tiana's profile . tiana's homepage
Posted by tiana
on Fri 26 May 06, 9:44 PM to tiana's blog.
We cancelled Mercy on the 6th of May, following closure of the Bar De Mille. There are no plans for the venue to re-open. We've had to take a step back and look at the options we had. We could look for another venue, run Mercy midweek, or discontinue Mercy.
We had been looking for suitable venue to run a club in Liverpool for quite a while. There hadn't been a fetish club in Liverpool since 1999, and many of the locals we'd spoken to were very keen to have their own club. The 1st Mercy was at Hev'n & Hell on August Bank holiday Sunday 2004. There was a good turn out, which gave us hope that a club in Liverpool would be a viable proposition. We weren't naïve, and know that you don't run a club to get rich 
We moved Mercy to a Saturday after people told us they found a late Sunday night difficult for work on the Monday.
After discussions with the owner, he agreed to let us have a Saturday night. However we found that there were many complaints about the state of the venue, difficulty in finding it, and it being downright scary when all of the clubs were closing at 2am. There were other problems that we were experiencing like double bookings, and having to spend most of the Saturday cleaning and making the venue safe. It came to the stage that we were no longer making the rent, and we ended up subsidising it out of our own pockets.
Someone told us about the Bar de Mille. We had a good look around it and it seemed to address virtually all of the complaints that people had mentioned. We were convinced that this time that it would be a great success.
In the last 18 months the number of members has risen to almost 300. We developed a core group of about 12 regulars who rarely missed a Mercy night. Others came less regularly and at the last Mercy there was just 24 people there.
To run a regular fetish club on a Friday or Saturday night, you have to be able to show the venue owner that it is worth their while. Most people going to a club night aren't big drinkers so there isn't going to be as much money taken over the bar as say a live music gig, or 21st birthday party.
Another option is to pay to hire the venue, to make up some of the money that the venue is loosing on bar sales. You can only do this if you know for certain you are going to have enough people coming along to cover the hire charge. The ideal option is to have a purpose built set up like our friends at Nemesis have. However again if you don't have the support, which I'm glad to say they do, we could end up in the same position as we were in at the first venue.
We've mulled over several alternatives, and talked to the Mercy crew, to see what their thoughts were, and we've found that we've all come to similar conclusions. For the past 18 months we've expended a lot of energy, and a lot of time, to establish a regular fetish club in Liverpool. We've dealt with set backs such as double bookings, being deeply in the red at the bank, through to false allegations of rape. On the plus side we've met some genuine, lovely people, many of whom we now class as good friends. However, we feel that the loss of the venue, and Tianas deteriorating health and mobility problems, are perhaps signs that the time has come to give up.
We'd like to thank our group of loyal members who have supported us and encouraged us through thick and thin, and the crew who have worked hard each month making sure that Mercy was a friendly, welcoming and safe place for everyone who came along.
Mike and tiana
| 26 May 06, 10:03 PM Amaranth UK(N), 7 yrs  |
i must say that what upset me more than anything was the poor turn out. We asked and asked people what they wanted, and tried our damnedest to give it to them, everyone we spoke to was very excited about a regular weekend club in Liverpool, and yet (apart from the opening night and the relaunch night in the new venue) attendance was continually very poor. What more can you do, eh? Yes, i'm grateful for the break - apart from one month when we came as punters because we'd literally just come off stage and one month when we were in London for my grandmother's funeral, we never missed one. It may be just once a month but it was tiring, especially at the beginning when we were doing the market as well. But it's very sad to see the doors close indefinitely because of lack of support.
