Kevin Birch has lived in this heavenly Hampshire pocket for seventy years, seeing a lot of coming and goings, a lot of changes over the decades but one constant of the last thirty of those years has been his involvement with the Overton Memorial Institute.
For those readers unaware, the Overton Memorial Institute (OMI) is a large private members club offering a range of pub/club activities such as darts, pool, crib and table tennis.
There’s a range of entertainment which includes local and new talent as well as popular returning acts, and the stage can also be used for karaoke and discos. Three rooms are available for hire which include the main bar, the lounge bar and a small upstairs room. It’s a throwback to the traditional members clubs and one that Overton is blessed to have still serving up pints and occasions for its community, it’s an absolute bargain at £10 membership for the entire year as well!
Kevin’s role at the OMI is that of entertainment secretary, which Kevin tells CommunityAd “means I book all the live entertainment. We have some excellent live entertainment once a month and we host a jam night the last Wednesday of the month.” Kevin’s not lying, the entertainment is hugely varied and promises to offer something for everyone, in the coming weeks there’ll be a celebration of Motown and soul as well as a 7 piece reggae band to enjoy, followed by Kevin’s favourite “forget the rest he’s the best” Rod Stewart tribute band.
Variety is the spice of life and it’s plentiful down at the OMI, with so much great live music on offer it’s surely worth joining as a member for the year? The club is a non-profit organisation, all the income is put back into the upkeep and running of this fine little community asset.