A JOKE written on a blackboard outside a popular Poole bar sparked unwarranted fears of a new pole-dancing club in town.
Staff at the Camden Bar, a firm favourite with revellers in Ashley Cross, regularly write light-hearted messages on their menu board.
So as the bar had scaffolding outside, while the neighbouring property has a makeover, bar manager Lauren Curley decided to incorporate this into her message.
She explained: “As a joke, because of all the scaffolding outside, we drew a little cartoon of a monkey on a pole and wrote the Camden had monkey bars and pole-dancing.
“We just like to have a bit of light-hearted fun with our customers. In the past, for example, we’ve written things on the board such as ‘unattended children will be given a kitten and fed free coffee’. We’re just trying to have a bit of fun with it.”
But it appears some neighbours failed to see the funny side. Indeed, some may have been sent into a panic at the prospect of pole-dancing monkeys descending on the district.
Miss Curley explained: “I took a call from a council official last Friday, informing me of residents’ concerns that we were putting on pole dancing at the bar which, of course, needs a separate licence.
“I wracked and wracked my brains but I just couldn’t think how someone had come to that conclusion – then I remembered the board we’d put out for just one day.
“I told the council we were just joking, but I was told ‘Well, the residents didn’t think it was funny.’”
Miss Curley has since apologised online to anyone who was offended.
A Borough of Poole spokesman confirmed one of their officers spoke to the Camden Bar about the issue.
The council spokesman said: “We spoke to them after a resident raised some concerns and were quickly able to establish it was a hoax.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel