XX CLOSED SS1 2EN Cornucopia, Southend

[Scallywag]

I've noticed on my last couple of visits to Southend, a crude notice written on the door of the Cornucopia Pub in Southend (along Marine Parade a couple of minutes walk from the Foresters), advertising Dancing Girls on Weds / Thurs evenings from 9pm.

Anyone been along?

Must be quite interesting as the pub is advertised as the smallest pub in Essex!

[I-full]

The notice on the door now reads " Exotic Dancers Thurs 9pm". May get to check it out in the next couple of weeks.

The Cornucopia is indeed a very small pub. Imagine a bar about the same length as in the Sports Bar or Royal Standard with enough room for punters to stand three deep against it. That's it. A few chairs/tables but that's all.

I'll be interested to see if the Cornucopia lives up to it's name which in translation, for any non-scholars, is the "horn of plenty". Ooh-err missus!

[I-full]

In the interests of comradeship I have duly sampled the Cornucopia and herewith my sitrep.

Pub and show times as described above. The dozen customers looked as though they have been drinking there for the last 40 years but in fact most turned out to be more like first- time day trippers from what I overheard. No stage or pole of course so this was walkabout in the grand tradition of your archetypal "boozer with a stripper". (There would have been two girls but one was "busy" elsewhere.) Just like the good old days.

Private dances are available and take place in a room up three flights of rickety stairs. Great views over the seafront from the window. The heavy sits at a discreet distance on the staircase and does not intrude.

All in all an intriguing experience if you like your entertainment at the rough-and-ready end of the spectrum. I understand the doors close at 11.00 but the entertainment does not necessarily stop when the bell sounds. Nice change from the Foresters. I will return.

Oh, and a couple of decent ales for you CAMRA types.

[I-full]

Don't be put off by the lack of any external advertising as advised in previous posts. Thursday night is still a goer. Blinds come down and door locked at 21.00ish but a knock on the window and a friendly smile secures entrance.

Just like the old days.

[I-full]

I'm told Cornucopia is now running Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The bar pulls in a crowd despite the lack of variety with the dancers. Mind you it only takes twenty people to fill the place up. Nevertheless this represents a reasonable user-base if the custom is there three nights a week.

[I-full]

Also Wednesday now. So that's four nights in a row for trooping back and forth between the Foresters and the Corny.

[Scallywag]

How many girls do they have on each night?

[I-full]

Usually two, although there were three on one of my visits. You have to remember this is not a venue supplied by one of the established agencies. The pub relies on a small number of regular performers who are, presumably, recruited directly. I was waiting for the show to commence one evening and a pretty young thing walked in and asked the barkeep about dancing. She mentioned where she lived - not far away - but I have yet to witness her audition. Here's hoping.

[I-full]

Just noticed that the Tease site is now listing the Cornucopia and has scheduled dancers five nights a week. This must be very recent as tonight's dancers are shown as performing at other venues with no time to update the website.

There were three dancers the other night when I was there, all charming. No hassle for PDs with floor shows every now and then depending on punter numbers. This has been the routine here since the exotic entertainment started, although for a long time it was a very small troupe of dancers alternating their shifts. Now that the landlord feels he has established himself in this field he no doubt wishes to keep things fresh with a variety of performers.

Good to see the Tease girls back in Southend after the short-lived Royal Hotel episode. Let's hope the unique Corny vibe survives.

Be seeing you

[eroticon6]

When in Essex…

After enjoying my visit to Mac’s Bar the other week, I decided to venture to Southend last night, and Cornucopia.

Again, a friendly place, with the dancers walking around and interacting, very pleasantly. Again, no hassle for private dances, and a willingness to chat and chill out.

Two dancers on – Chanel, who is brunette, and claims to have the proper licences for her boobs and nipples. Like a Range Rover, that licence should cost an awful lot more than for ordinary, domestic breasts.

And Nicole: simply the politest girl I’ve met doing rude things for a living. She’s sweet, and has a lovely, slim and supple body.

All in all, a very pleasant evening – though getting water out of the tap in the gents is a difficult business – it’s one of the push kind, and you don’t want to push too hard for fear of getting an embarrassing splash on your trousers. Which makes it hard to get water out of it. Another customer suggested that they’ve not paid the water rate…

An informative dayglo sign by the door prices private dances at £10!!

