness. Not all people want to live in a "nightlife" place. Ampthill residents are not stuffy or whiners, they respect their community and just want a decent life. Also its rubbish to suggest that Ampthill is boring and there is nothing to do. GO OUT and find something to do apart from get drunk and go to potential strip clubs. I like a good night out, but I know certain venues are right for certain enviroments. In the West End if the council shut down the Soho sex clubs and nightclubs and put Antique Shops in there instead, there would be uproar!!!! That's the other side of the coin. Just be sensible about this subject and stop slagging off a community just because its not "your thing".

      Delete
    3. Why are you offended? Ampthill stuck its head over the parapet with the amazing volumes of free publicity that it has given Shaylers proposed venue. I like to go on the Ampthill TV forum and see what is being said. It astonishes me that residents feel that they have been abandoned by the council because it didn't do what was being demanded of it. The law applies everywhere and Ampthill does not live in a legislative bubble. I saw the photos of the protest the other night and noted that the police were there. I also noted that someone stated that the police were there to protect the protestors, whereas its clear that the police presence was to prevent damage to the venue.

      Nonetheless, as an olive branch, e-mail me directly, with a verifiable email address and I will explain to you and anyone else from Ampthill the whys and wherefores of the situation you are in and what you can actually do about it. It will be a damn sight cheaper than a lawyer.

      Delete
  4. As a resident of Ampthill I was pretty shocked to here about the strip club, simply because today is literally the first I have heard of it. It seems the 800 signatures you refer to above is now 2300 and there are still at least some people with no idea about the plans let alone a petition so opposition is higher than you estimate.

    That said I at least partially agree with Kazzy that Ampthill does need to be open to progress (I very strongly object to MIMBYism) though suspect that there is not much that appeals to younger people looking for a fun night out because the demand isn't high enough - people who want nightclubs etc will tend to move to bigger towns/cities (or have easy access to them). I chose to live here for the types of pubs/shops/town life that it has now.

    As I say if people want to try new things then they should be free to. The only objection I have here is the location. Being absolutely in the centre of this small town it will be seen by anyone and everyone who visits. People looking for a place to stop for lunch and a wander around the boutique shops or antiques shops may well decide that Ampthill isn't that kind of town. There is seems to be a pretty fine balance on the economy of Ampthill - shops never seem to be very secure - my worry is that even a small impact on daytime visitor numbers could tip that balance and we see many of the positives the town has disappear. It seems to me that the best of both worlds would be to allow a strip club down one of the alleys off the market square - just as central for the business to be a success but less immediately visible to deter potential daytime visitors

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your comment. I find it amazing that there is resident of Ampthill that hasn;t heard of the infamous club.

    In terms of the voter volume, please remember that the article you are commenting upon was written in late August and we are now in late October, so things are bound to have changed since then. In terms of location, the club itself is bound by very strict terms that govern how it can present itself in the town. No one will know its even there and I doubt it will be open in the daytime either.

    The point that people in Ampthill seem unable to grasp is that a due process has been followed and the club can open. Furthermore, the protests, blogs and TV footage have only achieved one thing and that is to provide this venture with immense amounts of free publicity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. All I will say IS GOOD LUCK TO the club, it is work for people and there are restuarants etc that will benefit from the extra traffic,, to all you moaners ; get a life and mind your own business, if you dont like it you dont have to go to the club :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an awful way to talk about the residents who have run a completely legal campaign (can you prove otherwise? I believe the phrase innocent until proven guilty applies to us) about something which they genuinely believe (backed-up by evidence of other clubs) will have a significantly detrimental effect on the town they reside in and have been told numerous times the occupier is only doing to annoy people (I have heard this from him in person before you ask). I don't want the club in the town centre - I walk around there every day.
    A lot of the complaints about the application were because of lies in it (yes, we can and have proved this) and the fact that even before opening night, the owner was not running it according to the terms of the licence which have clear rules about the appearance outside.
    I should add the licence comes up for renewal in a year and there will no doubt be opposition again.
    Also, as a woman can I say I hate the objectefication of women that stripping promotes - no, don't tell me strippers are empowered, that's not true and you're just lying to yourself if you believe that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honestly. What do you do for work? Why is it Dancers(strippers to you) have to feel ''Empowered'' by their work? Does the girl serving your coffee in Costa feel empowered? Does your cleaner, when she is scrubbing your loo? Babysitter? Garden variety Housewife? ....
      I think the honest answer is they probably dont, do they, now?
      And i would say- As a woman- perhaps you should feel a sense of respect towards a woman who is working,particlarly in this economic climate, and is financially independant,works there by choice (nobody forces us!!),and has a lot of dancing (pole and lap - neither are physically easy work! ) skill.
      Why dont you come in and talk to us rather than demonising us? I would personally be happy to discuss my work with you any day.

