On Marathon Day I Exercise my Fingers

So the blog has passed 100,000 page views so firstly and most importantly I would like to thank those who started this journey with us both as readers and supporters. I would also like to thank Object, UK Feminista and all the councillors who have made fools of themselves (in my eyes anyway). I was hoping to do some blockbuster statement that would surprise everyone but for certain reasons I am having problems with my pet project and at present the only real figure that came as a surprise to me is that I estimate that there are around 2,000,000 private dances every year. Now that is a lot of worn down heels if you ask me. If I can get the figures to make sense then I hope to expand on that at some point.

First thing I want to mention to people is that there is an event as part of the troublemakers season at the Bishopgate Institute in London on the 8th May (here) about Raunch culture. Now the speakers are Barabara Haigh a a former Bunny girl and Sarah Mathewson of campaign group Object (nice that the BI didn't mention human rights). It is on a Thursday evening so if people want listen and if allowed question Sarah maybe? I would suggest any dancers not working that evening that can get there a strong showing may upset the apple cart so to speak. Object have broadcasted on their facebook page so people if you got the time maybe now would be good to show support for the industry we love.

Okay now onto the various bits and pieces that are a concern. Certainly I am concerned and upset by the treatment of the Lodge by Oxford council who suggested the club move, it moves next to a night club which runs the risk of trouble and in fact the Lodge bouncers have help the club next door from what I have been finding. Yet the club gets shafted as "New" plans suddenly appear this year about redeveloping the area. I would suggest the council knew all along and have been working to close a legitimate business because of one person in the form of Bob Price saying he doesn't want a club like that in his City. Personally the whole business stinks to high heavens and how a judge did not at least question the council behaviour I nwill never know. The Lodge looks like putting on Burlesque from now till Xmas when it seems it will close.

Next stop in my whirlwind tour is that Wildcats is mounting a second appeal. Once again the whole issue or councils be carte blanche to do what they want based on a belief. As this blog has stated before the only mandate the council got was from the citizen panel which is not a public consultation but a self elected group. Certain we are not sure about the make up of who responded to the question from the CP as the details from Leeds council have disappeared. Certainly on the TWO public consultation the council did NOT get a clear mandate but hey why let facts bother you?

Finally I would like to visit good old Tower Hamlets just like the Auditors did last week. The council has passed the SEV licensing and will be adopting schedule 3 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 from 1 June 2014. This after letters from two law firms stating that the council does not have the power to take the decision and even if it did the report put forward by the council does not set out a legal basis for the decision. Worth noting as well that the response to the letters basically ignores the questions and comes over as if we want to do something then we can. Which given the current issues facing the council and what has lead them to this point actually comes as no surprise. Nice to see the council is still insisting on funding 70 - 100 private dances a year per club and pub for it staff though which is what the money for investigating the clubs seems to be for. Shoes, ladies, shoes... you will not see Churches or the like on the council employees, most will be wearing marks and spencer type suits and ladies I am sure you can better identify the quality of watches. Bad habits I saw a lot of with council employees is to tuck their identity card in the top pocket of their shirt.

One thing that has struck me about Tower Hamlets is that the Panorama programme pointed out that funds may be being used to encourage religius groups to get their adherents to support the mayor, now I could never prove that the slow pressure building on the clubs is part of the mayor acting to encourage religious leaders in the area to back him but when you consider what was claimed by the BBC it would certainly not be beyond the realms of possibility that other acts by the mayor could cause religious groups to back him. So is this another attempt at getting support and have the council fallen for it?

As always you can comment or e-mail me on tonyprince@acdcfan.com

TonyN

And the Fiasco's Go On

Well been quiet but  a couple of things have occurred that need to be brought up. I was planning to do a review of what we have covered as we are about to hit the 100k mark for page views on the blog but the activity must revolve around current interests.

