With the gradual opening back up of Victoria it was time to get back into the pub. And with that, a new pub with a new chapter. The Royal Hotel in Mornington to be specific.
In the lead up to the first meeting there was a small but enthusiastic group of new and old goons impatient for a beer and good company. It was a long, dark winter and we were itching to get out. The lockdown in Victoria wasn’t ideal for starting a new TGBC chapter, so we waited, making due with dialing into established chapters’ online meetings to give us our fix for books and comradery.
The first meeting was a mix of faces and backgrounds, which is what we like to see at a chapter meeting. TGBC isn’t a place for everybody to get together and agree with each other. It’s a place for different perspectives to come alive. Having a variety of goons helps that. Especially when that variety of goons respects the “no fuckhead” rule of book club.
We had a mix of a couple of TGBC veterans (goons who had been to other chapters but moved away), friends of members from other chapters, and some new goons who just wanted to see what this whole “book club thing” is all about. And good on that latter group. It takes guts to show up to something new when you have no connection to it.
Did we mention we were all impatient for a beer after being locked down for months?
It can’t be said the first meeting of the Mornington chapter was the most literary. A lot of us hadn’t been out for awhile and were just happy to see a face that wasn’t on their computer screen. Since there were so many new goons there was a higher percentage that hadn’t read the book as well. Not to worry, while we are a book club, we’re also here to be social.
The next meeting got rolling a little stronger. We were happy to see the same faces we saw in the first meeting as well as one or two new ones. We found the happy balance between talking books and talking shit.
Looking ahead we’re expecting more new face (thanks to goons telling their friends). We’re also expecting more than a few more drinks, a few new friends, and a good chat about books.
The Mornington chapter of Tough Guy Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7PM at the Royal Hotel on the Esplanade in Mornington. Find us up the back in the tavern area. We’re the group of guys talking about books.
