Nostalgia - What are your memories of Stafford?

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
You see that's the trouble with Stafford ... there just aren't any shops where you can get some decent 'Hose' anymore. :P

View attachment 10056
CORBETT: Next?
BARKER: 'O's!
CORBETT: 'O's?
BARKER: 'O's.
(He goes to get a hoe, and places it on the counter)
BARKER: No, 'O's!
CORBETT: 'O's! I thought you said 'O! (he takes the hose back, and gets a hose, whilst muttering) When you said 'O's, I thought you said 'O! 'O's!
(He places the hose onto the counter)
BARKER: No, 'O's!
CORBETT (confused for a moment): O's? Oh, you mean panty 'o's, panty 'o's! (he picks up a pair of tights from beside him)
BARKER: No, no, 'O's! 'O's for the gate. Mon repose! 'O's! Letter O's!
CORBETT (finally realising): Letter O's! (muttering) You had me going there!
(He climbs up a stepladder, gets a box down, puts the ladder away, and takes the box to the counter, and searches through it for letter O's)
CORBETT: How many d'you want?
BARKER: Two.
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
Probably the best sketch they ever did. Watching Ronnie Corbett winding up was done to perfection. :lol:
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
When I lived in Mynors Street in the 80's this was my local. Dave Pemberton ran it at the time. The draught Ansells Mild was a wonderful pint. I've been in a few times since, Dave is long gone and now it's called the Metropolitan. There's a lot of changes but I do like the outside tables and chairs that have appeared where those cars are parked. The Gate old on top, (don't know the date, but I'd say definitely pre-war) and when I used it in the 80's. (Back then I was a 'rich Littleworth kid' but they found me out and moved me on. :P )

GateOldNew.jpg
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
Jenks (Jenkinsons) opened a wine bar in 1979, Hock, Riesling, etc were popular for quaffing...
Yes, three at a similar time
Props 1977, Jenkinsons 1979 and Pitchers 1980.
Then it was so called Irish pubs
Joxer Brady's 1995, O'Neill's 1996 and Seamus O'Donnells 1999,
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
When I lived in Mynors Street in the 80's this was my local. Dave Pemberton ran it at the time. The draught Ansells Mild was a wonderful pint. I've been in a few times since, Dave is long gone and now it's called the Metropolitan. There's a lot of changes but I do like the outside tables and chairs that have appeared where those cars are parked. The Gate old on top, (don't know the date, but I'd say definitely pre-war) and when I used it in the 80's. (Back then I was a 'rich Littleworth kid' but they found me out and moved me on. :P )

View attachment 10198
Bob,
During 'normal times' I get in the Metropolitan Bar about three times a month as it's convenient for the Post Office, chip shop and pharmacy.
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
There was a guy called 'Clive' who ran the Nag's Head in the 80's which was the town pub I often used. That was the last time I did a one day coach trip to Blackpool with a pub crowd. (My advice ... don't buy a book of 'White Knuckle Ride' tickets on Blackpool Pleasure Beach after you've had a skin full of beer. You feel obliged to go on all the rides because you've paid for them, but the fallout is slightly unpleasant, on a Richter Scale of about 10. :eek:)
I believe Clive moved to the Castle Tavern afterward but I'd moved out of Stafford by then.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
There was a guy called 'Clive' who ran the Nag's Head in the 80's which was the town pub I often used. That was the last time I did a one day coach trip to Blackpool with a pub crowd. (My advice ... don't buy a book of 'White Knuckle Ride' tickets on Blackpool Pleasure Beach after you've had a skin full of beer. You feel obliged to go on all the rides because you've paid for them, but the fallout is slightly unpleasant, on a Richter Scale of about 10. :eek:)
I believe Clive moved to the Castle Tavern afterward but I'd moved out of Stafford by then.
Wilson - or Wilson-Hart - lives in Stone these days, last time I saw him.
 

