Orion M.C.

Dear all, I am hearing steady but distant rumblings of discontentment about the Viccy Bar/Scotch Corner as a venue for our Thursday night meetings. Personally I find it OK but there are definitely a few drawbacks. Perhaps we can have a bit of a debate about it? If we want to change we would of course have to have a better alternative. Here are a few pros and cons that come to mind for the Viccy, to get the debate going.

Pros
It is central and not bad for access by public transport, car and bike.
It is a reasonably ned-free zone and the customers are quite a decent bunch.
The drinks are reasonably priced for a city centre.
We have been going there for eons and so occasional and past members can drop in as they do and be fairly sure to find us.
The beer garden is possibly second to none in the city centre, and is fab in the summer/autumn.
The management is pleased to have us there, and treats us accordingly.
Cons
It might be a but too old-man for the more genteel or trendy prospective members.
The music is ridiculously loud some if not most of the time.
The choice of beer I am told is a bit poor.
Althoihg the worst days of beer pipe cleaning aversion went with Alec the friendly barman, the draft beer can be a bit hit or miss.

Any thoughts anybody? Preferably illustrate your dislikes with alternative locations that achieve most of the pros and less of the cons. Ideas may have to be put to the vote or the sword at the AGM in January/February, so let's get au fait with the options before then.

Also the noise in the Viccy is getting almost unbearable, I can have a word with the staff and ask them if 114 dB from the turn is really necessary for the 2 or 3 folk that sit it out on a typical Thursday.

I must admit that I don't like (indeed, cannot stand) sitting in the bar with that row going on. Outside is better, but will become, as winter progresses, more and more of a trial of strength.

The problem is getting somewhere with no music.They are few and far between in the city centre.On balance I`d say I`m happy there until someone can find somewhere better.no music and easy parking are essential.
Anyway,I`d give that guy a few weeks at the most in the Viccy....hardly brings in any new customers...

Simple solution is just to get Scott to sing into the microphone, or, better still, perform spoken word monologues. Don't know if that would make the beer taste any better, though. They were giving away free whiskey last week, Gavin being the main beneficiary. If it gets any colder in the beer garden, we can always do the winter solstice camp there - where's yer spirit of adventure man??

I like the bike parking facilities offered by our present pub.

I hate noisy pubs with loud music and the draught beer they serve gives me a nasty head the next day. Having said this I really like the beer garden. So my vote is to stay and see if we can get them to turn music down a bit.

I know afew folk have been complaining so nows the chance to have your say.

I agree - lets confront the management. People power - We can turn the music down!

Alternatively, what about Mono (the old Cantina Delray). Same area, similar parking options? They also do live music, so we would have to be careful we don't end up in the same situation?

I vote to stay for all the pros that Julian listed.

The music is a bit loud, but I thought it not too bad if you sit round the corner. Also I quite like the stuff the guy plays anyway.

And I pretty happy sitting outside having a fag

Julian, if folk are discontent where are they on the forum? Nobody has come on with a real negative posting.

The problem with the music is that it seems to split the club into two groups - those who don't mind the music too much and those who hate it enough to endure the cold and sit outside. I realise I don't come down that regularly, but that certainly seemed to be the case last time I was there. It doesn't make for a great pub meet if we're split in two.

That said, I agree with most people that the location is good, the beer garden is nice and the beer is crap. Given that we want a city centre location, I doubt we could do much better and I suspect we have more bargaining power in that pub than we'd likely get anywhere else. If we can get them to turn the music down a bit so that talking is more of an option, then I'd vote for staying put.

Personally I think that the usual reason for two camps is, smokers ootside, non-smokers inside, and that won't alter with a change of venue.

Sounds fair enough

....the unsociable smokers splitting the camp with their disgusting habbit.

I feel strongly that if they don't turn down the music the pub is useless for the winter. The main reason for a Thursday night is to catch up, chat and plan weekend trips. We can't do that with the current dB rating.

I reiterate that I think the volume is quite bearable when sitting next door, but of course that is a personal view point.

As for the quality and choice of draught beer...I drink lager, which is fine on draught. So I'm ok there as well

The last con that Julian stated...the pub being a little too old man. I don't necessarily agree with this. I think that you get a mixed bunch in the Vicky and anyway I recall someone remarking a few years ago "...if new members don't like the Vicky Bar, then the Orion isn't for them...". And I would agree with this wholeheartedly.

I vote to stay put Unless there is a very good alternative suggested by someone who doesn't find the pub as acceptable as I do.

Is there any possibility of asking them to turn the music down then deciding what to do?

Well I think that would be a good idea if we made up a consistantly large crowd in the pub, but numbers of late have been less than earlier in the year. About 5 weeks ago there was only myself and Ian in the pub and last week there was only 4 of us I think

Could be considered a bit cheeky to ask for the pub to be changed to suit us But I suppose we could try, maybe more members would pop in if the music was turned down

Hint taken