r__d

Yes, it is 2024 and Sweet 300 and the 'Mate are still keepin' on keepin' on. And dancers will occasionally ask if you'd like to "go upstairs". On the other hand, the Rideau St. Macadonarudo (and its raccoon clientele) have entered the pantheon of Lowertown legend.

In to the 'Mate this afternoon (8/12) around 1:45 til about 3:15. Noticed Ruby, Bianca, Summer, Delicious and a very pretty smaller dancer wearing a mask outside the CR (Crystal?) as well as another dancer (brunette, spent a lot of time on her smartphone near the entrance). A very curvaceous ebony entered, left and then returned a bit later in a different outfit - not sure I've seen her at the club before. There seemed to be lots of traffic to the CR - Delicious, Bianca and Ruby were in/out multiple times while I was there and the mask-wearing dancer made a couple of visits as well. Summer was just a little bit persistent, but calmed down when I told her I was waiting for Delicious. Ruby looked great in a very skimpy white one-piece and Delicious sometimes wore a similar outfit and then a very short strapless tube dress. A fairly active feeling at the 'Mate today compared to recent visits.

Briefly stopped by the 'Mate today (7/29) and found a fairly subdued atmosphere. Arrived about 2:00 and noticed only one dancer - Bianca (first time I've seen tall Bianca with dark hair after knowing her as a blonde for many years.) After about 20 minutes or so, a tall, somewhat thin dark-haired girl emerged from the CR (Crystal?) and shortly after Delicious came out of the private dance area. These three were the only dancers spotted by me on a short visit of about 30 minutes. As I was leaving, Bianca took to the stage - there was no prior stage activity from about 2:00 - 2:30. Thought Delicious looked nice in a very tight (and short) strapless dress. Had hoped to drop by the Scotiabank ATM just down Montreal Rd. past Hannah, but found the branch and ATM closed. A sign on the door helpfully suggested that service could be obtained at Gloucester Centre. OK, I thought, I'll just have to bite the bullet and deal with the club ATM's extortionate service fee, but the 'Mate's cash machine was out of order putting a bit of a damper on my afternoon activites on this occasion.

Was told that Vegas was at the 'Mate on the afternoon of June 30 and said that she'd be back daytime but if it was sunny she said she'd rather be "by the pool". I've been praying for rain. Did not see her myself - this was reported on a thread at another forum.

For those who may be interested, it was reported today (6/30) that Vegas has reappeared at the 'Mate. Here's hoping that she becomes an afternoon regular or at least semi-regular.

Thanks for the info M.O.F.W. Wasn't sure about this as I hadn't seen either Bianca back at the 'Mate, but from some reports suspected that tall (previously blonde) Bianca had made a reappearance.

Wonder which Bianca it was . There have been two dancers using 'Bianca' as a club name at the 'Mate for a while and I used to distinguish them in posts by referring to 'dark-haired Bianca' and 'blonde Bianca'. Now I'm told that (formerly) blonde Bianca now has dark (black) hair so I guess it'll have to be 'tall Bianca' to indicate the former blonde and 'French-Canadian Bianca' to denote the smaller, previously dark-hiared Bianca. Anyway.

Was there on 4/27 (Wednesday) in the afternoon from about 2 to a little after 3 or so. As noted, I noticed only 3 dancers during that time. It may be that Friday afternoons will be somewhat busier and I'm guessing that things will be very slow until 1 or 1:30. My own approach for afternoons is to try to arrive between 2 and 2:30. Before Covid, Delicious told me that she decided not to get there before 1 as it just wasn't worthwhile for her to be there prior to that time.