So according to Rania Khan Tower Hamlets has finally taken a nil policy even though they never got a clear mandate for it and it revolves around a bit of a con that they put in the earlier consultation around boundaries. This blog warned that this would be the ploy and that using what seemed an innocent question worked to cause a lot of issues. but we now have a nil policy with exceptions. Now the claim is that the council will only judge existing venues on merits but I wonder how long before the council try to push their luck and close a venue. Now the minutes haven't come out yet so this may get edited.

Will say it is a nice little earner for the council as the fee for each venue is £9,070. A big chunk (£2625) is allocated to compliance visit costs. Which depending on venue and time of day works out as 100 dances a year roughly with a bit of beer and the occasional glass for a dancer. So for all those lovely ladies out there here are a few tips on what to watch for in compliance officers. And not sure what the compliance officer will do in the case of the Swan.

Shoes and watches, most dancers will know exactly what I mean by that. Poor council employees are usually struggling with a mortgage, kids etc so expect a wad of cash flashed but they don't look like it should be theirs.

Tired eyes.... over a year they will see 300 dances or so. Too much in too short a time gives an overload on the senses.

Flashing the cash too quickly. They will be wanting to entrap dancers but have a limited time so they will act like really big spenders.

There will be other more subtle signs like forgetting to put away their council id card.They will also be worried in case regular council employees come in as they could identify them. Depending on venue and its relative location to the council buildings. So please dancers do not give those guys an excuse to close venues. Force the council to show that they have another agenda.

So across London to Camden and Spearmint Rhino who have been told that the council are withdrawing their license. Rather than go back over the power couple and their collision course with the venue which we commented on here. Just to bring you up to date we now have a fifth member of the licensing committee who is Labour and you have to feel that with the couple pressing for a vote with them we will see constant issues. Now I am sure when SPMR get the official notification they will appeal as it is all about curtains that create a private booth which is what the council don't want along with CCTV in the toilets by the sounds of it which the council do want.

So off we go to court, I cannot see the SPMR flagship rolling over and playing dead. And they will continue to operate up until a judge says the council are right which is definitely not certain. And even if the judge does I can see the place adapting to the regs. The power coule will find excuses to try and shut the venue every time and even claiming that Tottenham Court road is a residential area.... I mean really the 100 club and all the shops and bars are so obviously residences. However the Fitzrovia area has some people that want to try and close the place down (probably over property value in their eyes) and no doubt they will be supporting the two councillors behind the closure attempts. I will say these two are the most socially media savvy Councillors I have come across so far with very little connecting them to anything suggesting they are applying personal morals and yet reading the statement made by Thomas as chair of the committee it does come across as moralistic in my humble opinion.

Anyway this will no doubt rumble on just like the Tower Hamlets fiasco. And not that this blog should be saying we told you so, but on Tower Hamlets we told you so.

TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)

Tower Hamlets, the Con is on.

Tower Hamlets:- Mayor cons the public

As people know TH has been running a public consultation on a a new licensing framework without telling people what is in it. So we can only assume that the council intend to push through changes to the policies that will target the Pubs and Clubs. So after a consultation that results has never been released we go through a second one that we had no idea what the intention is.

Well assuming the first set of results were hidden as it upset the Mayor and his religious backers we are busy hoping that the council get told to leave the pubs alone. Well we can't have women choosing to dance can we, so the council has plan number 3 in case the result of the second consultation on SEVs tells the officials leave the venues alone. I am hoping that the people of Tower Hamlets realise that the mayor and his cronies don't actually care about public opinion and only want to push their own agenda forward.

So how is the council going to con the pubic? Well ignoring public opinion on striptease they intend to push through a nil policy by stealth, in fact they may have already done it although the minutes of the committee are still not on the website a month later. Okay Okay getting to the point. Section 15

15.4 The licensing authority when its discretion is engaged will always consider all
applications on their individual merits, however all applications involving adult
entertainment of nudity or semi-nudity are unlikely to be successful where the
premises is in the vicinity of:
• residential accommodation;
• schools;
• places of worship;
• other premises where entertainment of a similar nature takes place;
• community centres; and
• youth clubs.

