Bingo!

Before I get any stick, yes, what the hell was I doing. This was my second trip to the Mecca; in my defence, I only go very rarely with a friend on a sort of jokey whim. And also, I now have the pleasure of checking off one of my things to do in life list- I won! Only a small prize for getting two lines, but it's not the money that I'm really pleased with. I did notice some things whilst frantically ticking off my numbers:

1) Scarily, pretty much all the bingo players are pensioners. They seem to go alone and are very aggressive. One barked at my friend as he tried to pick up a pen- she thought he was stealing it.

2) The Mecca bingo jingles are unbelievably annoying. I found the lyrics on this site- check this out:

It's the UKs greatest bingo game

that plays from coast to coast

(whooooaaaaa whoooooaaah)

everybody wants to play

the game that pays the most

you could be a winner

a big cash prize to win

(whooooaaaaa whoooooaaah)

so come along and take your seats

the game will soon begin

It's the na-tion-al bingo game

the greatest chance to win your fortune

It's time for the numbers to rooooo..oooooo...oooooollllllll

If I worked there I would go mental.

3) The bingo callers are strangely hypnotic on account of their strange voices- number after number was drilled into my skull. There was one girl who was actually singing them out. They also don't hang about- you really have to concentrate. No time for idle chit-chat!

4) When you get close to filling in a row or house, there is unbelievable tension. My heart was palpitating at a crazy rate.

So, combining all of my observations, and given the excitement (which is probably the main draw of bingo), my morbid mind would like to know the number of heart attacks that occur in bingo halls. I'd be willing to bet it's above the national average.

A surprise perk of the day was that on signing in (for I am a fully fledged member) I was provided with two free energy efficient bulbs by Southern Electric. Very nice!