Huge thank yous to Mike and tiana and our fellow crew who worked tirelessly to try and make it work, we had a good team there. And for what it's worth, we had a great time "Well I guess that's what charity's all about, getting liquored up and spanking your neighbours." - Harry Solomon, 3rd Rock From the Sun. Edited 26 May 06, 10:08 PM by Amaranth | ||
| 26 May 06, 10:04 PM woodsprite 8 yrs |
Mercy was my first club - you gave me so much confidence, and although i didn't get to many of the nights, it always felt like going home. I remember the smiles and the warmth (and the bruises and the welts!!) and my blossoming reputation as a pain slut (really, me??!!) and all the new friends i made with great fondness, and this news is devastating, but i've seen with my own eyes the struggle tiana has on her hands at the moment. I want to say thank you to Mike and tiana, the crew and all the people i met and became friends with. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the scene than to start with Mercy and i'll never forget it.
And i'll never stop hoping you might change your minds | ||
| 26 May 06, 11:09 PM Stonys_hazy UK(PR), 8 yrs |
We'd like to thank our group of loyal members who have supported us and encouraged us through thick and thin, and the crew who have worked hard each month making sure that Mercy was a friendly, welcoming and safe place for everyone who came along. Mike and tiana [/quote] It's hard seeing this finally in black and white. Mercy was also my first club and Stony and i will miss it very much. As Mike, tiana and aramanth have said we asked and asked the folk attending what they wanted and tried to cover as many requests as possible. A huge thank you to that core of lovely ppl that we saw month after month and to all the great folk i met thru Mercy.
I am going to find the first Saturday of the month difficult for a time and know that some of you I wont see again
Huge thanx to the team for being great fun and good friends and not scaring me too often. (the memory of the single tail will make me jump every time
I will also treasure the memory of Stony all dressed and ready for the evening ahead pushing a broom round the shibari room in a very (cough) Domly manner.(I learned some new words from him that day Big thanx to Mike and tiana for all thier hard work as well. Lots I would love to say but can't. Huggggs to you all from Hazel xx
I'm angelic, the horns are only to keep my halo straight, honest | ||
| 26 May 06, 11:16 PM miss_chief UK(M), 7 yrs |
i have been to many different clubs but Mercy has to be one of my favourites, and that was mainly due to you both Mike & tiana. its such a shame to see the club go. xx Dont annoy the CRAZY person. | ||
| 27 May 06, 5:38 AM Purvection UK(M), 8 yrs     |
I am truly devastated to hear the news - I know how much hard work Mike and Tiana and the crew put into getting Mercy started and keeping it going. Although we couldn't get along nearly as often we would have liked because of our transport proble, we always had a good time when we did turn up. Well done for keeping it going as long as you did under very difficult circumstances. RIP Mercy. | ||
| 27 May 06, 1:55 PM tiana UK, 12 yrs |
Hi Tania, Many thanks for your kind words. You're right, we did try. We did have reservations when we started out, as we knew that Liverpool in the past had not been able to sustain a regular fetish club. It did have a good side though. We met some great people and we know we helped a lot of nervous first time club goers, into the scene. *hugs* www.clubmercy.co.uk Liverpool's only regular fetish club | ||
| 27 May 06, 1:58 PM tiana UK, 12 yrs |
We tried, and that's the main thing. Like most events, if people don't support it they risk loosing it. *hugs* www.clubmercy.co.uk Liverpool's only regular fetish club | ||
| 27 May 06, 2:00 PM tiana UK, 12 yrs |
That is exactly the feeling we wanted people to have, and we know plenty like you, felt the same way As for changing our minds hmmmm..at the moment it doesn't seem likely. However that doesn't rule out something in the future *hugs* www.clubmercy.co.uk Liverpool's only regular fetish club | ||
| 27 May 06, 2:04 PM tiana UK, 12 yrs |
Must admit i felt the same last night when i was mailing all of the members, and to the boards.
Yes it is indeed a great memory, one of many We're going to try to start organising the Dee Mersey nights again. That way we can all keep in touch. *hugs*
www.clubmercy.co.uk Liverpool's only regular fetish club | ||
| 27 May 06, 2:05 PM tiana UK, 12 yrs |
Thanks hon. It is a shame but it felt like the right time to end it. *hugs* www.clubmercy.co.uk Liverpool's only regular fetish club |
. Hugs and good luck to you all.