Further reminiscing about the old days came to mind again while I was in Limehouse. I was bored one night so went for a stroll 'inland'. You can imagine my surprise when I happened upon a small park, surrounded by the most wonderful Georgian terraces. These houses on York Square, and a few streets around it had survived the blitz and are now I am sure much sought after properties being walking distance from Canary Wharf and less than five minutes from the Docklands Light railway ( DLR).
As I further explored the area, I revisited The Queens Head, a Young's pub which I and a work colleague, Mike McBride, had been to in the late 70's when we were attempting to join the 135 Club.
This club was open to anybody who had travel to, and drank in, every one of the pubs which made up the Young's estate. The number fluctuated as the brewery opened and closed pubs, but the 135 Club name remained.
We visited the Queens Head after we had knocked off The Ship in Rotherhithe, The Crown in Lee and The Richard I in Greenwich. We then darted through the tunnel, ticked off the Queens Head then bombed down the A11 to Barking to do The Britannia, a fine pub with a figurehead as the pub sign. Sadly it is no longer in the Young's estate. So much for drinking and driving.
The final pub we visited some time later to qualify for the 135 Club was The Bishop out of Residence, in Kingston, Surrey. It was its opening day and we were lucky enough to get John Young, the chairman, to sign our card. It was 31st October 1979.
Young's no longer brews beer after selling its Wandsworth brewery in 2007 and tying up with Charles Wells, the makers of Wells Fargo. Earlier this year it sold its last remaining share in the joint venture and now concentrates on its real estate. Young's beer is still available in its outlets, but it is now brewed exclusively by Charles Wells.
Anyway, back to The Queens Head, and York Square. It may be an urban myth, but the word is that the Square and the pub gave the producers of Eastenders, the perfect model for Albert Square and the Queen Vic which feature so prominently in the soap opera.
The pub was really quiet when I went in and messageboards do indicate this to be the case. You wonder how some of these small old traditional outlets do survive.
Across the square was another pub, The Old Ship, which was closed the night I was there. It is one of the major drag artist pubs in the East End and attracts a gay and mixed crowd on the nights it is open. On Thursdaynights one of the drag queens hosts a quiz night. That would be quite interesting.
Given the area these pubs are located I would have thought a gastro and a wine bar would have been a perfect combination, given the gay community in Limehouse seems to be well served elsewhere. That said, the pink pound is still a most welcome commodity!!
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Betamax and 8 track tapes
This list was published in the paper this morning. Now I have highlighted those which I do, and there are quite a lot, but I don't think I am in any way a digital dinosaur.
Duties for digital dinosaurs:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times
2. Go to the travel agents’ to research a holiday
3. Record things using VHS
4. Dial directory enquiries
5. Use public phones
6. Book tickets over the phone
7. Print photos
8. Put an ad in the shop window
9. Ring the speaking clock
10. Carry portable CD players
11. Write handwritten letters
12. Buy disposable cameras
13. Take change for pay phones
14. Make mix tapes
15. Pay bills at the post office
16. Use an address book
17. Check a map for a car journey
18. Reverse charges in payphones
19. Visit a bank or building society
20. Buy TV listings
21. Own an encyclopedia
22. Queue for car tax at the post office
23. Develop and send off for photos
24. Read the Yellow Pages
25. Look up something in a dictionary
26. Remember phone numbers or have a phone book
27. Watch videos
28. Have pen friends
29. Use a phone directory
30. Use pagers
31. Fax things
32. Buy CDs or have a CD collection
33. Pay by cheque
34. Make photo albums
35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown
36. Dial 1471
37. Warm hot drinks on the stove
38. Try on lots of shoes in shops
39. Hand wash clothes
40. Advertise in trading papers
41. Send love letters
42. Hand-write essays/schoolwork
43. Buy flowers from a florist
44. Work out how to spell something yourself
45. Keep a personal diary
46. Send postcards
47. Buy newspapers
48. Hang washing out in winter
49. Keep printed bills or statements
50. Go to car boot sales
32 I did yesterday, and 45 is what this blog is all about. What is very worrying though is the implication that books, newspapers and other printed matter is considered old hat by the younger generation. That contrasts with the comments made recently by Peter Andre where he extolled the virtues of the bedtime story read from a book with pictures and charactures, and not a Kindle. People develop an imagination, and creativity by examining the written word and there isno better way of doing it than by using an encyclopedia or dictionary.
I remember my Uncle impressing on me the value of looking up a word in the dictionary or a topic in an encyclopedia, and then absorbing the work or article above and below it, that's how a vocabulary builds up, not by embracing Wikipedia.
