So I haven't written for a few weeks, seems the battle has gone a bit quiet but I am still here and still ready to produce work. I went a couple of days ago to the Horns up by Old Street which has turned into my new haunt, needed one since the demise of the Queen Anne and this is starting to feel very comfortable. Wonderful girls who seem to enjoy their work especially at the busier time of year and have to thank especially the girls who did private dances for me, I wouldn't normally but it was a Christmas present from a friend. And there in lies one of the great mysteries on why some guys go, I saw a friend I haven't seen since the Queen Anne and we had an absolute blast catching up on old times. So it reminded me of why I write and what I write for and that is freedom of choice. Dancers and customers both are exploited in some ways by the industry, we know this, we accept this and we don't mind. I can choose to go and dancers can choose to work and if you have the money you can choose to open a club. Also I had a chance to catch up with Chasmal and we had an interesting discussion.
So in the last few months we have seen no activity from Object, facebook, twitter and tumblr have now been inactive over 4 months. Now I may go quiet for a few weeks at times but we are talking months and maybe we are seeing the end of the current spate of stupidity. Now don't get me wrong, the fight is not over, we will always find those that want to create a fuss and try and force their opinions on others especially when it comes to forcing their moral opinions on people. But for the time being the loudest voice against the clubs has been silenced and we can only be grateful for all those who stood up and stood against what was a reincarnation of National Viewers and Listeners Association. Only with a change of focus of course. We will remain vigilant and be ready to fight any and all who come forth with invalid arguments and lousy research.
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| York Town Hall, one wonders when the word will come out |
Many of us will remember the fiascos in terms of consultations over the years. Hackney where the council ignored the two thirds of people who didn't want a nil policy and imposed anyway after a consultation. Tower Hamlets where after a succession of consultation, deliberations and craziness nothing happened including waiting for what seemed like forever for the results the council didn't like. And of course Leeds where when the first consultation was in favour of the clubs the council change the question style to a how many and used that to close clubs and enforce their moral opinion. And now we are waiting for York to come forth with their results, which after more than 3 months since the end of the consultation still are not available. This blog did raise the issue of the style of questions and did get in contact with people in York over this, which is why I am interested in the results as after posting on several forums I was told by more than a handful of people they would be completing the consultation. Now looking at the meetings and agendas etc. for the committee that would deal with the initial discussion about the results we are looking and mid Feb at the earliest which would be around 6 months after the consultation. I have asked the council for a quote about this but at present I haven't received a reply about why the delay, as/when and if this changes obviously I will be happy to let people know.
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| Apparently one of two beacon venues in Leeds |
Now everyone remembers the issues we have had over the years with the constant fight to close clubs in Leeds. That is until now! It seems the renewal of Licenses for Purple Door and Liberte have gone through with absolutely no objections. Paddy Whur, an experienced licensing lawyer who represented Purple Door at the hearing, told committee members: “It’s the first time I have appeared before you without facing any objections. Those who have objected vociferously previously in this particular location have obviously decided this licence doesn't cause any offence.” Approving the application, sub-committee chairman Coun Jack Dunn said: “It would be wrong to probe or to find fault where technically, lawfully, there isn’t any.”. Which apart from the wording seems good news given the history of contentious behaviour in closing 3 venues down. With the failure of Lilith we are seeing the arguments being reduced to opinion pieces and even those have worn so thin that people seem to not want to voice them.
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| Second Beacon Venue would love to see what they are doing right! |
So heading into the new year we have the fall of Object and the surprise of venues not facing objections. We can only hope that the fight we have fought over the last few years has started to ease, however I have no doubt there will be a new back lash in a few years when I am expecting the same tired arguments to resurface but to be honest we know that people will try to push their morals on others and cover that up with designer fad statements. And every time we see a consultation, a license renewal or campaign we will be there to fight. Now on a personal level I would like to see more done to standardise the industry and work to ensure the fair treatment of dancer and customers along with the protection of well run clubs.
Have a wonderful Christmas in case I don't get a chance to write another piece before hand.
TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)
