What an adrenalin rush! Dabber poised over your sheet of numbers, beads of sweat forming on your brow, hand shaking in anticipation, brain creaking under the pressure of relaying high-speed messages from ears to hand, pound signs floating temptingly in front of your eyes, the word 'HOUSE' perched precariously on the tip of your tongue................'two and four, twenty four'......... sharp intake of breath - one number closer to the big win.........followed two seconds later by hatred and loathing for the player from Bromborough who snatched victory from my eager and more deserving grasp.Completely and alarmingly addictive.
Mandy, Louise, Monica and I had set out earlier that night in curlers and headscarves for an evening of fun and frivolity, never imagining the consequences of dipping our dabbers (or should I say Fan Dabber Dozis) into the cut-throat world of the Bingo hall. After having been told on arrival at Gala Bingo, Bournemouth, that we were too late to participate - resulting in tears and tantrums -, we were thrown a lifeline by the lovely manageress, who allowed us to join in for the late session. Once through the double doors of destiny, we took our table at the back, far enough away from the pros for our sniggers to go unheard. Gradually we allowed ourselves to be seduced by the fluorescent lighting, the smooth velvety voice of the caller, the steely determination of our fellow gamers, the thrill of the chase.... and of course by naked greed! We were hooked, and proud to be so!
All too soon it was over, leaving the bitter taste of disappointment seeping into our Pinot grigios. We were the last to leave, long after the 'two fat ladies', the 'little duck' and the 57 Heinz varieties had left the building. Unlucky for some, clickety click.
Our spirits were lifted by a poster at the exit."FREE UNLIMITED BINGO - EVERY THURS AFTERNOON."
Mmmmm......worth missing Countdown for?
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteA bit of a strange request but I am contacting you on behalf Gala Bingo. We are just about to set up a brand new blog for them and absolutely loved this post. We'd like to feature it as a guest piece in the coming weeks, with a bit of a description about what you've been doing - would that be of interest?
Please contact me on jessica.luper@1000heads.com and let me know what you think. We'll throw in another night down at the Bingo as a thank you :)
x