Eyes down... will your numbers come up? (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Eyes down... will your numbers come up?

8:14am Tuesday 26th May 2009

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The last time I played bingo was 20 years ago, on Hastings pier. I won a little oscillating fan that fell apart. These days you can win big money and increasing numbers of younger people are turning to bingo for a fun night out. “Eyes down for a full house is one way of tackling the credit crunch,” I decide, making my way over to Buckingham Bingo.

Arriving at the city centre bingo hall, I sign up – you must be a member to play – and am given a membership card, information pack and my very own ‘dabber’ pen!

General manager Robert Cahill leads me into the 1,500-seat bingo hall. It’s like Las Vegas, with endless tables on a soft carpet beneath an array of bright lights. “We get up to about 600 people here,” says Robert. “Wednesday night is busiest because it’s £3 for all tickets. We call it Wacky Wednesday.”

Buckingham Bingo has 40,000 members and 75 per cent are female, with many coming along for a girls’ night out.

“There’s a misconception that bingo is something older people do, but we get a cross section,” says Robert. “We get a senior clientele during the day, but in the evenings there’s a younger crowd too, including men.

“It’s a fun, friendly place. We’re licensed, there’s a heated buffet and a secure, underground car park. It’s a great atmosphere when someone wins a big prize. Some regulars come every day.”

Bingo halls have suffered since the smoking ban, but Robert says things are picking up, thanks to a spacious, heated outdoor smoking area. Smokers play bingo using hand-held electronic devices, with the bingo caller’s voice coming through a loud-speaker.

There are various different games throughout the day, some of which are linked to the 11 other Buckingham Bingo clubs. You can win £50,000 on the national Bullseye game. You can buy one set of bingo books a time, or up to six sets at once. Robert places an array of books in front of me. It looks complicated. My bingo skills are rusty so I’m eased in with a table-top game, which you can play between main sessions. I put a pound coin into a slot and the game lights up. “Someone recently won £160 with a full house on this,” says Robert. I place counters on various numbers as they’re called out, which isn’t as easy as you’d think. The caller churns out numbers so quickly I can hardly keep up. I was expecting “Kelly’s Eye, Number One” or “Legs Eleven”, but Robert says bingo lingo has moved on.

To win a line game, I’m aiming for a horizontal, vertical or diagonal combination, or four corner or centre numbers. I’m three numbers off a win when someone beats me to it. I move on to the Special Early Flyer, comprising six tickets. We’re going for a line, two lines, then a full house. This time I get to use my ‘dabber’ marker pen; I’m poised ready, and suddenly numbers are coming thick and fast.

The numbers are arranged in columns; the first column comprises numbers one to ten, the second column ten to 20, and so on. It makes them easier to find but, as I discovered, if you lose concentration for a second it’s difficult to catch up.

I gradually get used to the rhythm of the caller’s voice, but feel nervous at the prospect of getting a line and having to shout out. “Do we shout ‘bingo’?” I whisper to Robert. “Most people shout ‘line’, ‘house’ or ‘here’,” he says.

I get into the swing of it – not enough to win, though – then there’s a break, so I grab a sandwich from the buffet bar. I meet Anne Webster, who recently celebrated her 102nd birthday with a game of bingo. Staff organised a limousine to pick her up and presented her with a bingo ticket-shaped cake.

Before Buckingham Bingo opened in Bradford in 2002, Anne travelled by bus across Yorkshire – to Doncaster, Sheffield, Barnsley – for bingo. She plays twice a week and once won £500. “My son, Keith, brings me,” she says. “I’ve got many friends here, they look after me. I started playing bingo after the war. All those numbers keep your mind active.”

Clutching my sandwich, I return to my seat for the main session. Robert takes to the mic to welcome everyone, then it’s ‘eyes down’. In no time, someone a couple of tables down sticks up her hand and shrieks “Here!”

Everything stops while her numbers are checked and there’s a ripple of tension. She wins £100.

A bit later on, I’m just two numbers off a full house – then there’s a cry from across the hall and someone has won £500. Everyone claps and Cliff Richard’s Congratulations is piped into the air.

I try the electronic device – Planet Bingo – which does all the working out so I can play all six games at once. Because I don’t need to scan the numbers, all I do is press the ‘claim’ button each time a number is called. There’s a beep when I just need one number; I prepare to shout but, needless to say, someone else gets there first. I prefer the ‘dabber’ method of finding numbers and marking them.

I enjoyed my bingo session, and it wasn’t as complicated as it had first seemed. Robert and his staff were helpful, and there was a friendly atmosphere. I’d much prefer playing bingo in such a sociable environment to playing online.

The cash prizes eluded me, so I had a quick go on the fruit machines before leaving – and won £3.50. Not quite as exciting as a full house, but it made my day.

• Buckingham Bingo is next to Bradford Interchange. Doors open at 10.30am and the first session starts at 11.30am. There’s a Special Early Flyer at 12.30pm and the main session is 1.15pm to 2.35pm. There’s another session from 2.45pm to 3pm and evening sessions run from 6pm to 9.30pm. For more information ring (01274) 727575 or visit buckybingo.co.uk

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