Joining clubs?

[Noggin]

I think for a lot of folk clubs are a way of making you feel that you 'belong', as much as being a shared interest group. Some folk need that, others don't. There is also the possibility that you'll make new friends, although in my experience that hasn't really happened.

This.

There’s a ‘book/reading’ club that folks around here meet up for. In theory I should fit right in. But it’s all mums, absolutely zero in common with them!! And, despite the fact that I chain read books, I actually can’t read ‘properly’ (dyspraxia rools ko sort of thing), so I’m not gonna join a club full of mums that read properly . How to make myself feel worse .

Along with the fact that, whilst I love immersing myself in a book, I don’t feel the need to talk about it. Well, maybe discworld books - but they are awesome and mad and it’s fab to talk to other people that like them

[DefTrap]

Nope. But I'm definitely the. right age to be authoritative and just the right type of anal curmudgeonly wanker to be be president of a parochial group of dysfunctional inhibited enthusiasts.

[mangocrazy]

Nope. But I'm definitely the. right age to be authoritative and just the right type of anal curmudgeonly wanker to be be president of a parochial group of dysfunctional inhibited enthusiasts.

You just need to find a 'niche' and you're all set...

[demographic]

I used to be in the local cycling club, most wednesday nights we'd time trial from the north of Carlisle to on the A7 to Longtown and back for the 10, the 25 started at the same place and went up the A7 to Cannonbie and back.
We had a 1 mile hillclimb up the Combs from Armathwaite and a 5 mill hillclimp up Hartside from Melmerby to just past the cafe at the top.

Other than that one club I've never joined any others. No real reason but they're generally not something I'm interested in.



Actually, I forgot. I was in Keswick Golf Club when I was about eight but that was mostly cos my father was the club pro there, a good walk spoiled by playing golf in my opinion and I'd far rather take the dog out.

[hawkati]

Just the ducati sporting club, but I never managed to get racing in the desmo due series and it seems that's just about all that club is about.
Gonna let the mx5 club membership lapse since I had to sell the old car to finance the 1198s engine rebuild. Dang!

[Scotsrich]

Archery club, but it’s really something you need to do if you want a decent place to shoot. It’s just a group of people with a common interest and apart from the secretary who basically runs the club there’s not much involved apart from turning up and shooting, even though I’m the president.

I’m not much into clubs that actually involve ‘doing anything’ but that just me being lazy.

[Count Steer]

If I lived in, or close, to London I’d aim to join a private club, for the networking, history and privacy.

'Out of town' or 'country' membership works really well for the ones with accommodation if you're a regular visitor.

[Count Steer]

If I lived in, or close, to London I’d aim to join a private club, for the networking, history and privacy.

'Out of town' or 'country' membership works really well for the ones with accommodation if you're a regular visitor.

We've got the Union Jack Club, and at one point I was considering applying for membership of another club a decade ago when I was in London a lot more. It's best to say as least as possible about some 'clubs'.

It's amazing how many there are when you dig a bit. Folk tend to think it's all Garrick, Groucho and Whites etc but there's all sorts. The RAC and National Liberal were popular and I knew a couple of women colleagues were in the University Women's Club and stayed there a lot (the accommodation isn't particularly swish but they liked the place and the accommodation cost was reasonable). They wouldn't let you and me join though.

[Horse]

'Out of town' or 'country' membership works really well for the ones with accommodation if you're a regular visitor.

Recently, a rellie said "If you ever want to stay in London ... at my club."

[Cousin Jack]

All this talk of clubs, and a predominantly male group on the forum, and no one has mentioned Freemasons? No brethren on here? Or were you lot all blackballed?

[MingtheMerciless]

I was a member of an MTB for about 8 years, helping out on rides with route planning, sorting mechanicals etc, the club ethos at the start was no one gets left behind and the slower riders make the effort to keep up with the pack and the faster riders help with gates and making sure no one gets lost. Also bikes were to be serviceable and not breakdown continuously and helmets were mandatory.

Was great at first we had some brilliant days out and away trips but overtime the rides became slower and slower, I remember a particularly “epic” Surrey Hills ride where it took over 4 hours to do 12 miles! This was due to a mix of easily avoided mechanicals and rider fitness.

The final nails in the coffin were a club ride where we lost someone because she decided not to listen to a briefing (despite being a teacher)and went off in her own direction so we spent 40 minutes looking for her as she disappeared and then when we found her stated “oh I wasn’t listening and thought I knew where we were going”. Then we did a forest singletrack ride which we split into two groups “fast” and “leisure”. A load of people turned up as newbies , one without a helmet so he was sent on his way, it was really slippery conditions so I was very careful with the leisure group and pitched the ride as exploration so they could come back on their own another day when it was dryer, despite this I had one bloke who insisted on buzzing my back wheel down every greasy trail right up until he hit a tree breaking his scapula and another rider giving himself concussion despite being told he was tired and to slowdown.

So I ride on my own or with my mates now as its less hassle and no liability.

[Count Steer]

'Out of town' or 'country' membership works really well for the ones with accommodation if you're a regular visitor.

Recently, a rellie said "If you ever want to stay in London ... at my club."

Might be worth taking the rellie up on it....ask 'em which club.

There are loads though. A lot of the newer ones are more like hotels with membership though.

Lunnon's a bit like 'The City and the City' by China Miéville. It's like 2 co-located worlds where one never sees the other. There's the tourist/shopper world and then the one you only know if you know sort of thing. We used to have pretty much a map of places you could duck out of the hurly burly or arrange a meeting, eat etc depending where you happened to be, who you happened to be with or if you needed a lecture theatre type of thing. Everything from the Royal Aeronautical Society, Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce (handy for the MoD procurement meetings , IoD, even a (now defunct) shop called 'Travelling Light' where faithful customers (they had another shop in a tiny place called Godstone) could get a sit down, a complimentary coffee and leave their stuff while they went off to brave the horrors of Covent Garden .

One of the missuses colleagues retired and became a London Blue Badge Guide with iirc the focus on the Wren churches and gave the two of us a freebie tour as a practice. That's a whole new level of detail! We went back a few times to a pretty good café in the crypt of one of them - wouldn't have known it was there until he took us.

I suspect most major cities have their 'little secrets'.

[Count Steer]

All this talk of clubs, and a predominantly male group on the forum, and no one has mentioned Freemasons? No brethren on here? Or were you lot all blackballed?

AKA 'the mafia of the incompetent' as it was dubbed at one place I worked.