      E x

      Delete
    2. And by the way, Lou- the protest on the opening night wasnt completely legal at all. As i recall, the police were called by the general manager at around 9.30 pm that evening to stop certain behaviours from the group. Leave us alone and let us do our jobs.

      E X

      Delete
    3. The entire campaign has been run legally by local people who have behaved peacefully. To be honest if the general manager has been appointed by the owner who has lied to me numerous times in the past, I won't be too quick to take his word that the protestors were causing any problems and he wasn't just fed-up and lying to get rid of them. I happen to know a number of them and none would have done anything in any way illegal.
      I am not lacking in respect for women - quite the reverse actually. The objectification of women has been proven to have a detrimental effect on the way ALL women are seen - not as independent equals, but as objects to be leered at (go look at the campaign against page three).
      I'm not demonisiing you, your 'work' however has an effect on the lives of other women, whom you show no respect for at all.
      Why should I ignore women doing a job that is proven to harm the way I am viewed in society?

      Delete
    4. http://www.object.org.uk/the-facts

      Delete
    5. Not Sure my last comment was posted so am going to re-write- Apologies if i double post.

      Lou, I would be interested to know exactly how you feel you have been ''Lied'' to. The Club is strictly adhering to all the conditions under which it was granted its licence (and then some, its almost comical sometimes how far the management is going to ensure that there are no detrimental effects on the employees or the town), so i am interested in what ''lies'' have been told.

      I think you have a rather outdated view of strip clubs. I know you're imagining a group of smelly drooling men leering at one desperate naked woman, lying on the floor with her legs in the air and wishing she was anywhere else.

      Its NOT like that. Seriously, you should come in and see. We really would be pleased to have you.

      I disagree that stripping objectifies women or stops us being seen as independent equals. A lot of men come in alone,not even really interested in seeing our bodies, just because they're lonely, and want to have a drink somewhere where they know someone pleasant and kind will speak to them.

      The fact that dancers are admired for their bodies, or their charm does not reflect on all women. For an example, say you, Lou, are a wonderful cook, or you run a business, or you're incredibly intelligent. I am not a wonderful cook, or any of the other examples. Does the fact that you are admired for those traits mean that I am NOT respected within society?

      Of course not. I just have different personal strengths.

      I read the Object pages. There is no proof (anywhere, not just Object) that strippers are bad for society or cause violence toward women - Thats like saying going to an art gallery and admiring the paintings is going to make you an art thief.

      I'm interested to know if you find male strippers so bad?

      I wonder if you consider yourself a feminist, Lou? As i have to say i feel far more opressed by feminists telling me what i should and shouldnt be doing with my body than i ever have by any man.
      I thought feminism was giving women the freedom to do with their bodies and minds as they see fit.
      I love my job (and I have done a lot of jobs, and it is real ''work'')and all you do by protesting against it is drive it further underground and make the dancers less and less respected.And by making us less respected BECAUSE we're nude, you enforce the idea that women ARE objects.

      Am i only a respectable member of society when im covered up in layers,hiding away from mens eyes?

      Of course not.

      E x

      Delete
    6. By the way, written just above - '' I have to advise Miss Rosy that taking anyones photograph while they are in the act of entering or leaving the club will end up in expensive legal action against you, so don't go down that line please.''

      ...Which is the illegal activity of which I speak, and for which the police were called.

      Delete
    7. Lou you quote Object... who I call liars. I suggest you read my piece objects out of date resources. They have no idea of the real world and continually quote rubbish. If you go to them for your information well that would explain a lot.

      Delete
    8. The Club is strictly adhering to all the conditions under which it was granted its licence (and then some, its almost comical sometimes how far the management is going to ensure that there are no detrimental effects on the employees or the town), so i am interested in what ''lies'' have been told.

      Actually, the club lied about the location of the entrances and exits in theiy application - they claimed to open onto a small alleyway by a car park when they actually open onto the car park itself.
      The car park is public, for the use of people accessing the town's facilities and therefore is used by many local residents etc on a daily basis, therefore a public place where photography is completely legal. Feel free to read more here: http://lifehacker.com/5912250/know-your-rights-photography-in-public
      Also, claiming that a campaign against something doesn't actually know anything about the real world is the oldest trick in the book - it was used against abolitionists and so many other campaigns in history that I don't think you would care to read them all if I researched them and wrote them down.

