does anybody raise concern for the state of britains social clubs?

[Jon]

i have noticed in my short lifetime, that social clubs have not been supported by any government for a very long time.bieng a place for young to meet old,whether it be, liberal, concervative , labour , clubs have not had any help to perform the function of which they were originaly set up for. or is it just myself that holds this view?

[drP]

Having had a fairly long life I must say that Social clubs, along with pubs are in serious decline.

To be a member used to mean going on a waiting list because the membership was limited to the space available in the clubs and to go on a Saturday and get in could mean going early and joining a queue, waiting for them to open. These clubs were not all Political either. Large works would have a social club with workers making small weekly contributions from their wages. As the works died, so too did the social clubs.

Some of them went into a natural decline with old Mr or Mrs Suchabody always getting there as soon as the doors opened and stopping every one from sitting in a particular seat because Mr or Mrs Soandso always sat there. The old members did often get an attitude that the club was theirs alone and new members could be made to feel less than welcome. They have died off now and the generation they shooed away never returned.

Perhaps like other old institutions they have served their purpose. We live a different life style now. In the old days before there was decent housing people needed to go out for a break. It was not uncommon up to the 1960s for more than one generation of a family to share a home. Today a huge number of homes have single people or couples living in them and they have more space. More home entertainment facilities. Why bother getting cold and wet going out? Why spend a fortune on drink when a bottle of wine is so cheap? Who wants a pie at nine o'clock when we can order a delivery of some foreign delicacy to be delivered to the door? Who wants to listen to a third rate artiste singing to an out of tune accompaniment when we can have top class entertainment in our own homes?

Have you noticed too with the decline of social gatherings the increase in dating agencies?

Churches too are in decline, many of them come on the market to be redeveloped into flats.

I am not too sure what you believe the government should do for Social Clubs, they can't legislate for people to go to them on a regular basis, it is all to do with members joining and these clubs were intended for the members to own, run and enjoy. Village Halls, Youth Clubs and Community Centres are just not what people want.

Cinemas were in decline some years back and were closing but now brand new ones have appeared, with better technology and more comfortable seats, a whole new generation are again going out to watch films on the big screen.

If a new night club or restaurant opens, they usually start off with having a huge attendance. Which dies off with the novelty of the honeymoon over.

Human nature is to move on. 00