Stopped by the 'Mate today (4/27) for the first time since February of 2020. Found a fairly quiet atmosphere but not too much different from the way things were on a typical Wednesday afternoon pre-pandemic. There were about 8 patrons, but only 3 dancers that appeared during the hour or so that I was there. Ruby was on stage when I arrived and I think another dancer (Trina?....ebony with very long blonde hair, not Sara) went on stage while I was in the CR with Delicious. There may have been more dancers, but overall things seemed a bit subdued. Seemed to be light traffic to the CR - the blonde ebony dancer emerged as I was first sitting down at a table and Ruby was in the CR when I went in with Delicious. CR was empty after I exited with D. The bartender (not Jasmine) did not seem to monitor or visit the CR and Delicious did not seem to be concerned about this in the way that some dancers were when Jasmine was the day manager - that was my impression during a quick visit anyway. According to Delicious, Vegas has not yet made a reappearance at the 'Mate, but she (Delicious) told me that she'd heard that Vegas was going to be returning.

For those who may be interested, Vegas tells me that she'll be back at the 'Mate this week, probably starting tomorrow (4/21) at 1.

Believe the ebony dancer who has the blonde 'do is Sarah (Sara?) rather than CeCe (CiCi?). The other aspects that redback has mentioned make me think this as well. Yes, CeCe is a petite ebony dancer for sure and I certainly could have the names confused but I think the ebony blonde (so to speak) is Sarah. Perhaps she changed her name during her time at the 'Mate, but I seem to recall she used Sarah there as she did in the past at Barb's.

It's just so sad/unfortunate that things have developed as they have in the past 18 months or so. For a while, the retirement of a fave dancer (at Barb's) kind of cooled my enthusiasm and then the loss of Barb's didn't help the overall outlook. Just seemed to be getting over these developments with a few new faves at the 'Mate when a couple of my new faves got 'banned' or left the club for whatever reason. Then the pandemic hit. Earlier this year, I'd really been hoping for a return to normality by the holiday season. Always especially enjoyed party atmosphere in the clubs during yearend visits as alluded to above by KB. It was always fun to have that mild sense of anticipation when dropping in to the club (in any season) - wondering if any favourites/regulars would be there or if any surprises were in store, especially if 'getting over' the loss of a favourite dancer. Perhaps a visit to the 'Mate should be on the agenda just to see how things are. Always appreciate the reports on this forum by those who have attended.

Playmate: Foxy, Delicious, Mia, Vegas Barb's: Emily (way back), Jenny (ATF)

Any definitive intel on this? Is the 'Fax finished?

Ashley (daytime) was such a regular presence at the 'Mate - the place will not really seem the same if she is 'not so much' around. Believe I can recall only one time in the past several years when Ashley wasn't to be seen on an afternoon visit to the PM. Suppose the whole Covid situation/nightmare has made these kinds of changes inevitable.

Someone posted (on another forum) that Pigale is opening tonight (6/30) at 7:00.

On a Toronto SC board elsewhere someome started a thread titled 'Nothing new to comment on, let's hear those glory days stories'. Don't want to bore people with my personal opinions of what, where, who and when constituted the 'glory days', but the impulse behind the thread has made me more than a bit nostalgic. Not sure if things will ever really be anything close to the same on the local (Ottawa/Gatineau) SC scene, but it's looking like it'll be some time before many folks are going to feel comfortable in the former SC/CR environment. Didn't think I was a real SC addict by any means but, having not been able to attend since late February, starting to miss the anticipation of a visit and the atmosphere of the the local haunts. Managed to survive the 'retirement' of an ATF and then the demise of that dancer's venue (Barb's), but the situation in general seems so uncertain now and from so many standpoints - public health, club finances, continued dancer interest if/when there are club reopenings, perhaps even patron interest. Some have been suggesting that the 'Fax building will likely be sold at some stage and so it goes....... Recall the intense interest and dismay on this board when, years before the event, the closure of Barb's was rumoured. Wonder if interest among patrons remains at a level high enough to justify the continued operation of the clubs. Will we be able to indulge again by Labour Day or Hallowe'en? Will one ever again be greeted by the endearingly chintzy Christmas lights at the 'Mate on a pre-holiday visit? Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic and negative here but the situation seems less than rosy overall. Are the end days approaching?

