Working Mens Clubs

Off-topic discussions, musings and chat
FLOJO
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun 01 Jun, 2008 6:46 am

Post by FLOJO »

ggbix wrote: FLOJO wrote: Leeds-lad wrote: Such a lot of WM clubs have gone to the wall over the years,I just wondered if any one had any fond/not so fond memories of any particular ones.Does any one have any thoughts or memories of Hall Rd WMC.Armley? I used to love it before it went bust & then burned down. Hi Nick I used to go to Swarcliffe working mans club in the 60s with my father usually Sunday lunchtimes,I think my mother liked me to go so he would not stay too long,I was areal daddys girl but stopped going because my fathers relative Walter was concert secretary and made me give my seat up because I was family and he would not dare ask any one else. Hi, I used to go to Swarcliffe WMC in the 60's as well, this was at the time before the building was extended. When I first went it was just the smaller building with the rounded roof which you can still see today and also where the extension starts.I believe the club secretary there at that time and into the 70's was a guy call 'Micklethwaite' I may be wrong.The secretary when I first started going into the club was a Mr Simpson,his daughter Helen was at in my class at school.I also remember going to the childrens pantomime at Christmas and us older children had to look after the younger ones.
Ex Leeds Lass

Leeds-lad
Posts: 347
Joined: Wed 30 Apr, 2008 5:30 pm

Post by Leeds-lad »

A bit longwinded but here goes.The Sammy King duo were playing one night at Hall Road.Sammy King wrote the famous Penny arcade for Roy OrbisonThey did three spots.They told the compere that when each spot finished the Penny Arcade Intro would signal the end of that session and so to close the curtains.Fine,for first two spots.They actually sang the song at the end of their final spot,the curtains started closing.What you doing shouts the audience to compere who has had a bit to drink !I thought they had finished!Curtains open Penny Arcade starts againcurtains start closingAudience start screaming nowSorry!Curtains openSammy King shouts F*** OFF we've had enough of this. Compere saysI told you they'd finished
"always expect the unexpected"

String o' beads
Posts: 1360
Joined: Wed 06 Feb, 2008 6:09 pm

Post by String o' beads »

Is anyone going to tell the tale about Chubby Brown at Corpus Christi WMC? I daren't! I expect it's apocryphal anyway.

mutikonka
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun 13 Jan, 2008 5:42 am

Post by mutikonka »

Bramley Band Club ... still going (not sure how strong).
yeahrightasif@ gmail.com

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cnosni
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed 28 Mar, 2007 4:47 pm

Post by cnosni »

Geordie-exile wrote: Is anyone going to tell the tale about Chubby Brown at Corpus Christi WMC? I daren't! I expect it's apocryphal anyway. Oh yes ive heard the tale,it has always supposed to have been true.However i hope its not true about the gig he did in Bradford not long after thr fire at the footie ground.
Don't get me started!!My Flickr photos-http://www.flickr.com/photos/cnosni/Secret Leeds [email protected]

String o' beads
Posts: 1360
Joined: Wed 06 Feb, 2008 6:09 pm

Post by String o' beads »

Just thought I'd resurrect this since I passed the site of the now razed Burmantofts Liberal Club recently. As far as I can remember it was only built in the late sixties so that didn't last long. We used to go to junior disco on Thursday nights in the upstairs room. The longer established North Leeds WMC almost opposite is still going. My granddad would occasionally allow me to go in with him and I would have a shandy, pretending I was drinking beer, and a bag of Tudor. His cronies would help me fill in the junior crossword in the War Cry. Then The Anglers was built on the site of the former St Stephens School on Nippet Lane. This was big time, with Grumbleweeds and the like making appearances. Here in the north east, WMCs are still a big part of the social life, some great 'turns' and very cheap drinking but like everywhere else the smoking ban is having its effect and I fear for their future. On a side note, does anyone else remember Saturday afternoons when the pubs used to close at 3pm and having to go to the Irish Centre on York Road because it was one of the few places you could carry on drinking? [Legally ]

FLOJO
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun 01 Jun, 2008 6:46 am