So in a London borough this will mean no locations are suitable even after a consultation that may say different. Yep this is the we don't care about the public's opinion unless it matches ours attitude. They may say that it will not affect current venues but how long before they try to block a pub or club renewal? It seems wrong to me but councils can push through things without informing people it seems even if they are doing consultations on the subject. And even better the council has two section 15.4 so we have no idea what they are up to but it would seem that sooner or later the mayor will push through his opinion and to hell with anyone who doesn't agree.

And lets be very clear the council know that they are pulling a fast one

15.9 The Policing and Crime Act came into effect on 6 April 2010. One of the effects
of that Act is to enable local authorities to adopt powers in that act, including sex
entertainment venues (SEVs). This Borough will adopt the powers that will
provide a Sex Encounter Establishment Policy with the intention of banning all
lap dancing premises within the Borough.
15.10 The consultation regarding the Sex Establishment Policy will run
simultaneously to the Licensing Policy and cause this Licensing Policy to be
reviewed again within the next 12 months is adopted.
15.11 If the Sex Establishment is adopted, the changes to the Licensing Policy will be
with regards to Section 15, ‘Striptease’.

So point 15.9 says the framework which we haven't seen is about banning all venues! If they don't ban all venues then they adopt a policy that will effectively ban all venues when the renewal comes around. Well not seen such a clear cut act of sticking it to venues without some sort of public backing. Now I worked for a few years in Local Government and I am struggling to find everything about this. This has hidden agendas, lack of information, deceit and a total disregard for anything other than what Lufter wants to ram down peoples throat. Guess he knows he is not likely to get re-elected so trying to push through policies now while he can. Any consultation should be double checked it seems as there is a definite agenda of disregarding anything that doesn't suit what the councillors want.

So the pubs and clubs in Tower Hamlets you are heading for trouble and now would be a very good time for your legal people to be filing against the council. In the meantime I will be trying to get a copy of the minutes from last month.

TonyN

Haters Keep Hating - Tower Hamlets

What did you think of the Olympic opening ceremony?

I was watching it with a friend in Browns in Shoreditch and what was going on at the Olympic Stadium held me transfixed. One of the dancers came up to me and said "I have never been so proud to be British" and she was right. I sensed then that maybe all of the effort and anticipation was not only going to pay off in terms of a great performance from our team, but maybe also start to infect the whole country with some kind of feel good momentum that could last throughout the summer and hopefully longer. I really thought then and still do now that the Olympics could inspire everyone the country to move forward in the same direction...

That said someone else had other ideas....

Rania Khan attended a marvellous ceremony before the opening night, where the Olympic Torch arrived at the Tower of London and quite rightly she blogged about it. You can read her post here. In it she made some good comments about Olympic inspiration and community cohesion and then she said this....

Why is it 'natural' that the elderly white and young Bangladeshi population don't mix? I don't understand why that is 'natural'. It's sad, but not natural. It makes me wonder if Rania remembers last October when people of all communities from Tower Hamlets marched at the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street. Nice shot below of Rania marching with Max Levitas (he took part in the original battle) who is clearly a member of the 'elderly white population' and everyone seems to be getting on fine. Maybe Rania would like to spend some time explaining her views on community cohesion in a little more depth. Maybe could ask Max Levitas for his views but I doubt it because lets face it she because she can't even be bothered to spell his name correctly. Also note the way in which the caption in the frame grab below can be taken in two ways....

Anyway, back to the ceremony at The Tower of London. Ranias attendance of this great event was marred by the fact that Peter Stringfellow had been invited. Why shouldn't he have been there? He is a businessman in the City and I am sure he enjoyed his time there very much,  but Rania really went into one.....

Rania you are not a strong supporter of the reclassification of  SEVs and lap dancing clubs, you just want them all closed down. Was it really 'horrible and sickening' to share space with Peter Stringfellow. Did the presence of a human being that you happen to disagree with really have such a marked affect on you? You wanted to jump in The Thames? Would it have been that hard to made an effort to engage with Mr Stringfellow and tell him your views about people trafficking and clubs and the crime that they cause. I would have thought it would been a golden opportunity for you...

