27 June 2009

New clubs on the way?

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times informs us that the merged Tradies/Labor Clubs are going to hand back a portion of their enormous allocation of poker machines:

    CFMEU ACT branch secretary Sarah Schoonwater said the Tradies was committed to handing in some of its pokies licences provided they went to a new club in a new area to bolster community participation.

    ”We are of the view that we should be in a position to hand some of those machines back, and we are also of the view that they should go into a pool for new clubs,” Ms Schoonwater said.

Any club, however small, that had poker machine licences would not struggle to get banking finance to build pretty much any facility it wanted.

So what new clubs would you like to see in Canberra?

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I doubt you would find many better clubs in Canberra than the RUC.

Fair enough that the drinks may be slightly dearer than other clubs but the RUC makes up for that with the atmosphere, friedly staff and quality food.

I know that I would prefer to pay a bit extra for drinks and be in a great surrounding.

D Man said :

So what new clubs would I like to see in Canberra?

Clubs with no pokies. Maybe it’s a message we should be giving to the Labour Government, if not to the clubs themselves.

+1

sepi said :

I’d be up for a Greens club – organic vegie food, local pear cider on tap, sustainable building, pelmet making classes, pottery nights, lentil festival. Sounds great – but who would play the pokies?

+ 1.
I generally avoid most clubs like the plague. However your club might just be worth it.

lol at the idea of the schnitty pizza…. and this is coming from a vego.

We’ve joined the RUC, after a successful second visit, so we’ll have to get au fait with how the member specials work. I notice there’s special prices for pizzas for member… will have to test that. I wonder if they do a schnitzel pizza?

ThePirateKing11:52 am 29 Jun 09

#8 posted by 2604
#9 posted by MelonHead

You guys have got to be kidding. The whole point about the RUC is that it doesn’t have a million pokies so of course the prices are going to be like a normal pub.

Still, I’m a member, so last Friday I drank $7 jugs until 5, half price wines until 7pm, had a great steak for dinner then enjoyed $2.50 Schooies of Bluetongue all night. Maybe if you actually joined up you wouldn’t need pay the non-members pricing!

So what new clubs would I like to see in Canberra?

Clubs with no pokies. Maybe it’s a message we should be giving to the Labour Government, if not to the clubs themselves.

Maybe they could put them in the Govt shop fronts so you have something to do while waiting.

Anna Key said:
“It will start as the Liberal club. Will then be split into two separate clubs while reassuring us it is still one. They will both go broke and blame the tradies. Jim Murphy will then start his own.”

Justsayit says:
Very good, Anna!

sepi said :

I’d be up for a Greens club – organic vegie food, local pear cider on tap, sustainable building, pelmet making classes, pottery nights, lentil festival. Sounds great – but who would play the pokies?

Justsayit says:
What about if the pokies consisted of random arrangements by a staff member who was really good with a fast moving (rain forest free and fair trading approved) abacus?

Anna Key said :

Would the greens club still have a meat raffle?

Winning a tofu and lentil tray doesn’t seem quite the same

I think “winning” is the wrong term for that lot. Ye gods.

What about a club that specialises in beer and schnitzel, and if you venture outside that magic world, you get hammered to subsidise the beer and schnitzels?

They could even had tofu schnitzels, for the weirdos.

Disgusting and outrageous. This attempt to connect notions of community participation, altruism and poker machines makes me sick. The sooner poker machines are banned like in WA the better.

the ruc should bring back wednesday trivia that was great

i spose they wouldnt have topless barmaids…….perhaps brainless barmaids?

sepi, I’ll meet you at the organic salad bar, maybe we can compare notes on which is the best local cider! But you’re right, nobody would play the pokies there.

I think this town already has more than enough pokie machines, there’s no need to create more places to house them. More clubs would be nice, I just wish there was a way to have the clubs without all the pokie machines too.

Fruit basket!

Would the greens club still have a meat raffle? Winning a tofu and lentil tray doesn’t seem quite the same

I’d be up for a Greens club – organic vegie food, local pear cider on tap, sustainable building, pelmet making classes, pottery nights, lentil festival. Sounds great – but who would play the pokies?

canberratowie2 said :

Canberra liberal club ?

lol

It will start as the Liberal club. Will then be split into two separate clubs while reassuring us it is still one. They will both go broke and blame the tradies. Jim Murphy will then start his own.

Clown Killer, you may not have been to the RUC in Barton lately.

It was once a great little club, a sort of hidden treasure.

Now the drinks are truly boutique bar prices, with the exception of jugs of Carlton between 3 and 5, and coffee is $4 takeaway. The six or seven pokies that no one really plays much, are subsidising nuttin’

Back on topic, I want the RUC from 10 years ago. or any club that supports sport for kids.

Clown Killer said :

I’ve always had a soft spot for the RUC in Barton. It’s not really big, has a good bar with well priced drinks and the foods good for what you pay. If that’s all subsidised by twats playing the handful of pokies tucked in the corner then that’s even better.

Well-priced drinks? Don’t know what you drink there but I’ve always found the RUC to be a complete rip-off. $8 for most premium beers and $5-6 for a schooey of generic local beer. Even soft-drinks cost $3.60!

I hear you on the pokie subsidies – maybe they need a few more though?

canberratowie2 said :

Canberra liberal club ?

lol

I gues that would be preferable to “the canbera greens club”

canberratowie212:00 pm 27 Jun 09

Canberra liberal club ? lol

Clown Killer11:57 am 27 Jun 09

I’ve always had a soft spot for the RUC in Barton. It’s not really big, has a good bar with well priced drinks and the foods good for what you pay. If that’s all subsidised by twats playing the handful of pokies tucked in the corner then that’s even better.

a combined motorsports club with revenue going towards building new facilities and rebuilding/maintaining existing ones……almost certainly wont happen but a nice dream

One that sponsors the Canberra Capitals, that shows their games on big screen, and that they go to.

One that has movie afternoons for kids. Or weekend breakfasts with humphrey bear for kids.

Trunking symbols11:47 am 27 Jun 09

I will not step foot back inside Tradies until they return 83 Restaurant back to the Woden club. How on earth do they think they’ll sustain four new clubs when they get rid of their best restaurant?

Small ones that do good food. Those monster poker machine palaces are a bit disturbing.

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