As for number 50, what better way to spend a Sunday morning than rummaging through somebody elses cast offs looking for that one item you have craved for years. I love it, and indeed, one of my first blogs extolled the virtues of car boot sales
Duties for digital dinosaurs:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times
2. Go to the travel agents’ to research a holiday
3. Record things using VHS
4. Dial directory enquiries
5. Use public phones
6. Book tickets over the phone
7. Print photos
8. Put an ad in the shop window
9. Ring the speaking clock
10. Carry portable CD players
11. Write handwritten letters
12. Buy disposable cameras
13. Take change for pay phones
14. Make mix tapes
15. Pay bills at the post office
16. Use an address book
17. Check a map for a car journey
18. Reverse charges in payphones
19. Visit a bank or building society
20. Buy TV listings
21. Own an encyclopedia
22. Queue for car tax at the post office
23. Develop and send off for photos
24. Read the Yellow Pages
25. Look up something in a dictionary
26. Remember phone numbers or have a phone book
27. Watch videos
28. Have pen friends
29. Use a phone directory
30. Use pagers
31. Fax things
32. Buy CDs or have a CD collection
33. Pay by cheque
34. Make photo albums
35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown
36. Dial 1471
37. Warm hot drinks on the stove
38. Try on lots of shoes in shops
39. Hand wash clothes
40. Advertise in trading papers
41. Send love letters
42. Hand-write essays/schoolwork
43. Buy flowers from a florist
44. Work out how to spell something yourself
45. Keep a personal diary
46. Send postcards
47. Buy newspapers
48. Hang washing out in winter
49. Keep printed bills or statements
50. Go to car boot sales
32 I did yesterday, and 45 is what this blog is all about. What is very worrying though is the implication that books, newspapers and other printed matter is considered old hat by the younger generation. That contrasts with the comments made recently by Peter Andre where he extolled the virtues of the bedtime story read from a book with pictures and charactures, and not a Kindle. People develop an imagination, and creativity by examining the written word and there isno better way of doing it than by using an encyclopedia or dictionary.
I remember my Uncle impressing on me the value of looking up a word in the dictionary or a topic in an encyclopedia, and then absorbing the work or article above and below it, that's how a vocabulary builds up, not by embracing Wikipedia.
As for number 50, what better way to spend a Sunday morning than rummaging through somebody elses cast offs looking for that one item you have craved for years. I love it, and indeed, one of my first blogs extolled the virtues of car boot sales
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Docklands revisited
I am experiencing the East End of London at the moment in a way I have not done for over 35 years. Work has taken me down to Canary Wharf, and I am billeted in Shadwell between Wapping and Limehouse.
Now Shadwell is a huge tenement style development which recently has been populated by the Bangladeshi community. It contributes to Tower Hamlets challenge as a deprived inner city borough.This maintains the heritage of the area as it has been the home and settlement for South Asian sailors brought over to work for the East India Company as well as Chinese and Greek seaman many of whom intermarried and co-habited with locals. It is interesting how areas of high poverty can co-exist so close to wealthy financial districts like Canary Wharf.
The stretch of land between the Limehouse Link , a four lane highway parallel to Commercial Road, and the river Thames is now a sought after settlement for people employed in Canary Wharf. New blocks of flats have been built and many of the old warehouses have been converted into sought after residences. Many have kept the name of the wharves on which they reside.
It was down to Wapping that I ventured initially to re-visit the Prospect of Whitby one of the oldest riverside pubs in the Capital. A regular haunt for 'hanging' Judge Jefferys in the 17th century, there has been a tavern on the site for over 400 years. Execution Dock next door got its name from the practise of tying pirates to stakes in the river and waiting for the tide to come in and drown them.
Last night there was no evidence of that, just a good traditional pub menu and a few good beers. The pub is now on the tourist track and two coach parties came while I was there, but the pub layout allowed one such to go upstairs to the function room and another into the restaurant, leaving the drinkers to the bar area.
Now when I was last here in about 1975, there was a roaring log fire. This has been replaced by an enclosed wood burning stove but other than that it stays a good old fashioned pub which befits the area.
The other 'trendy' riverside pub in the area is The Grapes in Narrow Street, and no premise could have been better placed. The pub was recently acquired by Ian McKellen, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings amongst other things, and an ex-gay lover, and must be one of
the narrowest pubs in the C0untry. There is seating for 8 as you walk in, four stools beside the bar and seating for about 12 in the back bar. A small terrace overlooks the river at the back.
