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Ten pence Ted.

K

Kandor

Guest
There was a guy who used to drink in the Ashted Hamlet known as 'ten pence Ted'
Ted loved a drink yet never had any money to buy one, so he used to go round the pub asking people if he could borrow 10p..He usually got enough to buy a beer.
There were times though that if the Pub was near empty or not enough 'Kind' paople were in there that Ted couldn't raise his drink money..
It was then Ted used to stand by the bar, wait for some guy to go the toilet and quickly swig the mans drink down...The regulars would fall about laughing when the chap came back and found just an empty glass standing on the bar..Those of us who knew Ted simply never left our drinks unattended..
 
:D Kandor your story about 'Ted' bought memories of my own Dad. He too would drink other peoples drinks when they were not looking. However he would always make sure that there was an empty glass close by, and if challanged would unfold his 'White Stick' and say "Sorry mate but being blind I thought it was mine". More often than not he would then get another free beer off the guy feeling guilty :oops: about not noticing my Dad had a 'White Stick' :)
 
Ah! memories

Don’t, remember Ted, but mentioning the Ashted Hamlet brings back memories. I started my drinking career here, mainly using the lounge. Spent many an hour in there with pie and chips after from the chippy round the corner.
I remember the Carling Black Label tap being installed at the end of the bar, quite novel then, as no one ever drank Lager then, it stood there for months with only the odd half of lager and lime for a lady being pulled. The lads I drank with all decided one day to try the new fangled drink, never looked back. They also had a bitter called Worthington E, which also got ordered once in a blue moon, but I suspect that brand suffered a different fate. A recent song that entered the charts also reminded me of the juke box in the lounge –Spirit in the Sky, it seemed to be playing in there all the time. Today, when I go in to an old style 60/70’s pub and smell that musty stale beer smell mixed with the odour from the gents, still reminds me of the Asthted and thinking about a bad pint which I often got, makes me realise now why the beer (mild)was so bad in those days, everything went back in to the mild, drip tray contents, left overs even the spillage off the trays!
Why is this all so strong in my memory, because I progressed from drinker to drinkers labourer, and worked behind the bar here for about 3 years from early 1969 evenings & weekends, I was just under 18 when I started!! And big Ron was the gaffer. I served mainly in the Bar and would you believe the Outdoor, a novelty even then as outdoors were a thing of the past. I was head hunted by Jack who ran the conservative club at the top of Reversby Walk and worked there for another 2 years.
:roll:
 
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