Lacarno/City Hall 50/60s

[Guest poppins]

rEMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES AT LACARNO AND CITY HALL DANCES, THINK IT WAS HALF A CROWN TO GET IN, WE WOULD STAND IN LINE FOR AGES TO GET IN, MY SISTER AND I WOULD CHANGE FROCKS HALF WAY THROUGH THE DANCE IN THE LAV TO SEE IF ANYONE NOTICED, NO ONE EVER DID ? EVEN WHEN WE CAME BACK AND DANCED WITH THE SAME BOYS, ALWAYS HAD A GOOD LAUGH IN THE DRESSING ROOMS WITH THE OTHER GIRLS FIGHTING FOR A MIRROR, GREAT BANDS, OUR FEET WOULD BE KILLING US BY THE END OF THE NIGHT, THE HAD TO RUN DOWN TOWN IN THOSE SPIKE , SPENT IT IN THE BARHEELS TO CATCH THE LAST BUS, NO MONEY LEFT FOR A TAXI, SPENT IT ALL IN THE BAR.

[hazel]

HI Poppins

 

yes I used to go to the C/H on saturday nights. I remember the glass floor, and was it Bernard Taylor's band.? I met a girl there who was the proud possesor of Johnny Ray's shoe. When he appeared at the CIty hall he was mobbed and the saying went, stripped. Never met anyone who had the rest.

 

I remember the Locarno opening. i think we caught the tram home. remember dancing all evening in stiletto heels and those multicoloured petticoats and a waspie belt nipping your waist in, and earings nipping your earlobes.

 

Do you remember the Embassy opening. I was18 and oh the joy of going to the all night dance. I went with my cousin and I got taken home by a boy and she had to sit on the doorstep as our dog would not let her in! she still mentions it

happy days

hazel

[Cycleracer]

Very amusing, I,m to young to have been part of this but its sounds like exellent entertainment.

I can picture you lot now dancing to all that dance band music.

 

Hmm, I do envy the old theatre and dance hall days, i was born to late, which the Ponytails would say.

[Guest poppins]

hi hazel

yes i think it was Bernard Shaws band, all us girls use to dance together close to the band stand so the band could see us, some girl always had a crush on a player, we wore our stiletto heels so long the heels would be leaning under the show and all the leather would be worn down to the metal, hazel did you use to draw lines up the back of your leg to make it look like you had nylons on ?my sister and i would do each others, i did her's dead straight, she was short sighted and always drew mine crooked,she thought i didn't know, she had a favorite dress for the c/hall, was a pink fish tail dress, so tight she had to stand up on the bus, good times, even getting chucked out a few times for under age drinking was ok, lacarno was always packed like sardines, i'v been living in the states now for 40 years, get back often to see my sisters, we always talk about those days, we use to meet our dates at coles corner,i had to go with my sister to show her her date from the night before, she couldn't see.

[hazel]

Hi Poppins

 

No. I'm too young for the era of pretending to wear stockings cos they were in such short ssupply, but i had young aunties who did. they used gravy browning to dye their legs too. i can justn imagine you and your sister with the pencil. i was in the time of seamed stockings which we were forever checking to see whether the seams were straight and the suspenders were always coming undone. you had to discretely turn your back to fasten your them. They called them fully ffashioned, never did find out why

Everyone met on Coles corner in thope days, which is where the midland bank is now, opp the cathedral.

My aunt may was forever doing her hair in lots of little curls which was perhaps the style that you had I thought she looked very glamorous.

hazel

[Guest poppins]

HAZEL

THINK THOSE LITTLE CURLS WERE CALLED THE BUBBLE CUT, WE DID HAVE NYLONS (NOT THAT OLD YET) 63, IT WAS WHEN WE HAD NO MONEY LEFT TO BUY ANY WE USED EYEBROW PENCIL,DIDN'T HAVE MUCH LEFT AFTER GETING OUR SHOES HEELED &SOLED, BUYING PAN STICK AND FAGS, THOSE CAME FIRST.

 

YES I NOTICED COLES CORNER WAS A BANK NOW THE LAST TIME I WAS HOME, WALSHES WAS ALWAYS A GOOD MEETING PLACE TOO, THINK IT'S FRASERS NOW, I LIKED COLES CORNER BEST AS IF YOU GOT STOOD UP IT WASN'T AS NOTICEBLE.

 

DON'T REMEMBER JONNEY RAY AT THE C/H BUT I DO REMEMBER FRANKIE VAUGHN COMMING TO THE LACARNO, NEVER LIKED HIS SINGING, BUT I UNDERSTAND HE WAS A REAL NICE PERSON,AND STAYED NICE THROUGH HIS SHOW BIZ YEARS.

 

REMEMBER WEARING CARDIGANS BACKWARDS ? I THINK THAT CAME BACK IN STLYE NOT TOO LONG AGO.

 

ALSO WE MISSED THE LAST BUS FROM POND ST MANY TIMES AND WALKED ALL THE WAY TO SOUTHEY GREEN, CANNOT IMAGINE WALKING THAT DISTANCE NOW.

[peterdo]

In those days I worked for the scpwd and had to replace one of those squares of glass in the dance floor.

another place to meet was under the town hall clock.

[hazel]

I think the Town Hall clock had a bad reputation in those days.

Could be mistaken for a lady of ill repute or so the saying went.

 

hazel

[roughy101]

hazel, do you remember how at the locarno, everyone used to walk round and round all night until you saw someone you liked and then you started dancing,i met my ex husband at the locarno,wish i had kept walking,lol.

[Guest poppins]

Originally posted by roughy101

hazel, do you remember how at the locarno, everyone used to walk round and round all night until you saw someone you liked and then you started dancing,i met my ex husband at the locarno,wish i had kept walking,lol.

 

Locarno was great, us girls would just stand there pretending we didn't want to dance, then would dance with each other around the edge of the dance floor to see who was there, if no good prospects we would take off to the City Hall and do the same thing over again.