4:12pm Tuesday 28th November 2006
By Rachel Pegg
A bar has cancelled a monthly science event because academics do not drink enough alcohol.
Caf Scientifique, which is a forum for people to discuss latest ideas in science and technology, is normally held on the third Tuesday of the month at Terraces Bar and Grill in Marine Parade, Brighton.
But the venue has pulled the plug because, it claims, those who turned up were sticking to tap water.
Bar manger Sean Donnelly said: "It is purely a financial reason. They don't spend any money. It wasn't financially possible.
"They have between 20 and 40 people turn up. They would drink so much tap water. Academic people don't often drink that much.
"A few of them would have a drink but the rest of them would drink water. It cost me £50 or £60 to have a barman standing there for four hours doing nothing."
Monthly environmental group Greenspeak will continue to meet at Terraces on the second Tuesday of the month but the bar in the room where the meeting is held will not be staffed.
Dr Jenny Gristock and Jim Grozier, who organise Cafe Scientifique, are now looking for an alternative venue.
Dr Gristock refused to comment on Mr Donnelly's claims the monthly event at Terraces was cancelled because academics were not drinking enough.
They claim they usually have 50 to 80 people who could help a caf or bar do good business on a quiet Tuesday once a month.
Mr Grozier, a physicist at the University of Sussex, said: "We desperately need to find a new pub that would welcome us.
"We have about 60 people who are expecting to come to our Tuesday evening talks right up until the end of July.
"Thanks to this last-minute cancellation, we have nowhere to go."
Caf Scientifique has taken place for just over a year. It is run by volunteers without funding from the university or private companies. Speakers' travel expenses are covered by collection donations.
On December 5, Alan Preece is coming from Bristol to talk about public health, power lines and mobile phones.
Dr Gristock, from the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University, said: "We are making a difference to local people and their relationship with science. We run it on a voluntary basis. Everybody wants it to continue."
The Caf Scientifique website states: "Caf Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology.
"Meetings take place in cafs, bars, restaurants and even theatres but always outside a traditional academic context."
Anyone who can help should contact Dr Gristock on 01273 876711 or Mr Grozier on j.r.grozier@sussex.ac.uk
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