Leisure & Entertainment

Theatres and pubs

we used to go in the Stoll cinema and the girls used to be in like little white caps and aprons and black dresses and theyd say come in, put us in a box, we used to go in a box. We were all very big film fans in those days because they were just coming out. Mum always talked about in the 20s to see the Singing Fool with Al Jolson, that was his first film and she used to love that. My gran used to take me up at the G twice a week, threepence a time, so you really got film fans in those days. It was a nice little life, not like today. Money this, you couldnt have what you wanted but you had those little things, little enjoyments.

The Old Vic was always there, even when I was a child, because years ago they used to have operas there, and my mother used to like opera, and her brother used to always take her. They lived in Peabody buildings and they always used to go to the Old Vic when there was an opera on.

there was Father B. who used to play the piano in the pub during the war and collect the money for the charities, you know, he used to sing and play and write songs. Jolly songs. If we had a little play at school hed write the songs for it and wed learn it.

Father B. used to play the piano in a pub down there by Hungerford Bridge, and he used to get loads of money for the church and hed have all his beer all lined up on the top of the piano.

We used to have old lumps and bumps we used to call her, the flower seller. She went up on the Trocadera stage with a famous band Shed just sing, go in the pub and have a good old sing song. She was just a character

At home

Christmas time, always had partiesEverybodys house. You walk along here, say Christmas night, got the kiddies, so you come [home] a bit early. Youd hear the parties going on in nearly all the houses, everybody singing and danced. The old piano going. And even the pubs used to have it then, didnt they.

People used to keep birds and homing pigeons in their back yards - in their cages, This shop called Swain was a corn chandler, and we used to go in there Sunday morning, youd get a penny bag of maize to feed [the birds] and theyd charge you tuppence a bag.

Streetlife

then the chappy used to come round with the pony and trap, and you could have a free ride if you gave him three jam jars, and hed turn the handle and this little roundabout would go round and round for about ten minutes. You got a ten minute free ride with the price of the three jam jars which you gave him. I dont know what he did with the jam jars.

Theyd come round the streets, cos you had all street entertainment. Wed have the men on the piano Theyd come round on a Sunday, playing Saturday afternoons theyd block the road up, cos you used to have the Star, News and Standard vans come through Tower Street and Webber Street, and theyd block the street up and theyd put the board down and theyd do all the tap dancing, taking off Charlie Chaplin.

We had a guy called Ironfoot Jackhed obviously had polio or something when he was child, so one leg was much shorter than the other. But how he used to survive, he used to write poems. Id love to say Ive got one, but I havent. he would go round and he would stop people and say, Do you want a poem? I think it was a tanner, wasnt it, sixpence, and he would sell poems to people in the streetand people would buy a bit of poetry off him.

when we lived in Peabody, on a Sunday morning youd suddenly hear the singing and youd lift up your windows and there was an old man who used to go round, he stand right in the middle of the square and sing. And people used to just throw money down The funniest one, he used to stand on his hands. I dont know how old he was, 70, 60? He used to do a handstand and he would sing, Hes got the whole world in his hands. A cracker! And people used to throw money out, and all it was his beer money, it was Sunday beer money. Oh you dont see things like that now