XX CLOSED SS1 2EN Foresters, Southend

[albert69]

IMHO Cornocopia is the better venue -- its much more relaxed, friendly and intimate!

Just walk back along the strip towards London -- less than a minute's stroll from Forresters.

[Scallywag]

Made my first trip of the year to the Forester's last Saturday - it's still going for now - with one change to the private dancing pricing:

Sun-Thurs £12
Fri-Sat £15

It was fairly quiet to begin with, though did get a bit busier as the afternoon wore on. I saw the first 2 shifts and refeshingly 4 out of the 5 girls were English!

[jd62]

Just been told the foresters have no strip license for April. Anyone know what happened or are they just finally giving up. ?

[Tyke]

The Forrestors has had strippers since the early 70s but for the last 25 years or so there has been rumours of redevelopment, maybe it's finally happening !

Tyke

[Crusty030354]

To be accurate it was only topless dancers at first

[Scallywag]

Just been told the foresters have no strip license for April. Anyone know what happened or are they just finally giving up. ?

Was in there yesterday and a dancer I know told me both the Foresters and Cornucopia will not have dancers in April as the council has not renewed their licences. Didn't get the chance to go into any more detail but I guess this can change overnight though that is what I heard yesterday.

Not sure about the Sunset club near the Cornucopia.

[Tyke]

Sunset club is up for sale again. Not sure about this license thing aparently Cornucopia has an application on the door and the council has not said anything publically, it may just be the usual council incompetence.

Tyke

[Scallywag]

Heard yesterday that the council are changing the application process which has caused the delay (presumably making it harder to obtain a licence no matter how long an operator has held a licence).

Can you imagine the council treating any other business like this?!

[Tyke]

Got this from Susie of Promises,


Tyke

There are no dancers at Foresters in April because the license application was not submitted in time. We hope to restart the second week in May (I'll keep you updated).

The landlord, John, hadn't realised that it took a lot longer for the local council to process than the old license, 28 days minimum.

Southend council have made the new licensing extremely problematic & expensive (7k that has to be paid in full upfront)


We've also heard that the 2nd Southend venue, Cornucopia, has stopped having dancers because of the new licensing requirements and won't be applying for the new license on grounds of expense.

[freeborn2a]

well, that will take Southend off my list of essential tourist venues in Essex...

I hope someone will tell me otherwise, but if it is true, confirm that neither pub will be going there any more...

[Tyke]

No Forrestors hopes to restart in May.

Tyke

[jd62]

Thanks for all the info. It confirms some of what my fiancé was told who works in Southend at one of the affected venues.

[Tyke]

Susie of Promises tells me that the Forestors has a new license and reopened with dancers yesterday.

Tyke

[Scallywag]

Visited yesterday afternoon for the first time since the new licence began. No major changes, except there were no signs outside the pub advertising the strip show and inside there were a number of laminated notices saying 'No Touching. No Filming'. Presumably these were part of the terms of the new licence.

One shock howeverwas that the seating inside the private dance area had been repaired, with a new cover. Money spent on the Foresters, whatever next!

[eroticon6]

From a visit last year, the funniest thing I've seen in a strip pub so far...

Bloke sitting at the bar, being "stripped at" by a dancer.

Wife or girlfrined comes in, walks up to him, and slaps him across the face. Walks out.

He follows, 15 paces behind her. Did I hear the phrase "pussy whipped"?

Or maybe "stupid sod - going in there when she doesn't approve, but is within striking distance"?

[Scallywag]

Visited last Saturday, and a notice behind the bar announced that John, the landlord, had passed away on 28th September. There were also 2 large pictures of him behind the bar. I'm not sure what happened, I am assuming it was sudden.

The notice also advised that funeral arrangements would be announced by the family in due course.

[Crusty030354]

Visited last Saturday, and a notice behind the bar announced that John, the landlord, had passed away on 28th September. There were also 2 large pictures of him behind the bar. I'm not sure what happened, I am assuming it was sudden.

The notice also advised that funeral arrangements would be announced by the family in due course.

local paper says it was a heart attack

[Scallywag]

On my way to the Forester's between Christmas and New Year, I noticed one of the shutters up of the Happidrome just along from the pub. Peering in, the front half of the arcade was stripped to the bare walls and floor, with a wooden partition placed midway across the arcade. Couldn't see what was behind the partition.

Not sure if this means the arcade has closed, or is being refurbished? If so, does this mean the Foresters may finally close soon, as both are in the way of the proposed development?

[I-full]

I believe the Happidrome was flooded in one of the heavy bouts of rain we had last year. No idea what the future holds. That whole corner has been under threat for years.