There is a restaurant upstairs, but I took the opportunity to try the bar menu, and found this delightful combination. The only thing to spoil the visit was the fact the two barmaids were amongst the most miserable and dull you could have. Pity really as the place needed a bit of vitality behind the bar to finish it off.
On the subject of gays, I was lucky to spot the local pub, The White Swan, was listed as a gay pub before I went in to it. otherwise I could have been in trouble, Limehouse must be a spot!
Now Shadwell is a huge tenement style development which recently has been populated by the Bangladeshi community. It contributes to Tower Hamlets challenge as a deprived inner city borough.This maintains the heritage of the area as it has been the home and settlement for South Asian sailors brought over to work for the East India Company as well as Chinese and Greek seaman many of whom intermarried and co-habited with locals. It is interesting how areas of high poverty can co-exist so close to wealthy financial districts like Canary Wharf.
The stretch of land between the Limehouse Link , a four lane highway parallel to Commercial Road, and the river Thames is now a sought after settlement for people employed in Canary Wharf. New blocks of flats have been built and many of the old warehouses have been converted into sought after residences. Many have kept the name of the wharves on which they reside.
It was down to Wapping that I ventured initially to re-visit the Prospect of Whitby one of the oldest riverside pubs in the Capital. A regular haunt for 'hanging' Judge Jefferys in the 17th century, there has been a tavern on the site for over 400 years. Execution Dock next door got its name from the practise of tying pirates to stakes in the river and waiting for the tide to come in and drown them.
Last night there was no evidence of that, just a good traditional pub menu and a few good beers. The pub is now on the tourist track and two coach parties came while I was there, but the pub layout allowed one such to go upstairs to the function room and another into the restaurant, leaving the drinkers to the bar area.
Now when I was last here in about 1975, there was a roaring log fire. This has been replaced by an enclosed wood burning stove but other than that it stays a good old fashioned pub which befits the area.
The other 'trendy' riverside pub in the area is The Grapes in Narrow Street, and no premise could have been better placed. The pub was recently acquired by Ian McKellen, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings amongst other things, and an ex-gay lover, and must be one of
the narrowest pubs in the C0untry. There is seating for 8 as you walk in, four stools beside the bar and seating for about 12 in the back bar. A small terrace overlooks the river at the back.There is a restaurant upstairs, but I took the opportunity to try the bar menu, and found this delightful combination. The only thing to spoil the visit was the fact the two barmaids were amongst the most miserable and dull you could have. Pity really as the place needed a bit of vitality behind the bar to finish it off.
On the subject of gays, I was lucky to spot the local pub, The White Swan, was listed as a gay pub before I went in to it. otherwise I could have been in trouble, Limehouse must be a spot!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Swing low sweet chariot, you're as low as you can go
A comment by Des Kelly in the Daily Mail this weekend really hit the spot.
....'rugby union can no longer look down its nose at footballers in a condescending manner. The game is up. Posh lads misbehave too.....'
Both halves of the comment are true, the linkage, however, may be inappropriate. The rugby players who considered themselves superior to professional footballers were themselves professionals. They were, however, army officers, teachers, solicitors, bank managers, policemen and doctors. All five nations had them in their ranks, although the farmers of Scotland and the miners of Wales were only too happy to put it over the English toffs given the chance.
These days rugby players are sporting professionals. There are no career backgrounds to mould a stereotype out of, and thereby lies the problem which has been laid bare at the feet of the RFU in England. The players are interested in money, they want to do the job with as little effort as they can, and they have no respect for the old school who are trying to hang onto the remnants of the game as they knew it.
The other home nations, with maybe the French as an exception, have had less of a cultural upheaval as they embraced professionalism. There is less money, are less clubs and less players, and we all know the Welsh were being paid anyway, long before they were allowed to be!!
So English rugby is in one heck of a mess; no structure, no CEO and no team management. Who then is going to step forward as the catalyst of change? I wonder if Seb Coe knows anything about rugby?
....'rugby union can no longer look down its nose at footballers in a condescending manner. The game is up. Posh lads misbehave too.....'
Both halves of the comment are true, the linkage, however, may be inappropriate. The rugby players who considered themselves superior to professional footballers were themselves professionals. They were, however, army officers, teachers, solicitors, bank managers, policemen and doctors. All five nations had them in their ranks, although the farmers of Scotland and the miners of Wales were only too happy to put it over the English toffs given the chance.
These days rugby players are sporting professionals. There are no career backgrounds to mould a stereotype out of, and thereby lies the problem which has been laid bare at the feet of the RFU in England. The players are interested in money, they want to do the job with as little effort as they can, and they have no respect for the old school who are trying to hang onto the remnants of the game as they knew it.