Stopped by the 'Mate on a Wednesday afternoon (2/26) around 1:30 and found the club sort of slow - not many patrons and few apparent dancers. By 2:15 - 2:30 or so there were quite a few more patrons and a number of dancers materialized from the CR, dressing room or coming in down the stairs. Many of the regulars were in attendance - noticed Ashley, Lana, Domino, Ruby, Gemma, Sol (Soul?) from Montreal and dark-haired Bianca. Blonde Bianca was seen to-ing and fro-ing in civvies but she never appeared in her dancer outfit. Domino seemed surprisingly tame/conservative in the CR, but Ruby provided a more typical 'Mate CR experience. Did not see Delicious or Adora and none of the usual ebonies seemed to be in - no CiCi, Sarah, Tamika or Shayla. (Maybe these ladies are not so frequently in the club lately.)

Just when a certain dancer (Vegas) was getting to be a fave at the 'Mate, she gets 'banned'. More recently, the lovely Mia was becoming a new fave at the 'Mate. Now I'm told - guess what? - Mia has been banned. Seems like it's always the pretty, well-built ladies who get kicked out. What is happening at this place? Where does it end?

Well played, KB!

Thanks for mentioning your sighting of Mia at Pigale. Wonder if she has switched over to Pigale exclusively or if she'll occasionally be at the 'Mate - such a lovely dancer, had been a real fave at the PM.

1. Mia at the 'Mate 2. Annika at the 'Mate 3. Ruby at the 'Mate A list biased toward the PM, but that's just where most of 2019's outings were. Based entirely on the visual impact of the dancers onstage and 'on the floor' in the club as opposed to any other aspect such as CR demeanour etc.

In to the 'Mate on Thursday (12/19) for a pre-holiday visit and the club was moderately busy - not really hopping but not dead either. Noticed Ruby, Delicious. Lana, Ashley and some of the other regulars. Mia was nothing less than stunning on stage and off (with due respect to the other ladies of the 'Mate, Mia must present the best combination of pretty and well-built at this venue) and Adora looked great after emerging (didn't think she was in at first) from a lengthy CR visit. After thawing out a bit, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a tall, curvy, busty, blonde from days of yore - yes, after seeing her in the club on my last visit it was lucky (I guess) that Annika happened to be there and while she spent a good deal of time with a particular gent (same as last time if I recall correctly), another dancer was kind enough to relay my interest - I will never, ever approach a dancer when she is sitting with or speaking with someone. Did not see Shayla, Tamika or Sarah - in fact no ebony ladies were around while I was there. Nor did either of the Biancas appear to be present.

Wednesday afternoon (11/6) and the 'Mate was fairly busy, at least in comparison to my last few visits - but it was also one of the very few times I've been at the PM during the afternoon and did not see Ashley in the club. Noticed Delicious, Ruby, Adora, Sarah, Mia, blonde Bianca, Annika and a very striking ebony dancer (Shayla?) who looked just stunning in a tiny orange bikini - just a really curvy, lovely look but surprisingly she did not appear to spend any time in the CR from 2:00 to 4:00 while I was present. In addition to the noted ladies, there were at least four others not known to me by name. Adora spent the whole two hour period with one admirer, includng a very long CR session with him. Was hoping to have some time with Annika, but she appeared to be spending a lot of time catching up with 'old friends' and I did not see her visit the CR either.

Not sure if this situation ("...a line on the stairs to get in...") was a bit unusual but I'm slightly amazed. It's certainly true that it has been a very long time since I've been at the 'Fax during the late night hours, but I can never recall a line to get into the place. In the (distant) past my experience was that the crowd would start to thin out a bit after midnight (even on a busy Fri/Sat night) and then thin out a lot after 1:00 am. Apparently concerns re the demise of the O-town SC scene are somewhat overstated unless this was a really atypical Saturday night. Perhaps the loss of Barb's has had an uplifting effect on biz at the BF.