FORGIVE me if I shed no tears for the many club and pub owners who didn't make much, if any, money over the Millennium Eve's celebrations.

The whole shebang had been over-hyped long before the event, so much so that staff working in these premises demanded higher-than-usual wages.

Who could blame them? They are not normally the best-paid jobs going and this Millennium was going to be the event 'not to be missed.' So, to cover this extra cost, the managers and landlords decided that an extortionate door charge was in order, and hoped they could get away with it.

Of course, no-one was going to fall for it. Most revellers like to call in several premises on the night, and could see that it was going to cost an arm and a leg before they'd even bought a drink. Even if they'd only bought tickets to enter one venue, what if the atmosphere wasn't to their liking? They would be stuck there.

Most people saw it as nothing more than a rip-off, and made alternative arrangements, deciding either to stay 'local,' or go to a private party. As the Millennium approached, the managers and landlords realised that people hadn't fallen for their scam and reduced, or even dropped completely, any cover charge on the door. Too late! Everyone had decided by then what they were going to do.

Collectively, the town centre proprietors had shot themselves in the foot. Could I suggest that in the future, possibly for the next New Year's Eve, that competition is put aside for one night, and the various establishments work together and come up with a 'structured and even' pricing and ticketing policy so that everyone has the option to go into town and enjoy themselves without feeling that they are going to be fleeced?

As The Who sang, "We Won't Get Fooled Again!"

MALCOLM BURY, Elswick Street, Darwen

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.