Gripping onto Gallery

Now in my second year, I reminisce over some of my best fresher nights out packed full of ‘SNGs’(Sunday Night Gallery) and what was then the official YUSU Thursday nights in Gallery (it never seemed quite right to term them TNGs) so when Gallery’s popularity took a dip, mainly in my third term of first year, like many others I was really gutted.

Gripping on to the hope that popularity would soar again, many die-hard Gallery faithfuls would continue their usual trips to Gallery but somehow without the sea of students crowding the club it just wasn’t quite the same. I regret to admit my enthusiasm did begin to plunge.

Arriving at second year knowing Vodka Revolution had taken over as the YUSU official Sunday student night, topped off with new club Tokyo as the official Thursday night, I was disappointed and felt a sense of responsibility towards the decline of Gallery. As a James College ‘parent’ I begrudgingly informed my freshers of these official nights but continued to promote my passion for SNG as a great alternative, which was totally ignored…

…Until now! Returning to York after Christmas with the news that Vodka Revolution was shut for refurbishment left me ecstatic. It’s not that I hate Revs, I just cannot see how it can be justified as an official YUSU night- it’s just a bar! (Perhaps they now agree and this is what has motivated the refurbishment?)

The enormous queue of students making the swap to Gallery certainly doesn’t appeal but I persevered and resulted in a half hour wait. Despite many students getting on a guest list which enabled the usual privilege of queue jumping, these guests were directed to the more unusual ‘queue jump queue’ arguably longer than the average. Nonetheless, it was worth it.

However, since this initial rush, Gallery have closed their guestlist earlier on in the week to limit the number of people it is available to and ease the queues a little more. James College Bar MCQ’s is also offering a solution to this problem as the new ‘pre SNG’ bar. Barman David Sharp says ‘if you come here before Gallery on a Sunday for a drink we’ll give you a queue jump’ again these are more limited and the enormous queues haven’t been such a problem.

But will MCQ’s and the ‘SNG is back’ team be enough to compete with the opening of the new Vodka Revs next week or is SNG simply just enjoying this momentary lapse of refurbishment? On a social with the University of York Aerobics society, this Sunday just passed; I danced away and savoured what might be the last memories of a packed SNG full of second and third years who remember it so well and freshers that unfortunately, may be eagerly anticipating the reopening of Revs.

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