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
There was a guy called 'Clive' who ran the Nag's Head in the 80's which was the town pub I often used. That was the last time I did a one day coach trip to Blackpool with a pub crowd. (My advice ... don't buy a book of 'White Knuckle Ride' tickets on Blackpool Pleasure Beach after you've had a skin full of beer. You feel obliged to go on all the rides because you've paid for them, but the fallout is slightly unpleasant, on a Richter Scale of about 10. :eek:)
I believe Clive moved to the Castle Tavern afterward but I'd moved out of Stafford by then.
Yes, I think Clive took on the Nags Head in about in about 1982 ( following on from the Webbs who had kept it for 25 years - I remember Nellie then son Keith ) and ten years later moved onto the Castle Tavern where he was one of the town's licensees most actively opposing Wetherspoons conversion of the Picture House.
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
When I lived in Mynors Street in the 80's this was my local. Dave Pemberton ran it at the time. The draught Ansells Mild was a wonderful pint. I've been in a few times since, Dave is long gone and now it's called the Metropolitan. There's a lot of changes but I do like the outside tables and chairs that have appeared where those cars are parked. The Gate old on top, (don't know the date, but I'd say definitely pre-war) and when I used it in the 80's. (Back then I was a 'rich Littleworth kid' but they found me out and moved me on. :P )

View attachment 10198
It's got my grans little house in the background of the top picture , in Tixall road.
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
It's got my grans little house in the background of the top picture , in Tixall road.

When I was a student I used to do summer work for a window cleaner who lived near there at the back of the Gate. I had some adventures in that job .. including nearly burning down the Lotus Factory. :eek:
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
When I was a student I used to do summer work for a window cleaner who lived near there at the back of the Gate. I had some adventures in that job .. including nearly burning down the Lotus Factory. :eek:
I seem to have memories of a window cleaner nearby . Used to be 3 little cottages together . Still is I think (not been past there for years) ,but they were done out and modernised after my gran died. My memories are of traipsing up the back yard to the loo at the far end of the garden. And a shed which was like a treasure trove of all sorts of tools and wood etc ( @Gramaisc would have enjoyed it in there ) which was actually the old corrugated air raid shelter. Used to scare me to death when staying overnight when mum was in hospital. The kitchen window was one that swung over, so the cat used to jump at it and catapult itself in from outside . If you ever walked past to the sound of the telly blaring away , that was my gran as she was almost deaf so all the road could hear it , it was so loud.

So that's my grans house above , and my great grans home in the Almshouses that have appeared on here now :D
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
I can't remember the name of the window cleaner, he was a mate of my Dads. But I always thought what a great place to live ... about a 30 second walk to the pub. :pint::)
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
I can't remember the name of the window cleaner, he was a mate of my Dads. But I always thought what a great place to live ... about a 30 second walk to the pub. :pint::)
I seem to remember someone like Andow / Andows ??? ( that memory could have been from one of my parents neighbours though. )
My dad used to do lots of his own photography developing and had some great photos of the past around that area. But the photos disappeared before I could get hold of them when my parents died.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I seem to remember someone like Andow / Andows ??? ( that memory could have been from one of my parents neighbours though. )
My dad used to do lots of his own photography developing and had some great photos of the past around that area. But the photos disappeared before I could get hold of them when my parents died.
Well remembered!

The van still exists - in a very good state of repair.

5306866920_9886a81dbb_b.jpg
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
Yeah I wish !!! :P

YES YES it was Andow. :) He forgave me after I'd ploughed through all the light shades (those green on top and white underneath wide things that used to be everywhere in workplaces back then) in a big Lotus workroom, cleaning off years of muck. They dangled from the ceiling on their supply wires, very old wires with a rubber coating on that had over the years gone hard and crumbly.
After I'd finished they switched the lights back on to a loud flash bang which blew out all the fuses. An expensive rewiring replacement followed. I told Mr Andow I'd probably saved the factory as this had been a fire waiting to happen. (I can bullshit with the best of them.) :P:D
 

SketchyMagpie

Well-Known Forumite
Anyone got any photos of the old wishing well thing that used to be in the Guildhall? I don’t know why but I used to love tossing a couple of pennies in there when I was a young’un.
 
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