Palaisglide

Fork Handles

Jean, you missed pianist and accordionist.
My mother thought men should cook, my father a haulage contractor would move people and accept goods instead of pay, my first piano, a banjo, accordion, working steam train and a shotgun.
Mum and Dad champion dancers in the local halls when you got money and goods, they did not dance with each other in Comps though, took me along as baby sitter would not look after me only my sister.
The lights music fabulous clothes and the dancing, I was hooked, there was always some lady would get me up between the comps and I was a quick learner.
Demonstration dances at school, Scout and Cadet dances with one of the better girl dancers got you noticed so no shortage of partners.
Starting the big boys dancing and unable to go to the pub first (the landlords knew me) as they did gave me an empty floor (well of men) and a plethora of partners including a much older lady who was Latin perfection you get the picture.
I did take some lessons but ended up acting as a partner for some of the girls during instruction. You could dance every night of the week on a Sunday we all went to the Ace club always short of men because only lemonade was served and no pass outs. So Jean it sums up some of my formative years and in time did meet my future wife Joan at a dance, that was another unbelievable story.

Frank.

Fork Handles

Philosophically Curb would be used by people with horses it is a bit or restraint where as Kerb is the edge of a pavement, a row of raised stones.
So to Curb is to hold a horse whilst kerb is to keep cars off the pavement?.
pity it does not work.

Frank.

Fork Handles

FloBear wrote (see)

Frank, that's very enlightening, thank you. I hadn't realised it was one of those dances in which you move on to the next partner. I like those. When we were little Mum taught us the Veleta and the Gay Gordons because we had old 10"  78s of those.  She and her sisters also did Scottish dancing in their youth. We used to lay sticks down in a crossed-sword shape and make up our own to suitable music!

OK FloBear I will start again and this time explain it properly.
Progressive dances like the Schottische or progressive barn dance you took the girl in your arms formed a circle more usually three one inside another to get them all on the floor and did a fixed set of steps a waltz round and changed partners to the left.
The Palais Glide Lambeth Walk and a couple more you all got in a line one line behind the next making sure you had your arm around a girl on each side otherwise you got talked about, you moved  forward then right then left then a kick and did it all again ad-infinite. I kept out of it as a rule although a girl not too confidant would ask me to get her up which being the Gentleman I am I never refused.
The Veleta was usually the very first dance we were taught at the Scout Guide or Cadet Dances, the Cadet Dances I became the MC which meant you led the dancers off in each dance and they joined on behind you until you had circled the room, it also meant you had to know all the dances.
The school dances you danced with the girl at arms length, if they could not get war and peace between your chests you had to marry the girl. Things were different back then.
Just had a lovely custard tart with me cuppa whilst writing that.

Frank.

Fork Handles

FloBear wrote (see)

Frank, once SCD gets going we'll be expecting comments from 'one who knows' :- ) What happened to the palais glide? Doesn't anyone do it any more?

 

As with a lot of things after the war it got slung out and new stuff moved in, Ballroom dancing survived in clubs and in our area is making a comeback. The palais Glide, Lambeth walk and several dances where you moved on to the next partner were wartime get everyone on the floor dances, you danced in lines so the ones who could not dance got up and followed those who could it was all fun stuff and made sure those with two left feet got on the floor.
They all vanished in the late 40's as Jive and other things came in, we called it the jitterbug although it had been called Lindy dancing. Nice dances such as the Chrysanthemum Waltz, Rumba Royal. Cotillions, Gay Gordon's slowly went apart from our own Sergeants mess dance when some of the old hands wanted them.
The Beatles killed dancing as we knew it but we could always manage to find dances abroad, the Dutch and Germans always wanted to see English dancing and some great nights were had by all.
Now my Daughters go to dancing school for modern dancing then go on dancing cruises, they go on one in November and have already done the Norway North Cape cruise all singing all dancing, what goes out of fashion always returns.
Talking of dancing what happened to the Black Bottom, my mother was brilliant at it and had me in stitches watching, Dad was not bad either, roll back the clippy mat and put the gram on.

Frank.

