This post is on the Portsmouth (PO) topics page and the BDSM Events web board.
| Tue 24 Aug 10, 11:46 AM nicad2 UK(PO), 5 yrs   |
We are now running The South Downs Munch at The Old Vic in Portsmouth, 2nd Friday each month from 1pm to midnight or later. The pub is often open until 2am if busy. The move is from Friday 10th September 2010, address: The Old Vic, 104 St Pauls Road, Portsmouth PO5 4AQ. We will always run on the 2nd Friday each month from now on. This effectively combines the Friday and Sunday munches into one day that is more easily posted on automated web calendars. The Old Vic is a gay and trans friendly pub, so the dress code is now very munch relaxed from strictly vanilla to "wear what you feel comfortable in" as long as not extreme fetish wear and no nudity. Corsets, for example, are fine! See new Dress Code page on our web site, which has a good intro for newbies to BDSM. For several months there had been discussions about the possibility of moving the South Downs Munch into Portsmouth. One of the reasons for originally choosing Rowlands Castle was that it had a station, but it transpired that there is only one train an hour in either direction, and getting there even from nearby can be less than convenient without a car. Portsmouth & Southsea station has the advantage of trains arriving and departing every few minutes from a wide range of areas, with direct and/or express services from London, Brighton and Southampton, and as far away as Bristol and Cardiff, plus cheap coach travel, so we can still cover the whole South Downs area, in fact, even better! Another issue that has been apparent is that there are people from Rowlands Castle who are in the scene, and they are worried about attending because of the intimacies of village life. This should solve their problem and make the munch more inclusive. The groundswell of opinion on location had been obvious in recent months, and in late July, when there was an issue with an undesirable person possibly turning up and causing trouble, I discussed the problem with the landlady of The Old Vic, who I consider a friend and is well aware of my BDSM activities, and she suggested we run the munch there, as we already have almost weekly "unofficial munches" on a Saturday night there. We both felt that The Old Vic could provide a safer and more suitable environment for the munch. So I agreed this with her before the August munches which it was too late to alter and we have now set a new repeating date of 2nd Friday in the month as well, to fit in with the trading pattern in the Vic. I still want to support those who can only get away during working hours, but it is clear that an evening munch would be most popular, so although we will run from Friday at 1pm, so that the people with vanilla issues can get there, the munch will run on until closing time at after midnight. This will always be the second Friday each month, which will usually coincide with MISSuse being the next day (except next January, for example). This is another advantage, as a late night before MISSuse helps reduce jet lag for an all night party the next day! I am expecting that most people will turn up in the evening, but that a few will arrive during the afternoon and possibly leave earlier. The overlap and length of open time means that the largest number of people can have a chance to get into the scene and enjoy the munch and company of fellow kinksters. There are other advantages to The Vic, such as excellent food, available until 7pm, and a covered smoking area with heaters for the winter and a large table to sit around, so I am hoping that this, combined with the convenient location close to the station will make a big difference to the number of people who are able to attend. --
David Edited Tue 24 Aug 10, 12:03 PM by nicad2 |
