Bar

The news that Nick Jones (Mr Kirsty Young) of Soho House is in talks with Television Centre developers Stanhope about the possibility of a club with rooftop pool and 50 bedrooms on the inner ring of the building sets the mind buzzing.

Will the old Television Centre Club be reborn ?  And in which incarnation ?  Surely not as it was left last year - faux-Hoxton wooden (simulated) floors, daft leatherette booths, and a counter selling jacket potatoes ? The ambience of a motorway service station, blended with a football pub, where cocky waiters stack lager glasses fifty-high, and then drop them to the whinnying of a crowd of bored IT engineers and returning pensioners ?

Pic from Tony Scott

No, surely they'll aim for the early seventies - BBC-branded Jubilee champagne; Tantine (Auntie) and Sans Fil (Wireless) wine; Ruddles County and Ringnes Lager on draught. Jacket potatoes confined to a glazed, separate, cafe; a small lounge bar, "owned" by News and Light Entertainment, and a huge standing area, packed on Top of The Pops' nights, by lonely men hoping for a glance of Pan's People.

That, and a pool on the terrace outside - a winner.

Last orders

The most famous fish tank in broadcasting will twinkle only in drunken memory after tonight. The aquarium has been a feature of the BBC Club bar in the basement of Bush House for as long as most people can remember. When the Club was twice the size, it sat grandly across the middle of the room; then, in the Birt era, gym took precedence over gin, and the other side of the tank was blocked off to conceal sweat and exercise bikes.

The Club was meant to close its doors for the last time last Friday, with a party organised by studio managers, stalwarts of drink and human glue for the World Service. But so many current and former staff have been asking for a last chance to pay a nostalgic visit that there was a week-long extension. And the place is chock-full of memories, from its old wooden floorboards (and the previous sticky carpet) to its low-slung ceiling. This happy spot has played host to one of the world's most diverse, entertaining and gossipy clientele - the staff of the BBC World Service. I hope someone collates a small tome of bar-room tales; a guaranteed good read.

• One bar closes, another....  It's all very different at MediaCityUK. This pop-up bar is due to open today, providing it's not already floated away. 

Froth

I have friends, some far away, who would like this modified lager glass; but then, they'd probably also like the Rattlesnake Live Bar and Kitchen. The Jokki Hour costs $22.50; similar effects can be achieved by tapping your glass firmly and sharply on a hard surface.

What's yours ?

The team at one of my happiest stomping grounds, Newsbeat, are having an Alcohol Week.  This is not an internal event, but an attempt to engage with the Radio 1 audience about a serious problem.  Two reality checks are needed.  1: Chris Moyles.    2: These figures, used for the price of drinks in the Radio 1 Booze Calculator, working out prices of drink in pubs.
. 
Pint of weaker beer/lager/cider = £3.06
Pint of stronger beer/lager/cider = £3.06
Standard wine = £3.35
Large wine = £4.50
One measure spirits = £2.50
Double measure spirits = £3.90
Alcopop = £2.75
To calculate this we took an average of typical prices from three large pub chains across the UK. Source: All Bar One (National), Bar Ha Ha (National, Leeds, Cardiff), Walkabout (Sheffield). 

The trouble is that before the Radio 1 listener gets to the pub for a session, there's often some warming up with bottles and tins on the way.  Bargain Booze currently offers 8 pint cans of Carling for £6, 4 pint cans of Strongbow for £3.59,  3 bottles of Blossom Hill wine for £10, and eight Bacardi Breezers for £8.19.