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ONE of the oldest expat clubs on the island will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a massive BD200,000 renovation project.
The British Club located on the Ahmed Ali Kanoo Avenue in Umm Al Hassam is currently reviewing tenders submitted by nine contractors for work including landscaping, refurbishment and renovation of existing facilities.
The club's general manager Peter Down said: "The aim is to try and change the British Club into what will look like a five-star resort. This is to improve the club for the sake of its members. The club has become tired because it is getting on a bit."
The renovations plans are part of the celebrations being organised to commemorate the club's 75th anniversary. Mr Down explained that there were no records of the exact date of the club's inception but after researching and talking to long-running and former members it was decided to set a date for May.
He said: "The pool area which is currently shut for members will be upgraded. Also, the area around the pool and the garden will be landscaped. There will also be a children's pool added.
"The current Garden Room will be flattened to create a sundeck near the pool as well as a shaded area which will be popular particularly when shows are staged.
"And, a pavilion will be built where ladies can sit and enjoy their afternoon tea with their children. The garden area will have FIFA approved turf, which is a slightly longer artificial grass, but looks real."
The coffee shop will be redesigned and feature stylish furniture and new gym equipment will be introduced into the fitness centre. A majlis is also incorporated in the plans to cater for the club's Bahraini members.
The club, which was one of the first restaurant's to introduce a non-smoking zone in the kingdom, will also have a designated smoking section for those who cannot quit.
Mr Down said: "The aim of the club is to invest and improve the facilities across the board."
The designer of the club's new look will be Bare Design of Bahrain. Principal creative director Gareth Thomas said: "While thinking of designs we decided on settling for a mixture of good, old-fashioned English-style with some funky and eccentric additions."
Mr Thomas also explained that the focal point of the 2,000 sq/m premises would be the pavilion and the garden area to highlight its greenery - a touch of true Brit in a desert environment.
The club was originally known as the Golf Club and then the Gymkhana Club and was established in 1935. It became the British Club in 1954.
Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, an advisor to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 to 1957, was the first 'master of the British Club' as well as being chairman.
Older members recall how sought after membership was in the early days and how people had to be invited and win favour of existing board members at high-class cocktail parties.
Mr Down, who has been a resident of the island and member of the club for 37 years and GM for the past eight months, explained that in the earlier days, the club was pretty much a 'British Raj Club - with its nose quite firmly in the air'.
"There was a certain type of etiquette to adhere to," he explained. "In the 1970s if you were coming for a ball, they would actually lift your trousers to check the colour of socks you were wearing. If your socks weren't black, you weren't allowed in, you had to go home and change them.
"In the restaurant, the gentlemen had to wear a jacket and tie. Also, you had to wear a tie at 8pm and if you weren't wearing one, you had to go to the reception and get a tie - it didn't matter how ugly it looked! You ended up taking it home only to realise you had a collection of the most awful ties. The only answer was to bring them back to the reception so that other members could use them!
"The unwritten rules also ensured children were to be seen and not heard. You had to supervise them at all times and make sure that there wasn't too much noise - everyone had to behave in a very cultured, old-fashioned British way.
"These were just quirky British things and these were traditions that would have existed in all the places that the British colonised.
"Things are more relaxed nowadays as the rules are certainly not as strict as they used to be. However, we are still quite particular about dress code as members have to be properly attired."
Today, the club boasts approximately 2,000 members, and has associate clubs in various countries in the world including India, Thailand and Australia.
Current membership fees are BD175 per couple for 12 months and BD125 for individuals.
