Bingo Opening Again
Shipleys will be open seven days a week with bingo played from 10am-10pm each day. The main entrance will be on Union Street next to Slaters Menswear. Visitors can play all the most popular. The rest of the birds on the bingo are resident species to Ireland and can be spotted all year round, especially if you have a bird feeder in your garden. “Some of the rarer ones there may be the song thrush or the pied wagtail, the hooded crow is also hard to spot,” Jim added.
By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press
Bingo at the VFW is back in business. For a few weeks now, the Olan Forest Smith Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8577, has welcomed bingo fans back into their halls, with restrictions of course.
Dana Watson, Bingo Chairman, said that Bingo nights have been in effect for a few weeks now. Right now, the VFW holds Bingo on Saturdays and Sundays at 4:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m., and on the last two Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
In order to keep things safe, they encourage patrons to social distance. They are currently allowed to be at 50% capacity, so no more than two people are allowed at a table and they sit diagonal from each other. They also put up barriers between the cashiers and the patrons. So far, Watson said that 93 people attended on the most crowded night and 78 on their least crowded night.
“We have a really dedicated bingo crowd,” said Watson. “They seemed happy to be back…they love the game.”
Watson said that bingo is used as a fundraiser for the VFW.
“Our mission is to give our money away to help the community, veterans, and their families,” said Watson. “All of us here are veterans. We served our country and our community, and a lot of us are retired and we’re a little older now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to give.”
The money they make goes to a wide range of causes including helping both the Police Department and Fire Department, the Soup Kitchen, Boy Scouts, Senior Center, other programs to benefit the elderly, and more. They donate to help provide scholarships and even donate to the Miss 5 Hills Pageant.
Bingo enthusiasts were excited that they finally get to come out and play a favorite game, socialize, and have a chance to win.
“We have missed coming out to this for forever,” said Geneva Guerrieri, who attended the event with her mother. Her mother had been sick, so getting to play bingo with her again was a treat. “It means that things are opening up and things are returning to normal.”
Bingo fan Michael Trubee was both excited to play bingo and support a good cause while doing so.
“It’s awesome. It gives us something to do,” said Trubee. “And we are able to enjoy other people’s company instead of being isolated, and, as you can see, everybody’s smiling.”
Trubee said that he works at Denny’s and has long hours, so he’s excited to be able to come to the VFW and play bingo. He added that the VFW has been a great help to him and his family, and he knows that he is not alone in appreciating the VFW.
“The VFW donates a lot of time and helps a lot of people,” said Trubee. “We are lucky to have a VFW that’s active.”
In addition to the bingo nights, the VFW also holds karaoke nights on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. until closing time.
The UK is starting to find its feet again after it comes out of lockdown, with restaurants, bars, shops and hairdressers beginning to reopen and welcome back customers once more. But what about bingo halls? Below you’ll find all you need to know about when bingo halls reopen and all the important information about UK bingo halls reopening.Are Bingo Halls Open?
While many have used the online bingo halls to keep themselves entertained over the last few months, bingo halls were given the go ahead to reopen alongside pubs and restaurants on July 4, 2020.This is only the case in England currently, with Welsh and Scottish governments yet to confirm when they will return.
A number of the major bingo brands across the UK have opened their doors, including the likes of Mecca Bingo, Apollo Bingo and Club 3000.
Most are staggering their openings, with the former having opened up less than half, with a view to open more at a later date.
Buzz Bingo Opening Again
Buzz Bingo are yet to open any of their bingo halls, with a date of August 6 when they will open 12, with a few to stagger openings from there.What Will Be Different?
Of course, stringent social distancing measures will be in place in compliance with government guidelines.Clear signage is in place to ensure customers meet the guidelines, with some tables, chairs and gaming machines not in operation to ensure safe distancing between players.
In each venue there is a maximum limit on number of players, meaning that players may be required to queue to enter.
Players must also sanitise their hands on arrival and contactless payment is also being encouraged.
Many clubs are also extending their hours of operation to ensure all players can still enjoy bingo, while staff are cleaning all surfaces regularly.
When Will Bingo Halls Be Fully Open?
It is still uncertain as to when all bingo halls in the UK will reopen and be at full capacity. This will depend on government relaxations of social distancing measures.Saturday July 4 marked the first step in the reopening of venues and much will be reliant upon the success of this over the coming weeks.
There is no date set for a full reopening without social distancing measures in place, with the government having yet to announce or reveal when regulations may relax even further.
Playing Bingo Online
Of course, players themselves should take all the right precautions and enter bingo halls once more when they feel safe to do so.If the time isn’t right for you currently, there are also hundreds of great online bingo options, offering all manner of variants from Slingo Bingo to more traditional games such as 75 ball bingo and 90 ball bingo.
Brands such as 32Red Bingo and Sun Bingo have been particularly popular during the lockdown, thanks to their great promotions and wide ranging offerings, while there are also many more brands available to play with, many of the best can be found on our Bingo page.