Recently Rania attended another event, 'We Are The Waltham Forest Public', where a number of speakers, Rania included, spoke out against those that spend their sowing hate and division in society. I wonder if anyone spoke out about those that sow hate against strippers, but I doubt it somehow. Anyway, you can read her blog entry here or if you wish, just read the frame grab below and spot the interesting error....

I really don't think that Owen Jones passionately defended Islamophobia, but nonetheless I would be interested in what he said.

Finally Rania was interviewed here for an article in 'London Loves Business', where she made the usual claims about clubs and the apparent social problems that they cause, largely, according to Rania due to groups of men that hang around outside the venues. Isn't it amazing, I thought the main reason for going to a club was what was going on inside, so why do customers spend all of their time being outside...

Still Rania did make a new claim when she mentioned the '4000 letters of complaint'  she received from constituents during the SEV consultation. Well this is interesting because the consultation took place almost nine months ago and Tower Hamlets council have never released the results. So Rania better get all of those letters ready for examination by the clubs lawyers if her campaign to close every club in Tower Hamlets  ends up in court, which of course it will....

I like what Owen Jones said....

"We must fight together, stand together and win together"

.....and we will.

Clubs in Profile - The Nags Head

Many venues try and do art, only the Nags Head succeeds.... 

There are almost as many club formats as there are clubs and speaking for myself I tend to find myself in smaller East End venues and of these there are a few such as The Horns, Browns and The Nags Head that are well worth a visit. Our last club profile featured The Horns on the border of Hackney and Islington. For this profile we find ourselves in Tower Hamlets and The Nags Head. Its a venue with history and from what I can see on the internet, there has been a pub called The Nags Head somewhere on Whitechapel Road since at least 1807.It seems to have undergone a name change (initially it was referred to as The Nags Head and Woolpack) and a change of location…

It seems that the first location was 9 & 10 Whitechapel Road and it moved to its current address (17 & 19 Whitechapel Road) sometime during or after WW2. I have the feeling that the first location was destroyed in the Blitz. If we add in the fact that a pub called the Angel and Crown at 2 & 3 Whitechapel Road was destroyed by bombing, it is a reasonable assumption that the original Nags Head suffered the same fate or was heavily damaged.

Its current format seems to resemble two georgian houses knocked together as you can see in the picture below. ...

To the wary eye it may not look that inviting, but believe me you will have to go far to find a friendlier welcome in a strip pub. Like all strip and lap dancing pubs the venue is incredibly safe, I have been a customer for almost ten years and have never seen a problem there. Bar prices are the same as the pub down the road and as any regular will attest, The Nags Head has some of the most attractive girls in London working there.

Recently the venue has benefited from a total refurbishment and the photograph I took below gives you an idea, but does not really do the work any justice....

Owner Manu clearly has doubts about my compositional abilities.....

As you can see its a small venue, but that's fine and every day you will find a mix of local residents, tradesmen and City workers all of who know each other and have done years. The Nags Head is probably the best venue in Tower Hamlets and those of you that follow my blog on a regular basis will know that it is threatened with closure by the Council. This saga drags on and on and it seems there may be a meeting to discuss the boroughs venues some time in September. That said, the recent shattering defeat of prohibitionists in Leeds with seven venues being re-licensed may even make the firebrands of Tower Hamlets think again.

Like many venues, The Nags has a website which can be found at http://nagsheadgentlemensvenue.com/ . The website is well thought out and includes a search feature that lets you know when any particular girl is working on what day, a feature that no other clubs website currently possesses.

Its an easy place to get to and find and we have included a map below....

As you can see its about 5 mins west of Aldgate Tube and even Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street stations are not that far away.

If you plan on visiting London for the Olympics you can combine a visit to The Nags Head with a meal in Brick Lane, (we recommend Cinnamon because its brilliant) and history lovers can visit the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, where the Liberty Bell was cast.

Opening at 12.00pm 7 days a week, The Nags Head is a must visit pub.