New Venue Discussion... University Arms & Others

Buying a drink or two is (in my eyes) just common courtesy for using the facilities of a pub when you aren't paying for it. Hope to god this is the end of it....

...but I doubt it

We need someone to be a grumpy cu*t and tell people when they're taking the piss. Happy to volunteer :-D

Uni arms is a good shout - thanks for sorting that out Lizzie.

In the future (if we have to move again) I think we should seriously consider renting a space like a community room or a church hall or something.

For the cost of a few quid per person we could have the freedom to do whatever we wanted - bring our own food / drinks whatever and avoid the headaches associated with using a pub room

just my $0.02

I have been to Rotherham today and I went past the Bridge Inn, where the Rotherham Wargaming club meets. Checking their web site it appears that they charge a flat £2 attendance fee, both for members and visitors. I presume this goes to the pub for rent of the room.

http://w11.zetaboards.com/Rogue_Gamers/index/

Fantastic news on the Uni Arms guys, nice one and big thanks for sorting. Hopefully it works out and we can comfortably justify our presence there. This will probably mean I stop being quite so lazy and start coming down on the tram again too!

PS - probably best not to discuss that one option currently being explored by the University's masterplanners (not me!) is the demolition of the Uni Arms. It probably won't happen but knowing our luck...

karl_b wrote:PS - probably best not to discuss that one option currently being explored by the University's masterplanners (not me!) is the demolition of the Uni Arms. It probably won't happen but knowing our luck...

Yes, I was reading about that the other day. From what I've heard, even if it does get demolished then I think it would move elsewhere. But, yes, fingers crossed...

I was at a birthday do on Saturday at the Harlequinn, in their function room upstairs.

Funnily enough we were playing boardgames so I can give over a few thoughts:

1) Decent amount of space - there were four games in play for the most part during the day and that used up about 2/3 of the available space (the remainder being a buffet)

2) There is a bar upstairs although it was closed on Sat

3) There are loo's upstairs but they're not exactly the nicest most welcoming conveniences out there

4) If there is loud $anything in the bar downstairs it's very audible upstairs (there was a band playing Sat evening and was very noisy upstairs).


I know we're pretty locked on the Uni Arms now (which I'm certainly in favour of), but I thought it was worth posting my impressions anyway

DaveB wrote:

4) If there is loud $anything in the bar downstairs it's very audible upstairs (there was a band playing Sat evening and was very noisy upstairs).

This was always my issue with the Harlequin... along with the public transport links. Nice to know it is a possible for when they demolish the Uni Arms. Can you tell I'm a fan of the University Master plan?

Uni Arms is a great pub (and those of us who work at the University can get points on our "EatWithUS" loyalty cards at the bar too ).

I know we're already moving but just want to share my experience at mulberry.

First night wasn't too bad, quite smokey but was quiet and pretty much just us, parking was fine. Not the nicest of places though.

Second night, tonight, wasn't as great, toilets were filthy, there was no soap although the barman sorted it when asked, music was too loud, again it was sorted when asked. Lastly the other patrons were an issue. One guy decided to swear at us and kicked one of our bags containing games, he was being us shouting and swearing the whole time putting me off my game. Personally it's not really the environment I enjoy playing in.
Anyway just thought I'd share

Yeah there was a lot of curing this evening. Especially around the pool table. Hopefull the Uni Arms will work better for us.

Dave W wrote:Uni arms is a good shout - thanks for sorting that out Lizzie.

In the future (if we have to move again) I think we should seriously consider renting a space like a community room or a church hall or something.

For the cost of a few quid per person we could have the freedom to do whatever we wanted - bring our own food / drinks whatever and avoid the headaches associated with using a pub room

just my $0.02

This on the face of it looks to be an excellent solution. That said - in my experience this option falls down on two areas

1- Typically community rooms / church halls have a no booze policy. I don't know if this is an issue for some.

2- While they are relatively plentiful and can often be excellent value they are normally not situated centrally and so transport to and from is an issue


I do think this is worth exploring should Uni Arms/197 club go down the pan.

Pete_M wrote:Uni Arms is a great pub (and those of us who work at the University can get points on our "EatWithUS" loyalty cards at the bar too ).

I almost forgot about this. Great shout.

RE: The Mulberry Tavern, it seemed like a normal pub to me. It has a set of hardened local regulars, who don't care much for outsiders. However, after a while, I do believe the "Us vs Them" mentality of the regulars would dampen as they got used to us. This would definitely be worth remembering if we do end up moving in future. People like what they like, and they happen to like going to their local on a quiet tuesday for a game of pool, anything that upsets that upsets them. Over time as the status quo changed they'd get used to the new way of things, and would probably miss us if we ever left. I'm speaking from experience as I grew up in a pub (son of the landlord) that had a set of hardened local regulars, who didn't (and probably still don't) care much for outsiders.

Having said that, The Uni Arms is much better all round on the face of things, so let's hope it works out.

However, I'm wondering if the use of rooms elsewhere in the university was looked into? I remember looking into the use of the Krebs Room in Firth Court for a private function one weekday evening. I think there is some set up that allows local community groups the use of certain function rooms. Again though, I prefer The Uni Arms to this, but it could be something to consider in the future.


One last thing, thanks for the effort in sorting all this, it really is appreciated.