The other home nations, with maybe the French as an exception, have had less of a cultural upheaval as they embraced professionalism. There is less money, are less clubs and less players, and we all know the Welsh were being paid anyway, long before they were allowed to be!!
So English rugby is in one heck of a mess; no structure, no CEO and no team management. Who then is going to step forward as the catalyst of change? I wonder if Seb Coe knows anything about rugby?
Monday, 14 November 2011
The Dinner's in the Dog
Trouble is we never had a dog, so more than likely the dinner was in the bin. So what brought that on then? A bit of history will explain.
It has just come to my attention that a pub in East Croydon, The Porter and Sorter is about to be demolished to make way for a redevelopment. The site of which the pub is a part sits opposite a ten story building which used to house the major London computer centre for IBM.
It was here nearly forty years ago that I first started work. I attended the building for aptitude tests and interviews before being offered a job as a computer operator, working a three shift system for the princely sum of £1200 per annum plus shift premium. Occasionally one was required to work 'float' which meant you covered core hours 10am to 6pm and it was while working these hours that the Porter and Sorter came into its own.
The pub was the hub of the social network of the building. The management team would go there after work, and occasionally the sales director and other high flyers would join them. It was a place where all grades in the Company could go and socialise in a way rarely experienced now. The hours just passed in a blur, but with the station right next door, people would fall out of the pub and not need to think about drinking and driving. The problems occurred when you got home bladdered several hours later than expected.
At one point previous to my employment the brewery decided the pub needed a new name, so they commissioned a competition to find a suitable one. A smart man in IBM suggested The Sweaty Sock for no better reason than he was a Jocko. Word got round that this was the proposed IBM name and consequently it won hands down. The brewery, however, did not feel it was an appropriate name and given the pub sat between the station and the post office, The Porter and Sorter was the name they decided on.
The work ethic of the seventies and eighties was very much a work hard, play hard one, and the pub epitomised all that was good about the office. Sadly all that has now been lost as people work from home or are based on client premises. IBM is closing offices with great regularity now, with the Croydon branch closing nearly 15 years ago. The social fabric of the business is being fragmented as a result. Graduates joining the Compnay now know no different, and with their extensive training programme and intern arrangements, they are one part of the organisation which maintains a community feel.
Its we 'living legends' who watch with sadness as the fabric which we were such a part of crumbles before our eyes. The demolition of the Porter and Sorter may just be the final nail in the coffin. Its work Jim but not as we know it.
It has just come to my attention that a pub in East Croydon, The Porter and Sorter is about to be demolished to make way for a redevelopment. The site of which the pub is a part sits opposite a ten story building which used to house the major London computer centre for IBM.
It was here nearly forty years ago that I first started work. I attended the building for aptitude tests and interviews before being offered a job as a computer operator, working a three shift system for the princely sum of £1200 per annum plus shift premium. Occasionally one was required to work 'float' which meant you covered core hours 10am to 6pm and it was while working these hours that the Porter and Sorter came into its own.
The pub was the hub of the social network of the building. The management team would go there after work, and occasionally the sales director and other high flyers would join them. It was a place where all grades in the Company could go and socialise in a way rarely experienced now. The hours just passed in a blur, but with the station right next door, people would fall out of the pub and not need to think about drinking and driving. The problems occurred when you got home bladdered several hours later than expected.
At one point previous to my employment the brewery decided the pub needed a new name, so they commissioned a competition to find a suitable one. A smart man in IBM suggested The Sweaty Sock for no better reason than he was a Jocko. Word got round that this was the proposed IBM name and consequently it won hands down. The brewery, however, did not feel it was an appropriate name and given the pub sat between the station and the post office, The Porter and Sorter was the name they decided on.
The work ethic of the seventies and eighties was very much a work hard, play hard one, and the pub epitomised all that was good about the office. Sadly all that has now been lost as people work from home or are based on client premises. IBM is closing offices with great regularity now, with the Croydon branch closing nearly 15 years ago. The social fabric of the business is being fragmented as a result. Graduates joining the Compnay now know no different, and with their extensive training programme and intern arrangements, they are one part of the organisation which maintains a community feel.
Its we 'living legends' who watch with sadness as the fabric which we were such a part of crumbles before our eyes. The demolition of the Porter and Sorter may just be the final nail in the coffin. Its work Jim but not as we know it.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Coke en stock
Steven Spielberg is about to hit another rich vein of media revenue when he releases The Adventures of Tintin later this month.
