[jambutty]

31st December 1956 was a Monday and although serving in the Royal Navy I had New Year’s leave, having been on duty over Xmas. I arrived home in the late hours of Friday the 28th for a fortnight’s leave.

Admission to a New Year’s Eve hop was by ticket only and they were sold out long before the exciting day came round. However being mindful that servicemen were not in a position to buy a ticket unless someone at home got them one, the dance hall managers would hold back a few tickets for the armed forces. All a serviceman had to do was to show his leave pass and a ticket would be available. I got mine for the Ritz Ballroom on the Saturday.

In those dark days most working people would have been at work on New Year’s Eve day although many finished in mid afternoon AND GOT PAID RIGHT UP TO NORMAL KNOCKING OFF TIME. Shop workers did not have this luxury though. They had to work until normal closing time. But nonetheless you could almost feel the excitement and anticipation as people went about their normal business.

The New Year’s Eve dance would go on until past midnight, some until 12:30am but most until 1:00am. Pubs too stayed open legally until 1:00am. But the down side was that there were no buses to take people home and taxis were few and far between. So people didn’t stray too far from their homes and in the main attended a dance in their own town because they would have to walk home.

It was probably snowing (I can’t clearly remember) but 50 years ago we did have winter snow and white Xmasses.

As if by some celestial command boys and girls who were old enough to attend a New Year’s Eve dance shut their collective front doors behind them at around 7 o’clock clutching their precious tickets.

The boys were dressed in suits or at least a blazer and trousers all with a tie and the girls wore their very pasty party frock and looked like girls. Their natural attractiveness was not coloured by wads of make-up other than a bit of face powder and usually bright red lipstick, which during the course of the evening had to be re-applied several times.

In the stillness of the evening with the snow gently falling to the ground they made their way along snow covered streets to a pub near the dance hall. Those who were old enough or could pass for 18 took up station in a pub. The girls drinking Cherry B’s or Babychams and the boys were on pints. Some of the more daring would go for a rum or a whiskey. Some girls managed a gin but with tonic or something. They remembered dad’s stern warning and mum’s girlie advice. The rest found a café with a jukebox and drank coffee.

At around 8 o’clock most of the pubs would empty as the boys and girls headed for their dance hall leaving the adults to party in their own way. Snowballs criss-crossed the streets as the boys tormented the girls with well-aimed lumps of snow. The girls giggled, screamed and dodged the missiles, but it was all in good fun with no malice intended.

Once inside the first stop for the girls, after leaving their coats in the cloakroom, was what the Americans call the “Powder Room” to make running repairs to their make up and hair. The boys dumped their coats and headed for the bar.

On a stage the band was ready to play, the lights dimmed and struck up with a waltz. Bunches of mistletoe hung from the ceiling and right in the centre overhead a large ball covered in small mirrors slowly rotated whilst a couple of coloured spotlights bounced off the mirrors and cascaded onto the floor and walls. No one accepted the invitation to dance until two girls, dancing together, twirled around. More joined them and then real couples got into the festive spirit.

Quickstep followed waltz and a slow foxtrot kept the dancers on their toes and away from the bar as slowly the dance floor filled up. The braver boys would spy a fancied girl across the room and sidle up to ask her to dance some with a flourish and an actual bow.

To encourage more people to dance the bandleader announced a ladies ‘excuse me’ where a girl could approach a dancing couple and take over from the girl or indeed approach a lad sitting down. Not to be outdone there usually followed a gentlemen’s excuse me.

As the alcohol took hold and natural shyness drifted away there would be games to play with small prizes for the winners. Spot dances would find more winners. Everyone joined in the Hokey Cokey and to really mix up the partners they played a Paul Jones and a progressive Barn Dance.

There was a happy buzz about the place as the kids danced the night away.

As midnight approached the band stopped playing and accompanied by the base drum the countdown began. On the stroke of midnight a chorus of Happy New Year deafened all and sundry, whistles blew, streamers were thrown and hundreds of balloons tumbled from up above. Boy kissed girl and girl kissed boy as the band struck up Auld Lang Syne and then kissed again after the last chord drifted into silence.

The last hour was a bit of an anti climax as tired but happy youngsters abandoned any pretence of dancing and just swayed to the music until finally the band played “Goodnight Ladies”. The night’s festivities were over.

Outside it had stopped snowing but as the carol states it lay on the ground crisp and even. The frost in the air accompanied groups heading for home and couples, some new couples, trudged through the snow in their own world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!