Post by FLOJO »

Geordie-exile wrote: Just thought I'd resurrect this since I passed the site of the now razed Burmantofts Liberal Club recently. As far as I can remember it was only built in the late sixties so that didn't last long. We used to go to junior disco on Thursday nights in the upstairs room. The longer established North Leeds WMC almost opposite is still going. My granddad would occasionally allow me to go in with him and I would have a shandy, pretending I was drinking beer, and a bag of Tudor. His cronies would help me fill in the junior crossword in the War Cry. Then The Anglers was built on the site of the former St Stephens School on Nippet Lane. This was big time, with Grumbleweeds and the like making appearances. Here in the north east, WMCs are still a big part of the social life, some great 'turns' and very cheap drinking but like everywhere else the smoking ban is having its effect and I fear for their future. On a side note, does anyone else remember Saturday afternoons when the pubs used to close at 3pm and having to go to the Irish Centre on York Road because it was one of the few places you could carry on drinking? [Legally ]Geordie-exile I can also remember pubs closing at 3pm, We lived at Beeston at the time and everyone went to South Leeds Conservative club where the steward and his wife used to put on hot pork pies and beef sandwiches also they were irish. The young ones from the White Hart used to try and get in but it was members only,so if they knew you they would ask you to sign them in as a guest,and your name was on the line if they did anything wrong.
Ex Leeds Lass

Reginal Perrin
Posts: 670
Joined: Fri 23 Feb, 2007 10:52 am

Post by Reginal Perrin »

Geordie-exile wrote: Just thought I'd resurrect this since I passed the site of the now razed Burmantofts Liberal Club recently. As far as I can remember it was only built in the late sixties so that didn't last long. We used to go to junior disco on Thursday nights in the upstairs room. The longer established North Leeds WMC almost opposite is still going. My granddad would occasionally allow me to go in with him and I would have a shandy, pretending I was drinking beer, and a bag of Tudor. His cronies would help me fill in the junior crossword in the War Cry. Then The Anglers was built on the site of the former St Stephens School on Nippet Lane. This was big time, with Grumbleweeds and the like making appearances. Here in the north east, WMCs are still a big part of the social life, some great 'turns' and very cheap drinking but like everywhere else the smoking ban is having its effect and I fear for their future. On a side note, does anyone else remember Saturday afternoons when the pubs used to close at 3pm and having to go to the Irish Centre on York Road because it was one of the few places you could carry on drinking? [Legally ] We, on occasion, went to the Strega to carry on boozing on a Sunday afternoon. If my lad did that these days (if he were the same age as i was) I'd do my nut.
Ravioli, ravioli followed by ravioli. I happen to like ravioli.

Hats Off
Posts: 273
Joined: Tue 20 Feb, 2007 3:44 pm

Post by Hats Off »

What about the Peggy Tub in Hunslet ? I was a member there for many years, it's proper name was the Hunslet Carr Liberal club. I never did find out why it was called the Peggy Tub !

simong
Posts: 722
Joined: Sat 08 Sep, 2007 6:17 am

Post by simong »

Trojan wrote: I used to be a member of Morley Working Mens Club (Fountain Street) in the sixties, we used to go and listen to a band on Saturday nights and drink Club Bitter, which was brewed by the Clubs United Brewery in York - it was cheap and it was strong. We used to joke "we'll be glad when we had enough of this stuff" I think the Club Brewery was taken over by the Fed - BTW does that still exist? As nobody seemed to answer you - yes, the Fed is very much alive. It has a huge brewery next to the Metrocentre in Gateshead and still provides beer to a lot of WMCs in the north-east, Cumbria and Yorkshire. Because Newcastle Brown had Protected Geographical Indication, the Fed took over brewing it when the Tyne brewery was closed, although it still lost its PGI status.It also still produces canned Federation Bitter, which is rebadged under a variety of names (they brew for Aldi or Lidl, possibly both), LCL lager (or Elsie Hell as it's popularily known) and Federation Ace lager, although despite searching, it can't be had for £1.49 for eight these days.

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