WHERE DID THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE BC GETS ITS NAME FROM ? ...... ( part 2 )

A fourth theory as to the origin of its name owes much credence to the fact that during the early 1900's the out house at the back of property was used as a makeshift abattoir, for the slaughter of rabbits. Diaries of workers revealed the scale of the inhumane practices that went on behind the blood stained walls and sealed windows. Workers, it seemed, desperate to relieve the depressing boredom of the job , tried to think up new and exciting ways of killing these poor petrified creatures. Apparently, hand held gadgets similar to mini- chainsaws were every one's preferred choice of weapon.

However, it wasn't long before the outhouse got burned down by animal liberation activists, an event which was quickly followed by the great depression of the late 1920's. People were really down, and so the new owner of the property decided to turn it into an entertainment venue, known as the So Ho Ho Comedy Club. This proved to be a very popular and extremely profitable move, but then the name started to attract a large number of displaced cockneys who had another agenda in mind. They arrived in droves looking for, and expecting, a really " good time ". Only when the police were deluged with letters of complaint , about the number of seedy looking men descending upon the neighbourhood , was something done to rebrand what was on offer. Cleverly, the owners changed the name to THE LAUGHTER HOUSE, but then one of the visiting comedians decided to paint a big capital "S" beside the "L" on the name board hanging over the front door. The new and inappropriate name was one that stuck in the minds of all those that saw it.

Finally, in 1977 after the property was up for sale again, Bigot-Johnson stepped in. For him this was a dream come true. Here he was....a man in charge of a bridge club, able to pick and choose who he wanted as members. Naturally, the focus was on new unsuspecting beginners to the game. For Bigot and his chosen chums, these novices were simply lambs to the slaughter.....hence the name of the club.