QUEER CLUBS

Evening Star, Issue 23665, 27 August 1940, Page 8

QUEER CLUBS

MEMBERS OF ONE HAVE " OUTSIZE" THIRSTS In Bradford, Yorkshire, there is a unique establishment known as the “ Cigar Cafe,” where members of the City’s Cigar Club meet. Every member is a cigar smoker. No pipes or cigarettes are even seen, because one rule of the club is that any smoke but cigars is forbidden. Another Bradford institution is the Six-foot Club, and the main object of its existence is to help the poor and needy. Members are known as “ big brothers,” and many down-and-outs are able to vouch for the accuracy of the nickname. One of London’s most unusual clubs was the “ You Be Quiet.” It was a man’s club, although there was no rule to that effect, and the only woman who ever became a member was Dame Clara Butt. No member was ever allowed to talk on any subject, unless he knew more about it than everyone else present. Domestic servants of the butler and footman type have their own club in Mayfair. It is known as the “ Yellow Pushers ” Club. The rules are as strict as in any famous club, and membership just as hard to achieve. People in Huddersfield who are snuff addicts have banded' themselves into a Snuff Club, and not very far away is the Gander Club. This has nothing to do with geese, but with huge capacities for dringmg beer. Only men with outsize thirsts are eligible for membership. There is, in England, a Ghost Club. The members are not ghosts, but people who are interested in psychical research, and they investigate any ghost story that has points of interest. Coventry boasts a Felon Foilers’ Clubhand' Arundel. Sussex, has a similar institution. The society of Felon Foilers dates back 150 years and was originated by a number of farmers who were not satisfied that the local police were efficient. They hunted thieves and rustlers with bloodhounds. In the last two years the Coventry Club has conducted eleven prosecutions involving So defendants.