A Wrinklies Guide To Hartlepool
What a cheeky young sprog!! When
Bev and his mates were playing with their rattles and sitting in prams
back in the 70s, we were going downtown and drinking proper beer, none
of these namby pamby fizzy alcopops that they drink today! Our route on
friday night began at the Powlett Hotel and then we would walk to the Chester,
then the back room in the Grange (where the
police drugs squad once hid a video camera inside the jukebox speakers)
and then to the Coble Bar (which was below the Grand Hotel). The Coble
Bar was famous for having a Mynah bird which bellowed "F**K OFF"
to all the customers before it died of lung cancer. It also got kidnapped
and held to ransom! After the Coble it was off to the Clansman
which was the 'happening' pub of the 70s. Then it was a short walk
to the Stranton and the Blackies (Blacksmith
Arms) before a last drink back at the Clansman before
going to the Gemini and (later) Twins.
The 80s night out was very different! This was the decade of the wine
bars........we would meet at Churchills at the bottom of Park Rd before
going to Visions, The Grange and Oscars before
getting a taxi to Hartlepools best nightclub of the time.....Asters. Asters
was like Dr. Whos tardis, very small to look at from the outside and yet
it seemed huge inside due to lots of mirrors. The best thing about Asters
is that you could dance downstairs and then impress the lucky girl with
your amazing wit and repartee upstairs in the lounge. Asters was a great
loss to the town when it finally closed and 42nd St. opened.
Today, us wrinklies like pubs that don't have music blasting out at 100+ decibels
so we take a taxi to JD Wetherspoons where we patiently queue at the
bar to get served with great tasting beer that doesn't cost a fortune and then
its possible to actually talk to each other!! Next its off to Church St and
another pub with good beer and no loud music, The
Tap and Spile, before ending up in the Chicago Rock Cafe where
we stay until about midnight before getting a taxi home.....this weary old body
is now too old for nightclubs! (Mike is pictured leering over a tasty cocktail
waitress in Las Vegas).
Ten Things I Miss From The Good Ole Days
Lynn Street Shops
When I were a lad we all went to Lynn St. shops every
saturday and checked out the latest fashions in City Stylish then listened
to the latest hits in Hoggetts before going to Currys cafe to meet our
friends. Everyone you knew in Hartlepool used to be in Lynn St. on Saturdays.
Asters Nightclub (See Wrinklies Guide)
The Steelworks
No, I'm not kidding......the good old South Works used to
provide thousands of jobs in Hartlepool......me included.
The Queens Rink
I was too young to use the Queens Rink, but most
of my mates met their future wives there....apparantly after closing time
the Rink sold only soft drinks!!
Cinemas
When I was a kid there were lots of cinemas but gradually
they all closed. The last three were the Odeon, the Essoldo and the ABC.
Seaton Swimming Baths
I used to just about live at the Seaton baths.....who
doesn't remember Mrs Sands (Nah I don't yer old bastard - ed) ?
Blacketts, Robinsons and Binns
Blacketts and Robinsons used to have pipes running
all around the stores and the shop assistants used to put the money and
the bill into a canister which was sucked through the pipes to the cashiers
department. They sent the receipt and any change back down in the same
canister.......magic when you are a kid. Binns was a classy department
store which the town badly misses.
The Top Shop
I went to Elly Rd. juniors and the top shop was across the
road selling such wonderful things as Barrats Sherbet Fountains, penny Arrow Bars,
Midget Gems (8 for an old penny) licorice sticks, Jubilees, penny bubblies, barley
twists........the list goes on and on.
Knights Shop
This was a grocery shop in Church Square, the smell
of coffee which filled the shop and surrounding area was wonderful.
The Backroom of the Argus Butterfly
I know this is in Peterlee and not Hartlepool but
the amount of incredible groups that we saw there in the 60s read like
a Whos Who in the pop world:- Free, Led Zeppelin, Blodwyn Pig, Spooky Tooth
('Spooky Who?' Ed.), Jethro Tull, Family.........manys the Sunday night
when we had to walk back to Hartlepool cos we had missed the last bus.
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