Pub landlady launches social group for women to meet others

A SOCIAL group for women has been launched at a Henley pub.

Claire Llewellyn, 44, who runs The Old Bell in Bell Street, decided to start the group after seeing social media posts from women in the area who wanted to meet new people.

It meets at the Brakspear pub on a Wednesday from 7pm and after four weeks the group now has about 15 members who turn up for a drink and a chat.

Ms Llewellyn said: “I noticed on Facebook groups how many women were asking about making friends. Running mostly a wet-led pub, I interact with men on a daily basis and so it made me wonder what the women do and where do they go?

“For those of us in our 20s and 30s, or even early 40s who have young children, you tend to speak to other families and meet people at the school gate or at school functions.

“But if that is not a part of your life, and if you are not passionate about one particular sport or something of that nature, people of my age group and older tend to find it difficult to meet people, especially for those not looking for love.”

Ms Llewellyn hopes the group, which she has named Henley Women’s Social Circle, will break down barriers.

She said: “I noticed how many women have expressed that they would never go into a pub on their own and I wanted to try and break that barrier. There’s a fear that women have of walking into a pub and being afraid that they are just going to be a bit of meat.

“I thought, I have a room in the pub that is very rarely used, except on the weekends. During the weekdays it tends to be quite quiet and it’s really intimate and is set apart from the main bar. It’s perfect for myself and the community to have a safe comfortable space in which women can come without any expectation.”

Ms Llewellyn, who has three children, said there were groups in Henley including for business networking and mothers but she wanted to form a group inclusive for everyone which has no niche. Nothing is prepared or organised and women of all ages and backgrounds are welcomed. Nibbles are also provided.

She said: “There is no agenda – it’s massively informal. Women can just walk in, grab a drink or not, it doesn’t really matter. Just pop in and sit down and say hi. There might be those first few seconds of looking and feeling awkward but immediately those who are there introduce themselves and everyone is talking about everything.”

Ms Llewellyn, who lives near Stonor with her partner Mickey, noted the success of The Henley Men’s Club launched in March last year by Gary Boys and Luke Dorn, a group which meets on Mondays at The Bull in Henley to combat mental health.

She said: “It is great that they started something for men so I thought I would see if there are women who want to get together and want to meet and make a larger social circle for themselves. I think today’s society can be an incredibly lonely one.

“Social media has its pluses but technology and social media has hugely isolated people where we talk to people through screens and not so much face to face. It has its place and it’s great for business and for me to connect with friends I have all over the world but so much has been lost in how we form proper personal interactions with human beings. It’s essential to our mental wellbeing.

“There are those of us who enjoy being on our own but, for the vast majority, we’re social creatures. It is increasingly difficult to know how to navigate in this world, making friends and connections with people.”

Ms Llewellyn said the group has been so successful that GP surgeries have also expressed an interest in her social group for their patients. She said: “I put it up on social media and people said how it was a great idea. I was hoping that I would get at least one or two likes.

“I didn’t really have any expectations. I just wanted to create a safe, welcoming, friendly space, where women can come together. My hope is that more and more women get to know that there is somewhere if they want to broaden their social circle.

“I hope it keeps going. I’ll keep it going as long as I can and see where it takes us.”