Car parking is a problem - being a seaside town, there are loads of restictions. There's actually an enormous car park a hundred yards away, but you have to go right round a BIG block to get into it. Better than risking a ticket on the double yellows...

[I-full]

Don't be put off by the lack of info on the Tease site. The landlord seems to mix and match local and agency dancers. Three girls each night on all my recent visits. Crowd mostly locals and a a good turnout from the never-ending flow of tradesmen and contractors who stay in the B&Bs which fill the backstreets behind the pub. No fuss, no hassle; a unique experience.

[I-full]

The Corny still going strong despite lack of info on Tease site. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. Only a stone's throw form the Foresters ( not demolished yet) and Sunset (not my type of place).

[eroticon6]

I noticed that Cornucopia is no longer on the Tease site at all...

Does anyone know if this is the result of a change in how they book dancers, or a loss of a rather friendly little venue where everyone seemed very relaxed and unstressed?

It remains the only place I've seen a punter shake hands with the bouncer on the way out. Having encountered security at the White Horse, HW, last week (I was only after a drink and the bog, while the traffic sorted itself out: I went in the ordinary bar and suffered the karaoke because I was wearing sandals), I reckon they should clone the guy, and market him. No doubt he can keep order, if needed (and that's unlikely to be often at Cornucopia, in my view), but he's also a friendly (that word again) presence around the place. How they should be...

And I saw him cleaning the table once - this was at 11, when they close the doors, and the table was about to become a stage. So I guess the dancers will like him, too, for keeping their bums beer-free while they use the table for lying/sitting/displaying on!

[I-full]

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Corny very much in full swing. Three girls weekday nights.

Unfortunately the Tease website is of very little use at the moment.

[freeborn2a]

actually two private dance rooms upstairs.

one is L-shaped, and reasonably large, with a door: the other is a curtained-off part of the corridor that goes on past the main room.

the bigger room is both more private, and gives room for a floor show as part of the private dance. the smaller area (looks rather like the one at the Woolpack, though i have not had a private dance there) doesn't give a girl room to spread her legs properly, unless she is exceptionally short. does make for an upclose show, though.

[I-full]

Notice of application for SEV has been put on the front door.

[Scallywag]

Just been told the foresters have no strip license for April. Anyone know what happened or are they just finally giving up. ?

Was in there yesterday and a dancer I know told me both the Foresters and Cornucopia will not have dancers in April as the council has not renewed their licences. Didn't get the chance to go into any more detail but I guess this can change overnight though that is what I heard yesterday.

Not sure about the Sunset club near the Cornucopia.

[Tyke]

Sunset club is up for sale again. Not sure about this license thing aparently Cornucopia has an application on the door and the council has not said anything publically, it may just be the usual council incompetence.

Tyke

[Scallywag]

Heard yesterday that the council are changing the application process which has caused the delay (presumably making it harder to obtain a licence no matter how long an operator has held a licence).

Can you imagine the council treating any other business like this?!

[Tyke]

Got this from Susie of Promises,


Tyke

There are no dancers at Foresters in April because the license application was not submitted in time. We hope to restart the second week in May (I'll keep you updated).

The landlord, John, hadn't realised that it took a lot longer for the local council to process than the old license, 28 days minimum.

Southend council have made the new licensing extremely problematic & expensive (7k that has to be paid in full upfront)


We've also heard that the 2nd Southend venue, Cornucopia, has stopped having dancers because of the new licensing requirements and won't be applying for the new license on grounds of expense.

[freeborn2a]

well, that will take Southend off my list of essential tourist venues in Essex...

I hope someone will tell me otherwise, but if it is true, confirm that neither pub will be going there any more...

[freeborn2a]

a relief, as I have just responded to the post on the Foresters page!

I shall keep Southend on my list of places to visit while in Essex!

[Tyke]

No Forrestors hopes to restart in May.

Tyke

[jd62]

Thanks for all the info. It confirms some of what my fiancé was told who works in Southend at one of the affected venues.

[freeborn2a]

now I am confused!

can anyone confirm positively that Cornucopia is (or isn't) having dancers this month?