The Sheaf
iPhone diary goes to the pub…
Thought I’d share a few of my old drinking haunts with you in my iPhone diary. Most will be from my old home town of Grimsby on the east coast of England and back in the eighties they had a pub for every occasion and I had an occasion to go in most of them.
The Wheatsheaf, as it was known back then is one of two pubs where I began my drinking education. It seems strange writing about beer drinking when I haven’t touched alcohol for a year and a half but back then going to the pub was the highlight of my life and I’ll always associate this pub with the music of George Benson.
In those days I was a big fan of jazz-rock and jazz-funk and my mates and I would go and see Benson in concert whenever he toured the UK. He was pretty much at the height of his popularity back then and his songs in particular were ones we would play on the jukebox and inevitably sing along to as the evening progressed. Fifteen drunk lads impersonating one of jazz and soul’s greatest singers wasn’t a pretty sight…
In those days the pub had three bars and whichever one we went in was an indication of how the night would progress. The ’snug’ would suggest a game of snooker later, the top bar a curry and the downstairs bar had all the girls in it. Back then you wore your shirt tucked in and the top button fastened unless you were impersonating George Michael and showing off your chest-I never had one at the time so it was buttons up for me. Trousers were flared out at the top with turn ups at the bottom and you splashed as much Tuscany aftershave on yourself as you could afford. Suit type jacket with sleeves rolled up a la Don Johnson/Miami Vice were optional.
What I’ve drank in here between 1985 and 1988 god only knows but I met some of the best lads you could wish to meet and enjoyed evenings I’ll never forget..Golden years…
The Wheatsheaf, Grimsby
I think a lot of life is about doing the right things at the right time !
Drinking, pubs friends and all the chaos that goes with it should be done and dusted when you’re a young man - that’s the time to do it and enjoy it.
Not doing it then trying it later is a disaster as is trying to continue with it when you’re well and truly passed it.
Good times and good memories !
Cheers
Rod
February 20, 2012 @ 7:10 pm
Miles,
A great write-up and I loved the bit about George Benson and Don Johnson (with his designer stubble). Do people still frequent pubs for evenings of entertainment I wonder or does everyone meet in a virtual pub? I frequented quite a few myself back then but for the life of me I can’t remember what we used to talk about for hours on end every week amongst the background noise of lively youngsters spending their wages, fights, chat-up lines and George Benson doing his best to float over the top…. mind you after a small sherry or two, sensible conversation was never the issue
Cid
February 20, 2012 @ 7:13 pm
Hmmm the pud menu looks good , apart from the cheeseboard. Not a piece of Cheshire to be seen ……
February 20, 2012 @ 8:45 pm
Veronica,
The only food they did back in the day was a bag of pork scratchings
Miles
February 21, 2012 @ 8:54 am
Cid,
I think I can guess what we would have been talking about back then
Miles
February 21, 2012 @ 8:55 am
Rod,
Right there, it’s sad when you see people trying to cling on to it twenty odd years on, gotta know when to stop!
Miles
February 21, 2012 @ 8:56 am