Who remembers?

[MovedtoBolton]

I remember the chippy well, amongst us kids the fare was refered to as "Ada's greasy chips". I have no idea if the proprietor was called Ada or not!

I also remember buying some sort of soup, veg I think it was, from a machine at the top of the steps on the way out. Not to mention the unmistakeable chlorine aroma on the way in!

The attendant once caught me diving in from the top step of the podium style board and surfacing right by the hand rail in the deep end. The sod made me swim my first length just to prove I could swim. I nearly drowned in the effort but I did it !!!

Ian

[BERNADETTE]

Originally Posted by beechy

me mam always said never go down the mine son
youve plenty of slack in your pants

Bless her Beechy

[lindsay ormerod]

I do remember going to the old baths, must have been at primary school then , remember getting peanuts out of a machine in there, remember thise manky floats and it was always freezing, back to school with wet hair eugh.

[jaysay]

There was a hair dryer and a brillcream machine when i was a lad, I think it was about 2 old pence for each

[beechy]

well remember the brylcreme machine the foriegn lads of the time
used to put the stuff on their hair and then all over their faces
always thought it was odd at the time

[MAW]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Good old Accy baths. Many thanks for the picture Retlaw. It certainly brought back some memories.

Back in the early fifties single sex swimming except for some evenings and Sunday mornings.

Schools swimming in the mornings to teach those pupils who couldn’t swim how to swim by the accompanying teacher from the poolside. We were transported to and from the baths in a corporation bus for FREE as was the baths admission.

I was 10 when I taught myself to swim, sort of, after witnessing the fire brigade pull a drowned adult from a lodge. We were just messing around in the shallows as non swimmers.

Men and boys changing cubicles at poolside with 2 people to a cubicle. Women and girls upstairs.

Communal hot shower where bathers were obliged to wash first with the supplied soap, then step under the cold shower before diving into the water.

No lifeguard and only the boiler room attendant to be called if there was ever a problem.

Stone steps in each corner of the pool.

Three ‘splash’ diving board. Top splash was about 10 feet high diving into 6 feet 6 inches of water at the deep end.

71 lengths to get a mile certificate. I got mine when I was 12 and it took me over an hour.

Inter house school swimming galas once a year and also inter schools swimming galas.

Just down from the chip shop a street branched off to the left and just down that there was a ginnel that lead to a place where we could buy one penny and two penny bags of Smiths crisps. These were crisp bits but the bags were full to bursting.

My first job after leaving school and after training at Bank Hall Colliery in Burnley was at Scaitcliffe pit as a human pit pony. My job was to push a tub full of coal weighing several hundredweight from the coal face to the first chain.

At some 600 feet deep it wasn’t a very deep mine but the coal face was some 5 miles away and took about an hour to get there and an hour to get back to the pit bottom. No trains - we had to push our way along rails using what we called a sled.

Boy that takes me back. My cousin and I used to go the the "slipper baths" on friday evening and get chips forn the chippy across the road to eat on the way home. The water was always boiling and the towels were hand towel size and like sandpaper. Happy days.!!!!!

[jelly baby]

Memories, memories. I spent hours and hours at the baths when I was a youngster, had great times. I remember walking there from St Oswalds, then when I went to Paddock we had a bus take us. Do schools go to the baths now?
I think they did the best chips in accy across the road, it certainly tasted like it at 8pm on a cold wet night, (with wet hair). They used to have a Mynah bird that was a really good talker.
Leslie Dean was the headmaster at Hyndburn Park school, he once swam across Morecambe Bay. Mrs Broadley was the pool attendant, she would walk around with her hands behind her back and never seemed to miss anyone who was misbehaving, she also used to turf us out of the hot showers if we stayed in too long, I remember her beehive hairdo! Also remember going to Accy swimming club on a Wednesday evening. Those were the days.

[jelly baby]

Wasn't there a pub on the corner opposite the baths called 'the Junction', that used to serve under agers?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by jelly baby

Wasn't there a pub on the corner opposite the baths called 'the Junction', that used to serve under agers?

Your right JB but you were up the Junction if the police caught you in there under age

[beechy]

and a lady called rose who used to read your tealeaves
she was very good if my memory serves me well

[cashman]

Originally Posted by jelly baby

Wasn't there a pub on the corner opposite the baths called 'the Junction', that used to serve under agers?

John Smiths House, used to play darts fer em in 60s. fer a short while,but thats another story lol.

[katex]

Noticed a van on the M65 today with Palmer Riley on the sides ... reminded me that they used to be in Accrington at one time, but can't remember exactly where they were.. was it Abbey Street ? Electrical contractors.

Looks like they were resurrected as googling shows one of their two branches in Skelmersdale, established since 2004, but with 50 years experience.

P.S. The speed van was on the M65 again today, accompanied by 2 police cars, so be careful.