‘It’s a community’: An interview with the Lancaster Peeny Greeny Society

Lancaster University has always been able to pride itself on an amazing range of student-led societies, and the fairly new Lancaster University Peeny Greeny Society is no exception. Possibly one of the randomer and more chaotic societies that the Tab has sat down to interview, the group are slowly gaining ground, with a presence that has spread impressively quickly through social media since the beginning of the academic year.

Of course, the first question we asked was what is peeny greeny? The answer is “an alternative name for pinot grigio wine, commonly used by super cool people”. 

A National Organisation

The society explained that they are one of the founding branches of a national movement (the main Peeny Greeny Instagram account has nearly 600 followers) with groups at Liverpool, Royal Holloway, Oxford and Cambridge Universities. They said that “Lancaster is very different to them in structure. This is mainly because of the diversity of our events/socials that take the movement’s guiding ideology and apply it to anything we seem fit. Of course, that ideology is what we call Pinot Grigio: Peeny Greeny.”

It sounds quite simple when you put it like that, really.

(When asked, they did clarify that the pinot grigio aspect of the society is primarily financial, as it is the cheapest wine available; when money is more readily available, the variety of wine widens.)

All socials contain alcohol in some form

With a core group of eleven and a regular membership of around twenty, which comprises entirely of first years, socials can range from woodland picnics to Bake Off screenings, with regular flat parties also being held across campus. They also clarified that Lancaster is one of the more social-based societies out of the national list.

We were also told about a particular sub-branch of the society, named ‘Theatre De La Drunk’, which has been meeting regularly since November and is “for those that like Peeny Greeny and being creative”. Not all the members of this group do creative subjects. Their activities are primarily composed of creative writing whilst drunk (a sample of this writing is available on society’s Instagram page, for those interested).

When asked why students should consider joining the Peeny Greeny Society, many members talked about the group’s impact upon them, with one saying: “it’s this community of people that come together as a result of Pinot Grigio. It is something worth sharing, that togetherness and connection that we need now, more than ever before.”

It unites people

“You can make Peeny Greeny what you want almost – for example, in the wider community, Royal Holloway uses Peeny Greeny for activism; Cambridge uses it for funny captions and internet content; whereas Lancaster does more socials and art inspired stuff. I’d say Peeny Greeny is a banner to be under, perhaps a call to arms in the name of a made-up name. It unites people. It’s a community in that I’ve made friends through it, and in Freshers’, we relied on each other a lot when we felt the pressure of joining a university.”

Almost everyone we spoke to from the society was exceptionally quick to emphasise this community aspect, along with how it has helped them to make friends and feel part of something larger, both at a university and on a national scale. Rather than forming a society based on a common interest, they found strangers and brought them together through chance, luck, and pinot grigio, and formed a movement.

We aren’t revolutionaries; we are the revolution

One of the two founders of the national movement, first year Joe Simpkins, said of the society on a national scale: “The whole thing is a bit absurd. I often sit back, and it blows my mind that I’ve started something that can sell t-shirts, get societies at Oxbridge unis and so on. It makes no sense, but that’s why I love it.”

What appears at first glance to be a chaotic and random Instagram account that one should potentially overlook, due to the nonsensical nature of the captions and the blurry photos posted, is a very strong group who have created something out of a love for cheap wine that now exists on a national scale and has created friendships across the UK. It’s provided the members with a support network and opportunities that have proved invaluable in the face of the changes that come with university. When put like that, it’s really impressive and certainly shouldn’t be taken at face value.

If you are interested in joining or have any further questions, simply DM @lupeenygreeny on Instagram for more information. For more information on the society on a national scale, follow @peenygreeny on Instagram. 

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