      Delete
    9. I cant help but note you havent responded to may of my previous points, for example, ''The fact that dancers are admired for their bodies, or their charm does not reflect on all women. For an example, say you, Lou, are a wonderful cook, or you run a business, or you're incredibly intelligent. I am not a wonderful cook, or any of the other examples. Does the fact that you are admired for those traits mean that I am NOT respected within society?

      Of course not. I just have different personal strengths.'',


      and

      ''all you do by protesting against it is drive it further underground and make the dancers less and less respected.And by making us less respected BECAUSE we're nude, you enforce the idea that women ARE objects.''


      Lou, as for proclaiming your campaign doesnt know anything about the real world - Im not saying that. I am, However, saying that you havent been into our club. You've probably never been into a strip club. So saying you dont know what you're on about is actually a valid point. We're open tonight, come in to say hello.

      By the way , if the clubs entrances were in a place that wasnt allowed by the licensing, we'd have been shut down immidiately. We've had a council inspection last week as to the licence we've been granted, and the result?

      ''Fully Compliant''.

      We're staying.

      E x

      Delete
  8. WELL. A lot of interesting views here, as this is my workplace now. I would just like to say that it is a beautiful club, that is being incredibly well managed and is as squeaky clean as anything you could ever imagine. If you decide to go in, you'll probably realise its nothing more than a few lovely girls wandering about in their floor length gowns and displaying their athletic pole skills. If you want a lap dance, that is also fabulously well managed and to be honest, its just nudity. You really must get over seeing the naked body as a shameful thing. Your kids wont be damaged because you walk past a closed lapdancing club, with no name or distinctive markings on the outside- they wont even know its there. Chill out. Let us get on with our jobs. We arent Satans' handmaids, we're just entertainers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've been involved and own many Lap/pole dancing clubs, mostly in London.What I can say is this, the owner/owners of this venue are what's known in the trade as being at the top of the food chain in running a venue as this, other operators should with out question take a leaf from their book. we went to the venue on the opening and last night thinking it would be different in the management structure, but no it was the same, unbelievable really. This venue surpasses all and more of the hype that surrounded it, so much so I am going to find out if the owner/owners would be interested in selling the venue to us as we are one of the biggest operators in the UK, no names mentioned. we have read some of the negativity over the past 4 months or so which has lead us to come to Ampthill to see what an earth all this nonsense all about only to find a excellent well pointed very luxurious venue to which we would very much like in our portfolio. As for all the nonsense publicity, Ampthill will benefit from such a venue as it will bring many people to the area and all of which will befit especially those who have food and drinks outlets. we can not wait to see if this venue is obtainable, my feeling will be note but would like to meet the operator in person to congratulate them

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well there you have it, the Ampthill complainants would do well to read the above statement and hopefully realise that this venue is nothing more than just a different business, I do however understand that there is only a handful of silly people in Ampthill who wish to have their 5 mins of fame and spread fear amongst other people who frankly don't give a jot. I for one can not understand how you people can cast aspersions when you really don't have the information to do so? How many of you would go inside the venue and actually be truthfully from your heart and tell the truth, none of you!!!! your all shameful in spreading malicious and disturbing insults to the venue owners as well as the staff. Take a good look at yourselves in the mirror, your only concern is that hen pecked husbands would love to enjoy a evening in Shaylers, yes you know this to be true judging the fat ugly things I've seen walking around the streets of Ampthill. I dare you to put it to the test, ask your husband if they would like to go to Shaylers one weekend before Christmas, go on I dare you, you know what the outcome will be you gutless individuals. I for one hope you have the worst Christmas imaginable.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Lou from the Hill,

    I am very interested in your strength of feelings relating to the free choices of other people in a free society

    I totally respect your right to your opinion, and your rights to free speech, in fact I spent 30 years both protecting those rights while working directly with truly vulnerable disadvantaged and deprived people in some of the poorest areas in the capital.

    Strip clubs and strippers never featured in any of my work. Indeed in all of my professional contact with the clubs and girls I found them moral, intelligent, sociable and hard working women.

    My question, which I challenge you to answer honestly is. Do you really care about these women, or are the protesters more interested in maintaining self imposed Victorian values, and their property values?

    Admit it, this is all about community vanity,created by a perceived moral crusade and nothing about the rights of women. If it is then please tell us which women's refuge you volunteer for, as it is there you will find the people who truly need your time effort and passion ...

    Or perhaps for you out of sight is good enough ?