Fork Handles

Hello folks sticking my Neb in again because I heard SCD mentioned, honest will not stay long but saw Lisa Riley in the line up which brought back a memory, do not write that girl off.
At sixteen I went to the big boys dances with my new work mates having left school a month or so earlier. Being too young to go drinking with them (in fact slung out of the three local pubs for being too young) I went to the tea bar in the hall for a drink.
The Lady behind the bar was a Lisa and she leaned over saying I will give you that tea and bun if you promise a dance, of course I said yes I mean free tea and bun!
It had to be after she had closed and cleaned the bar so my mates now there and in full flow as they weighed up the girls saw me head off and get the lady up and shock surprise she danced like an angel. My mates made comment, you disappeared in there, was it warm and comfy or what the h### are you thinking of with all that talent out there. I told them I made a promise and fulfilled it.
I got many free teas and cakes she was the Daughter of a local baker well used to being on her feet from dawn to dusk, hauling sacks of flour around but loved dancing although she had to work on the bar.
Big girls can dance and it taught me never to judge.

Frank.

What's the weather like in your area?

Glad you are feeling better Maud.
Slug pellets made of wool? what do they do wear them?
Our fish trade died a long time ago, we can get some on Redcar Beach if there when the few boats come in.
The box says Partly cloudy in Stockton today, apart from the rain this morning we do have the odd patch of blue up there, yesterdays light rain turned into a storm so we see what the day brings.

Frank.

What's the weather like in your area?

The party's over, the weather too it seems, the box says Stockton on Tees "light Rain" well it is light and it is raining, Alfy got wet but enjoys being toweled down. Still warm though.
I watched the games and my attitude changed, I would expect the athletes to hold the door for me and help me on the bus in future? The Brits came good as more than one said on camera.
Yes posh we have one real butcher left who hangs his meat and has his own fowl, the taste is wonderful and I love the long slow cooked belly pork. I am a sage and onion stuffing man although dried sage seems to work better than fresh, easy to dry and the onions need to be cooked, three changes of water as Mother used to do it.

Frank

PS What do we do now it is over?? "Oh yes" strictly coming up.

Wartime Farm

Leigh, did actually enjoy the programme as it brought back so many pleasant memories of the farm our own smallholding and people long gone although immortal as long as they are remembered by some one.
I think apart from five of us being thrust into a black cupboard under the stairs then wet towels thrown over us so we would not suffer from the gas??? my young sister having hysterics and us four boys not doing much better we thought our end had come.
Some papers had said if Germany declared war they would send a mass of planes to bomb us flat and we were on the coast so to our parents first in line, as the sirens went they put it all together and panic set in. We now know why the sirens went  but at the time it all added up to armageddon, not just for us but most of the coastal towns.
The wet towels as we sat there yelling, cold water dripping off us aparently saved you from breathing in gas if it was dropped, with hind sight that too was a myth, they had to find dry clothes for all of us when they finally calmed the five of us down, I do not think my sister ever got over it.
I can say I was never that frightened again, ever.

Frank.

Wartime Farm

While watching wartime farm something struck me and has rattled round in my head since, it was them listening to the Neville Chamberlain telling us we were at war with Germany, Ruth said I wonder what they were really thinking. I wrote the story a few years back when the grandchildren did a project at school but made it sound a lot less traumatic than it was.
Too long and off subject for here though I can tell Ruth, it was life changing and a shock to the system seeing my Grandmother and Aunts crying, they remembered the loss of relatives in the first war, and had sons old enough to fight, the men in a panic when the sirens promptly went and the total fear of us children suddenly thrust into a black hole under the stairs with wet towels thrown over our heads.
That day changed many things for me, we had started by picking up my Aunt Uncle and two cousins, we were the only ones with transport and heading off to Grandma's. There it turned sombre as we played and they prepared lunch and talked. We were called in to hear the announcement which was not at eleven as stated but shortly after, then the weeping started but the sirens turned it into a mad house. When the all clear went it took a long time to calm us kids down, we finally had lunch them motored home, life had changed and even us kids knew it. It was not the broadcast then OK lets get on with it as some try to say.

Frank.

What's the weather like in your area?

Glyn I think it is instinct, the 20 mins a pound plus 20 is always about right for medium it depends on the cut. The oven goes right up to hot then five minutes in  very hot turned down to 170, five minutes from finish check it again then rest whilst puddings cook.
My way is to add a stock to the roasting dish with some roots and onion and turn the beef a couple of times during cooking, I also have a meat thermometer so you can tell the internal heat, just off pink is the way they like it, red is a no no, they do not want it straight from the abattoir.
Better get on with the rest.

Frank.

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