 | We went to Club Lick on a Saturday in June 2008. It was an SDC night, and was couples only. Club Lick is based in Walthamstow, not necessarily the first place you would think of when it comes to finding a swingers club. Several smaller clubs have opened in London in the last three years on the scene and Club Lick is one of them. A short walk from Walthamstow Central tube station or £15 quid by cab from central London, it is fairly easy to get to and is designated by the large pair of lips smooching at you from above the doorway. (Someone said they were based on a chap called Elliot, but we don’t know if this is true or not) Its address is also on Hoe Street, yes I kid you not, HOE street.The Club -The club is on three levels. Once you enter past the check in booth where you can also leave your bags and coats (No charge) you fill out a form to join the club. It is £20 life membership and £10 per couple to get in, so our first visit cost us £30 which considering thereafter it would only be a tenner to get in, seemed fairly reasonable. After entering past check in you walk straight in a small lounge area surrounded with sofas and comfy chairs. We were greeted by someone dressed as Rambo with paint camouflage and matching headband, and upon seeing several other ladies dressed in cammo shorts and tops, (Great for clubbing, very distracting for the armed forces) we quickly ascertained that tonight’s theme was military dress, apparently decided upon in the last hour. That was okay, Asha and I were both going ‘commando’ anyway.Off the lounge to one side is the gents toilet. I was very grateful that the lock worked because it literally is the door to the toilet! Adjacent to this are the stairs leading to the second level, going further into the club on the ground fllor is the dance floor, complete with small stage and pole for women to look sexy on and men to fall off from. Off to one side of the dance floor is a small padded curtained room for chilling or demonstrating ‘The Joy of Sex’ (Your choice) and at the far end of the dance floor is the licensed bar, so you don’t bring your own drink. The prices were reasonable, being pub prices essentially, so its not too hard on the wallet. Seating surrounds most of this area so there are plenty of places to sit down after shaking your booty for three hours. Upstairs to the second level and you will find the ladies toilet past a double door at the top of the staircase. I was informed they were clean and functional and apparently also has a shower if you’re desperate to have one. The second level makes use of every bit of space, with some seats in every possible nook and cranny, a cubby hole and an area you could play in with net curtains and comfy cushions with a padded floor, though on the night we went it seemed to serve more of a social purpose. There was also a television above the stair case showing ‘Mr Stiffy comes to Toytown’ we didn’t catch the entire plot of that particular episode. Another set of stairs, almost ladder like lead up to what essentially is a loft area, that could accommodate between 5 and 6 couples, or more if you wanted to play a game of twister. This was the main space that people would use to play in, as essentially if you were going up there, then that was pretty much what you were going to do there. (Swinging cats in this area is not allowed)The Night - The club runs different events on different nights and it is always best to check ahead to see what kind of night is on offer before you go. They are normally themed around the type of music that will be played that evening, as the club employs proper DJ’s at the club (Not the type that play Rick Astley and Nellie the Elephant) and on the evening we went it, it was predominantly dance music, with classic favourites from Faithless being love to my ears. The club also runs fetish nights, and nights where single men are allowed in. On our visit there was no ‘ticketing’ in evidence, with all the couples, being real couples and hanging out together. There was probably around 70 people at its height on the evening we went, but we are guessing, there could have been more. The average age of people was on the younger side for the scene with people being from 25 – 45, and hey if anyone was older, than all we can say is, you looked good!Though the club was to a small extent, a little cliquey (This never stops us from talking to absolutely anyone) there was an equal number of people who were very friendly and it is safe to say we made some very good friends that night, as well as meeting a number of familiar faces from the old Skinnydippers crowd. Club Lick is all about the music and it showed. People obviously go there to dance, and it didn’t take long for the floor to fill up which was good because that was exactly the kind of night we wanted. The club has no illusions about its limitations, it is not large, and although you can nip up to the loft to play if you want to, the environment lends itself more to a place where you can come and socialise, dance and meet sexy people, more so than actually play, and there is nothing wrong with that. Someone else stated in their hugely informative one line review that this was like ‘A dodgy club you can fuck in’ which would be a pretty good description of half the non scene clubs I have visited in London but it is not in the right context here. Okay so it’s not a huge plush club with Jacuzzis and so on but it makes good use of the space it has, attracts a fun and sociable crowd and plays good music. You’re probably more likely to meet people here and then go to play with them elsewhere, though people do play here (Being greeted by the frightening sight of my friends arse when I stuck my head up into the loft being a case in point) The décor of the club, predominantly black and red, would also lend itself well to fetish nights, which we have been told are very good. We had a very good night here, and made some friends for life, which is always a good sign and most of these had been to the club several times before. The club is what it is without any pretensions, a small, fun club with good music and a friendly attractive crowd. It was a great atmosphere and we have been to larger clubs that have had none at all. We wouldn’t come here every week, but we would certainly visit again and if good music is an important part of your night out, then you won’t be disappointed. We think it would also appeal to younger couples who perhaps wanted to meet some people on the scene in a social environment to make some friends and find out more about swinging, without being greeted by the sight of a huge cock as soon as they walk through the door, though if you have a word with the owners, we are sure they would be happy to arrange one for you!Criticisms – very few. Smokers have to unfortunately stand on the street outside the club so obviously that’s not ideal. (Causing our Jamaican taxi driver to cry ‘Women never dressed like that in my day you know!’ (He sounded disappointed) at the sight of the six foot tall blonde with the hot pants on. A can of air freshener in the gents wouldn’t go a miss.Overall – We had a great night, we didn’t play, though are friends that came with us did. We met some great people, danced for three hours, saw a fantastic pole dance and had a good laugh. If you looking for a large club with a range of facilities this isn’t it, but that doesn’t matter, for what we were after on this particular night, the club gave us everything we wanted. Sometimes, ‘Small ones are more juicy – You know what I mean.’ Asha and Alex xx
Date: 30 June 2008
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