For four years, however, Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, a Congolese citizen has been conducting a case of racism against one of the earliest books, Tintin in the Congo. The book was banned in Britain in 2007 for making Africans look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles, however, it is from a bygone age and the publishers when defending the charges have described it as like taking a knife to Charles Dickens works based on his portrayal of Jews.
While Belgium's record on slavery in the Congo still causes emotions to run high, The Red Sea Sharks, the nineteenth of the Adventures of Tintin, written and illustrated by Herge, features the young reporter Tintin and his side kick Captian Haddock as the hero's, when they battle against slavers in West Africa.. Indeed the books original French title is Coke en Stock a codename used by the villainous antagonists of the story for African slaves. This might have been a better book to use as an example of the exploitation of the Congolese population when looking for a racist test case.
For four years, however, Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, a Congolese citizen has been conducting a case of racism against one of the earliest books, Tintin in the Congo. The book was banned in Britain in 2007 for making Africans look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles, however, it is from a bygone age and the publishers when defending the charges have described it as like taking a knife to Charles Dickens works based on his portrayal of Jews.
While Belgium's record on slavery in the Congo still causes emotions to run high, The Red Sea Sharks, the nineteenth of the Adventures of Tintin, written and illustrated by Herge, features the young reporter Tintin and his side kick Captian Haddock as the hero's, when they battle against slavers in West Africa.. Indeed the books original French title is Coke en Stock a codename used by the villainous antagonists of the story for African slaves. This might have been a better book to use as an example of the exploitation of the Congolese population when looking for a racist test case.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Good game, good game.....
You get to know when Christmas is sneaking up on you. The television running order begins to be dominated by programmes, the format of which is decided by viewers preference.
The X -Factor must be the market leader in this particular category, so it is difficult for other networks to pitch against it and expect to do well. As a best effort, the BBC put their own celebrity tomfoolery fest, Strictly Come Dancing, on a tad earlier in the hope of maintaining the audience later into the evening. I doubt it works, and i do wonder how they continue to pay homage to the doddering old fool who comperes it.
Many years ago Bruce Forsyth was a marvellous performer in the old Victorian music hall traditions. He was multifaceted and as a result got many major roles in theatre and television.
He is best known for hosting Saturday Night at the London Palladium in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and hosting high profile game shows like The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and The Price is Right. All in all he had a long and successful career.
Not satisfied with that, however, he suddenly decided he should be Sir Bruce Forsyth, and started a very public and, to my mind, distasteful campaign to obtain his ultimate goal. He is a fairly ruthless individual on the golf course, where he takes the attitude that if he is playing everybody else should get out of his way, and he brought the same attitude to his knighthood campaign. He solicited the help of high profile friends and colleagues, and eventually in the 2011 Birthday honours list he achieved his aim.
Personally I think it stinks. I have always thought the award of an honour by the Queen should be something which surprises as much as rewards, and to be blatant about such a thing would immediately disqualify the person from ever receiving it.
Sir Bruce, however, got his award and he continues to crack puerile jokes and struggle to read his q- card every Saturday night, so at least those watching Strictly can see at first hand what a bumbling buffoon he has become. Didn't he do well!
The X -Factor must be the market leader in this particular category, so it is difficult for other networks to pitch against it and expect to do well. As a best effort, the BBC put their own celebrity tomfoolery fest, Strictly Come Dancing, on a tad earlier in the hope of maintaining the audience later into the evening. I doubt it works, and i do wonder how they continue to pay homage to the doddering old fool who comperes it.
Many years ago Bruce Forsyth was a marvellous performer in the old Victorian music hall traditions. He was multifaceted and as a result got many major roles in theatre and television.
He is best known for hosting Saturday Night at the London Palladium in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and hosting high profile game shows like The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and The Price is Right. All in all he had a long and successful career.
Not satisfied with that, however, he suddenly decided he should be Sir Bruce Forsyth, and started a very public and, to my mind, distasteful campaign to obtain his ultimate goal. He is a fairly ruthless individual on the golf course, where he takes the attitude that if he is playing everybody else should get out of his way, and he brought the same attitude to his knighthood campaign. He solicited the help of high profile friends and colleagues, and eventually in the 2011 Birthday honours list he achieved his aim.
Personally I think it stinks. I have always thought the award of an honour by the Queen should be something which surprises as much as rewards, and to be blatant about such a thing would immediately disqualify the person from ever receiving it.
Sir Bruce, however, got his award and he continues to crack puerile jokes and struggle to read his q- card every Saturday night, so at least those watching Strictly can see at first hand what a bumbling buffoon he has become. Didn't he do well!
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