    E's Dad. X (metropolitain police officer, 30 years and Princes Trust team leader.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is nothing to do with community vanity E's Dad.
      I for one as a young woman feel that the equality of women in society isn't yet something we've fully achieved (most people have got the idea but not quite all) and surely if we had there wouldn't just be female strippers in this club but also male too (or don't the 'femenists' on here believe in equality working both ways?)
      Yes, I do support women's refuges and other charities but am discreet enough not to post details online for anyone (i.e. the people they've left) to find.
      I am a moral, intelligent, sociable and hard working woman but I choose not to work in an industry so sexist. And please - Victorian values and property prices? That's what you believe this to be about? Can no-one genuinely object to an industry they disagree for perfectly legitimate reasons without being accused of being prudish/not understanding/self-interest/ultirior motives/anything else you can think of.
      Also Chasmal - here you have it, a reply with no doubt on identity/credentials because I have a far better answer.
      A/N in reply to the 'I hope you have the worst christmas imaginable' thanks for that, just the response a democratic and legal campaign wants and a statement that in no way makes you sound a little mean. Merry Christmas!

      Delete
    2. There are male strip clubs. Do you hate them too?

      The only person trying to make us subordinate is the feminists. I AM equal to men.So are you. My choice of job doesnt change that. You throwing a tizzy about my choice of job does - you arent out picketing the gay strip clubs of SoHo, which yes, use male dancers, are you?!

      Also,there really arent any legitimate reasons to object to strip clubs. You'll tell me they cause violence against women and harm communites.

      They dont. I researched this in depth, as i wanted to be sure. There are only two studies, but both deal with towns (Manchester and London)and assessing the violent crime rate before and after the opening of a strip club in the area (it was a 20 mile radius with the club at its centre). There was NO increase in crime, of any kind . Zilch. In fact, in Manchester, the crime rate actually dropped a tiny bit (0.8%)in the close vicinity, and they hypothesised this was because there were security staff outside the club on the road. So, the social argument is rubbish.

      Look, Lou, you're entitled to your opinion and Im rather enjoying verbally sparring with you. But you've got to understand - We're here, we're staying. Why dont you think about helping educate men as opposed to trying to stop womens freedom of expression? Because admiring the beauty of a naked girl and objectification of women are two different things. One implies admiration, the other ownership.

      Educate societys men, dont oppress its women.

      E X

      Delete
  12. Thank you for a great comment, although I have little doubt that 'Lou from the Hill' will cast doubt on your identity and credentials, largely because it's the only answer that she has left....

    ReplyDelete
  13. As per our reply on the 8th December 2012 and our follow up today, well we have asked the question and have inquired as to see if we could possibly acquire Shaylers, simple NO. It now would appear that Shaylers is owned by one person and has flatly refused to engage in to any negotiations at all. It would appear that the owner has bigger plans for Shaylers as time goes on, very intriguing indeed. A Casino has been mentioned on the upper floors although this is just hear say going around in the industry. We would like to thank all the staff at Shaylers for there hospitality Saturday and wish Shaylers all the success in the future. We will no doubt try again later in the new year to see if we can make any head way in talking directly to the owner. Happy Christmas and have a great New year.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rumor has it that Shaylers are applying for a 4am licence any time soon, it will be interesting to see how many of that small stupid group of Ampthillians will protest over this and on what grounds will they protest on?. It will again be time for them to crawl out of there hole and gain a further 5 mins of fame i would guess. Hopefully this stupid group will again give Shaylers the overwhelming publicity the owners grave, cant wait for this one. Hopefully this small minority of small minded protesters should by now relies that the owners are somewhat much more intelligent and an dam sight wealthier than they are collectively. Good Luck and cant wait for us to descend on the club. The Ampthill grew.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Why is Shaylers not open tonight of all nights, NEW YEARS EVE, probably the most lucrative night of the year for any club, is this guy that wealthy really?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Not knowing this chap personnel,i hear he is very well off indeed and far from being silly, quite the opposite in fact. Having now been in Shaylers on two separate occasions with friends you can just see that no expense has been spared on the refit of this venue. All his staff are very well trained in how he expects his club to run and i must say it works very well,i have also heard Mr Shayler does not take prisoners and does not suffer fools that well, that probably explains why his staff are so good.
    I have also heard that he intends to apply for later licencing which im sure he will secure quite easily irrespective of the silly protesters complaining about nothing as per.
    Good luck to Shaylers as he can count on our support, it does make a warm welcoming change to enter a venue knowing its a safe environment for costumers and not having a lot of silly youngsters being silly as in most pubs in Ampthill. Well done and keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Had the best time ever at Shaylers over the weekend, we tried it Friday and again Saturday a great start to the new year.
    Its all very confusing with all the adverse publicity as we still don't understand what on earth all the protester are complaining about, surly the adverse publicity is driving people to the venue as it did us as Shaylers was very busy indeed on both evening!!!
    It now appears that customers of Waitrose are moaning that they share the car park with Shaylers customers, how do they no this to be true? does anyone ask where you are going when you park your car? no one approached us on either evening, how silly bearing in mind when i say we, it was a group of four lovely females whom i must add are straight lol, we all agreed to go back to Shaylers the following evening because we had just the best time ever on Friday.
    The venue is very posh and very well run, we all felt incredibly comfortable and safe inside and will be introducing lots more of our friends to Shaylers, we just used it as a very posh wine bar and was not at all pressured by the staff or the performers to get involved, quote the opposite in fact which made all the difference, all of the performers sat with us through both evenings and we all got on fabulously, it was really nice and made such a difference from guys bothering us when we go out elsewhere, it was quite funny really as Shaylers had some really nice looking guys in both evenings, all of which did not take a blind bit of notice of any of us lol, we even had a complementary bottle of Champagne delivered to our table on both evenings apparently from Mr Shayler himself, we asked if we could meet and thank Mr Shayler personally as we could not work out who this guys is out of all the customers in the venue, he did decline and his General Manager did thanks us on his behalf for our kind thought, how very humble this guys seems to be.
    If you feel you wont to go to a high end venue and have a great night out with your girl friends feel really safe and not be bothered buy guys, Shaylers is that place with out doubt.
    Looking forward to returning very soon to Shaylers with more of our friends, hopefully we will meet the very kind Mr Shayler.
    Get ready Mr Shayler for the nicer girls from Ampthill.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have heard from a very good source that Mr Shaylers has been approached by a TV company who would very much like to run some kind of reality documentary on him and his lap dancing club.
    Hopefully Mr Shayler can be persuaded to take part in the documentary about himself and his lap dancing club, if so i think it will be a conversation stopper and a must see when aired on TV.
    Can not wait for this one

