I consider myself to be fairly worldly, and try to keep an eye on surfacing trends and I anticipate that I may not be tuned-in to some of the more British pastimes. Amy Winehouse is a fashionable craze I cottoned on to. I can understand her appeal: she's kitsch, she's crude, captivating and talented.
However, I needed to get my head around the whole idea of bingo, a gambling 'sport' I had only ever associated with the over 50s and marker pens.
Now, America has a robust legacy of gamblers and betters. Just take a look at Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Reno to see societies of bleary-eyed hopefuls throwing quarters into slot machines: it runs through the heart of the land. It's full of young people who like to let go in these air-conditioned playgrounds; a group outing where you go with your buds for the free drinking; to flitter away your wages or get lucky and win.
During my time here, I have pretty much pieced together that bingo is a very favourable British institution, like buses and scones, popular amongst a certain clientele. I walk through the streets of Hackney, and Clapham and there it is like a beacon - the bright lights of a bingo hall.
However, the whole thing seems to have had a cultural revamp and Bingo has turned into a real high-flyer with the young, if the glossy posters are anything to go by...it's a place to be seen; an occasion, a night out.
I have seen a number of advertisements here where the young and sort-of glamorous are venturing into bingo halls and treating it as a Fridya night splurge, and it's all across the internet too - so maybe I have it all wrong. I actually am tempted, if only for the cultural tourism alone. It seems that bingo is in-style. There's cabaret entertainment, and 'fast-paced' bingo, with bars and slot-machines.
That said, just in case I don't feel ready to join in with the crowds of bingo fans, Mecca has internet bingo, so I can enjoy the perks of gambling without actually venturing into the bingo den itself and get involved with this British trend my own way and who knows, I could get lucky and win.
