Di.Poppitt
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The Youth Club I went to was at Kynochs, later ICI. We had our own hut, which was down a long drive and just outside the gates at the Perry Barr end of the factory. Kynocks was my world in the 50's, I worked there and played there.
Every Monday and Thursday night we had our club nights. We paid a sub, which went towards the running costs.There was a record player and the committee always managed to buy all the latest records, and we bopped till we dropped. There was a billiard table, very popular with the lads, and strangely a set of drums.
We had the occasional trips with the football team to away matches, and there was always a dance at night. We girls got quite good at cleaning the mud from our stilletto's and dolling ourselves up after the match.
We had the Youth Club Dance, which was held in the sports pavillion, always on a Saturday night, and so had to end at midnight. We weren't allowed alcohol so the popular drink was Orange Special. It was orange squash, lemonade and soda water - I still make a jug of it on a hot summer day.
The big event of the year was the Summer Camp, at Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. When we arrived the tents were already pitched, girls in one field lads in another, but we had to fill our palliases with straw. Then we unpacked our kit and hung everything on the tent pole. We used to put our trousers under the palliases to try to get the creases out. We must have looked pretty grim by the end of the fornight.
We were always there during what was then know as Works Holiday, last week in July, first in August. The farmers were harvesting so some of the lads would help, and they were given perry, cider made with pears, by one of the farmers. We were among hop fields and orchards, so the perry was home brewed and absolutely lethal. None of the lads were used to drink and when one of them had a bit too much everbody coverd up for him. If the camp 'Officials' found out the offender would have been sent home.
We had our food cooked for us on open fires, and alwasy finished the day round the fire drinking mugs of cocoa.
Very happy and innocent days. I hope these clubs survive today, although I don't know of any in this area.
Every Monday and Thursday night we had our club nights. We paid a sub, which went towards the running costs.There was a record player and the committee always managed to buy all the latest records, and we bopped till we dropped. There was a billiard table, very popular with the lads, and strangely a set of drums.
We had the occasional trips with the football team to away matches, and there was always a dance at night. We girls got quite good at cleaning the mud from our stilletto's and dolling ourselves up after the match.
We had the Youth Club Dance, which was held in the sports pavillion, always on a Saturday night, and so had to end at midnight. We weren't allowed alcohol so the popular drink was Orange Special. It was orange squash, lemonade and soda water - I still make a jug of it on a hot summer day.
The big event of the year was the Summer Camp, at Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. When we arrived the tents were already pitched, girls in one field lads in another, but we had to fill our palliases with straw. Then we unpacked our kit and hung everything on the tent pole. We used to put our trousers under the palliases to try to get the creases out. We must have looked pretty grim by the end of the fornight.
We were always there during what was then know as Works Holiday, last week in July, first in August. The farmers were harvesting so some of the lads would help, and they were given perry, cider made with pears, by one of the farmers. We were among hop fields and orchards, so the perry was home brewed and absolutely lethal. None of the lads were used to drink and when one of them had a bit too much everbody coverd up for him. If the camp 'Officials' found out the offender would have been sent home.
We had our food cooked for us on open fires, and alwasy finished the day round the fire drinking mugs of cocoa.
Very happy and innocent days. I hope these clubs survive today, although I don't know of any in this area.
