Pic Courtesy The GuardianSunday was interesting.
It was my sister's 70th, and she was celebrating with extended family in a resort out of town.
So we could catch up with her, my bride and I arranged to meet her and BIL at a country pub for lunch on their way back from the resort. It also meant we were able to take advantage of some interesting roads out that way. These things demand to be driven.
The pub was empty except for about half a dozen blokes with big lumpy and shiny bikes, tatts, and leather embossed with club insignia.
There was nobody else in the lounge except the four of us and these guys. They were obviously having some kind of semi-official club meeting.
It's ill-mannered to listen in to others' conversations, but on this occasion, we didn't have much choice. The beer flowed - the conversation at the other table (interspersed with lots of profanity and colourful descriptions) rumbled on and we ate our lunch as we listened. It was, to say the least, entertaining.
They were discussing ways of increasing and maintaining club membership, which, by the sound of it, was declining. I remember thinking that they were having much the same problems as were other enthusiasts' groups, as the demographic aged, and machines like bikes and sports cars are no longer seen as engaging by Millenials.
I did harbour some suggestions but decided to keep them to myself. Discretion, after all, is the better part of valour. Besides, my bride wasn't keen on getting involved. This may have had something to do with the fact that besides my sister and her, the only other female on the premises was the middle-aged woman behind the bar.
What really surprised me was the continual references being made to "inclusion" and "participation". These terms are used more often by social justice warriors than bikies.
We left before they had resolved anything. The biggest issue seemed to be organising working bees to renovate the clubhouse.
I was thinking that they should employ a stripper or two, and perhaps some jelly wrestling after a day's work on the renovations.
I shared that thought with my bride but she didn't think it was a good idea.
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