Foresters has rather lost its vibe. Barely a handful of punters most weekday evenings. The dancers go through the motions but long gone are the days when it could have been described as crowded.

Wouldn't it be good though if the Happidrome were to be refurbished an lived up to its name, say as a 24 hour topless/strip/lapdance/real ale venue. Only dreaming.

[tryed again]

Wouldn't it be good though if the Happidrome were to be refurbished an lived up to its name, say as a 24 hour topless/strip/lapdance/real ale venue. Only dreaming.

Only if it did decent 'pub grub' too, and banned wearers of reversed baseball caps!

[Scallywag]

A few things I have read about / seen in Southend recently:

Happidrome is being refurbished, the owner is posting on Facebook about it.

Ye Olde Chippy has reopened, seemed to think it closed last Sept / Oct.

The Foresters are rebuilding the stage near the private dance area, apparently they are looking to put on bands on Sunday night.

This all led me to think the development had stalled, but then I read this....

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/NEWS/1098540 ... r/?ref=rss

[carlmurphy_2009]

I rarely tried here, but must say I much prefer the cornucopia. The dancers not as good, but must say apart from one, not found one I liked in the foresters, either.

Last visit June 2013. I went to see Sarah (of Cave) - Hadnt seen her for a year, and had to visit there a Saturday, because of Sarah - I usualy visit, in the week. I had visited a Saturday, in february 2013, and it was very loud - lots of chavs.

Not keen to try again Saturday, but did, because of Sarah. In June 2013. A lot of chav ladies had come in, and were sitting in the corner. After Sarahs shift had ended, one of the 'chav ladies', came up and did a trick on me, that meant my face and shirt had talcum powder all over it. I went to clean it in the toilet, and came out and left the bar, and there was a massive cheer from the 'chav ladies', who I call 'the fat slags'. I dont go around trying to find trouble

There is a moral to the story - Dont try this place on Saturdays, as it was noisy and chav, in februrary, and the incident in June. I wouldnt try it on fridays either, to be sure. If you like a 'quiet time', try in the week.

Horrible place to be honest. I do go to Southend, but not for this place

[Scallywag]

There is a moral to the story - Dont try this place on Saturdays, as it was noisy and chav, in februrary, and the incident in June. I wouldnt try it on fridays either, to be sure. If you like a 'quiet time', try in the week.

I would advise going on Saturday afternoon rather than the evening. I go 1-2 Sat afternoons a month in the winter (Oct-May) and it's generally quiet, usually a bit too quiet.

The Foresters didn't used to have dancers at the weekend during the summer season (June-Sept) but I think in the last couple of years this may have changed. I would certainly not advise going there during a hot summer's day, then it is full of chavs.

[pleasure_seeker]

I visited the long-established Foresters for the first time on the last Saturday in August. A daytime visit, aiming to catch the last hour or so of the early shift and some of the next shift. Slightly apprehensive about entering Foresters, thinking that on a warm, late-summer day it might be full of beered-up, rowdy chavs. But it was actually very quiet, maybe only 7 or 8 punters at 3 o’clock.

Based on the rota I was expecting 3 dancers but there were just 2. One was Dutch Danielle, and she was much the younger of the two. Nonetheless, there was some good walkabout striptease, and I enjoyed some private dances with Dutch Danielle.

There was a shift change around 4.30 – also 2 girls. The pub gradually became a bit busier and by about 5pm there were maybe 25-30 people there including several groups containing women.

Admittedly it is a fairly rough old boozer, but I quite liked my first visit – good floor show, good PDs, and the natives not unfriendly.

***
In the interests of thoroughness I also made a midweek follow-up visit. Arrived just before 8, in time for the start of the striptease. There were 2 girls dancing, both ok but not particularly memorable. Only about 10 customers, most of them gathered around the pool table or watching football on the tv.

Unusually, it seems to be acceptable here not to contribute to the jug. One of the girls had taken £2 from her collection (i.e. me and one other customer were the only contributors). Unsurprisingly, as she said, it was hard to put in her best effort under these circumstances.

Foresters is a big, dark space and with so few customers it felt gloomy and lacking in that elusive atmosphere. Fortunately, the Cornucopia is only a short walk away so I headed off in that direction.

Based on my experience, I would endorse Scallywag’s earlier comment that Saturday afternoons seems best time to visit.

[saltydog]

If it was Dutch Danielle (and she does dance there,) and she was the younger of the two then the other girl must have been how old?

Don't get me wrong here Danielle is gorgeous and a lovely lady to boot but even she would acknowledge her age compared to many girls on the circuit. She has been around for as long as I have but unlike me gets better with age!