    ReplyDelete
  19. Its official, signs in the club windows displaying the application for the 4am licence.
    Well lets now see if the small minded protesters start again with this application, im almost sure they will if only to achieve five seconds of fame again.
    Well done to Shaylers you have our backing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. And the last 4 comments are quite clearly written by John Shayler.

    I'm pro strip clubs, and feel the club can only improve the view the surrounding community has of Ampthill.

    Perhaps rethink your marketing though John, pretending to be the owner/exec of a strip club chain is laughable!

    ReplyDelete
  21. How astonishing to think that someone would make a statement like that one above,i can categorically confirm i wrote the massage regarding me and my three girlfriends did enter Shaylers and had the best time ever, observably to the displeasure of the above poster.
    Just because we had a great time and was happy to mention this to our friends, it would appear you would prefer us not to have enjoyed our weekend and moan just how dad it was, i woulds go as far to say, should we of complained about Shaylers on this forum you would not of mentioned anything. Get a life you sad individual and let other people enjoy themselves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your comments are insulting to the readers of this blog. Clearly the same author babbling on about visiting with my three girlfriends/4 boyfriends, "top draw champagne", "last night I asked Shaylers GM", these are the comments of an amateur marketeer.

      Don't worry John, I genuinely believe You and I are the only people who read these comments

      Delete
  22. I can confirm that those four girls came to see us actually :) Didnt realise they'd find this but its nice- Thanks!

    E x

    ReplyDelete
  23. I went in Shaylers again last night with four of my boyfriends, again had just the best time. Im always given a free bottle of Champagne every time i go in to my surprise, last night i ask Shaylers GM why im always given a free bottle of Champagne, her reply was that the boss which i assume is Lord Shayler gives free bottles away to all female clients that enter his venue, no old rubbish either, top draw Champagne, i now have a liking for the high life especially the Champagne side at lest.
    Will be going in tonight if that the case with my girlfriends lol

    ReplyDelete
  24. 'I went in Shaylers again last night with four of my boyfriends, again had just the best time. Im always given a free bottle of Champagne every time i go in to my surprise, last night i ask Shaylers GM why im always given a free bottle of Champagne, her reply was that the boss which i assume is Lord Shayler gives free bottles away to all female clients that enter his venue, no old rubbish either, top draw Champagne, i now have a liking for the high life especially the Champagne side at lest.
    Will be going in tonight if that the case with my girlfriends lol '

    LMAO

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bucks Babes has hot & fun lingerie, topless, nude waitresses & strippers at the lowest rates in Melbourne, Brisbane & Gold Coast and excellent customer service" Female stripper

    ReplyDelete