Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Let's back the Langham, our local workingmen's club
About a year ago (thanks to a project which HoL was taking part in) I began to realise just how important workingmen’s clubs can be in building communities, and therefore how important it is to keep them.
In Harringay, we have our very own club, the Langham at 600 Green Lanes (a couple of hundred metres north of St. Ann’s Road), and now I’ve finally taken the plunge and applied to become a member. It would be a great if others would do the same.
What’s it like?
Well, it’s easy to feel at home there, and they have quite a bit to offer. If you like snooker, there is a very large room with 4 tables (purists will appreciate the challenging small pockets). There are various entertainments at weekends and activities throughout the week. There is a function room which is available to members without charge for parties of up to 200, and members are welcome to bring their children.
Its great virtue is that it provides a place where older people can go out for an evening and feel perfectly safe and comfortable. And yet, it is by no means a ghetto of the elderly. True, a twenty-something would be most unlikely to go there “on the pull”, but it’s a pleasant enough place to start an evening gently before heading off to more serious clubbing.
And it’s nearby and it’s reasonably priced, and the subs are nominal.
Although clearly the long-standing members of the club would not wish to transform it so completely that it no longer resembles the thing which has attracted them over the years, I can say that the committee is certainly open to suggestions for new activities to “breathe new life into the place.” The “Bombay Bicycle Club” band has done filming there, for example.
So, hope to see some of you there.
To find out more, just pop in any evening and ask to speak to a member of the committee. if no-one’s around, then leave a message at the bar.
David Schmitz
Tags for Forum Posts: langham working men's club
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Schmitz on
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Just to let you know, I've been accepted as a member, and am enjoying the club thoroughly. Now let's have a few more applications!
David Schmitz
P.S. Many thanks to the line-dancers for letting me photograph them, even though I was too scared to join in.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Tonight might be a good night to come along as they have Microsound disco on for st Patricks nigh. Microsound is a really good disco and has every song u can think of. I'll be there with my 2 little ones
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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Not sure I can make tonight Carla but hope it goes well. Any quizzes coming up? They are fun.
It would be good if the Langham published on HoL what was coming up each week. I know they were working on getting internet access a year ago- did they ever succeed do you know? Having internet access would be a real boost to them.
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Good on you, David. You are following in a very long tradition of local Labour councillors being actively involved with the local working men's clubs. (Even some Libs and Con councillors realised these places they were important and mingled with the masses sometimes!)
It was where people knew they could find their councillor and have a chat and a moan maybe, over a pint or two and perhaps a game of snooker. They wouldn't be keen to go to seek out councillors in their offices!
In recent years, with New Labour and all that it entailed, this tradition largely died off and councillors seemed unconcerned about the plight of their clubs, often because they had no idea about what clubs were all about. The new breed of politicians often too far removed from ordinary folk and the informal aspects of mixing with constituents suffered a lot and added to the troubles of clubs who were often misunderstood. Being a member and joining in is the best way for anyone to really understand clubs and it's important for politicians, like yourself, to do so. Really pleased that you have discovered club life!
The CIU are always urging people to get in touch with their MPs and councillors and invite them to their clubs so they can see the good things about them and their members and the problems they are facing.
Sorry- gone on a bit! I can see an article here for the Club Journal! And my weekly Mercury column- do you mind if I do a write up?
Pass on my regards to Bob and co. down at the Langham and see you down there for pint one day soon!
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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David Lammy must be kicking himself after going to such trouble to split the Tottenham vote with a Labour brother. Ruth, maybe your "mingling with the masses sometimes" suggests an apology to two Langham Libbers.
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Oh dear... I hope I have already clarified that... I was not being clear about enough of my meaning so apologies all round and no offence meant to anybody or to any political party of any kind... I just wanted to say, great to have a politician down the local club.
Maybe we will see David Lammy down there now sometime?
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Yep, I realise that! Didn't think it would take long for someone to mention as I perhaps wasnt clear there... I was talking about the Labour tradition that was sort of lost or dieing and that he is picking it up in general terms... if you see what I mean. It's Saturday, perhaps not being as articulate as normal. I think it's grand for any politician of any party to go clubbing! Cheers and mine's a half of Kronenburg...
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Having done a bit of quick research in Hansard, it seems to me that the well-being of workingmen's clubs has been a concern of politicians of all parties for a very long time. I'm happy to be a part of that tradition and I hope that the publicity which this posting is giving will encourage more people to join the club.
My main reason for going there is, of course, to have a pint and a chat like anyone else, but if being there has the effect of making me more accessible in my role as a local councillor, then so much the better.
David Schmitz
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On occasion, though, my advice might have to come with a "dishclaimer."
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