Web Page: 840

Top Picture: In the centre of the picture can be seen the conveyor which transported spoil whilst the Paulsgrove Estate was being built.







Bottom Picture: A traffic easing solution tried in Commercial Road in the early 1970’s. Note the Dockyard School on the right and the pub on the corner was the Friary Meux Jolly Roger with its poem on the sign which read ‘This sign hangs high and hinders none, refreshment take and then jog on’.

Cheers

Talking about pubs I tend to think that the older I get the more I fondly remember things from the past. I began to think, the other day, about the popular drinks that we no longer see or hear asked for over the bar in the local, that’s if you have still got a local! I know that I have already talked in the past about the fancy drinks such as Babycham, Pony and Cherry B etc., but now let’s look at those drinks that were usually poured by the barman behind the public bar.

For example when was the last time you heard of someone walk up to a bar and ask for a Brown Split (half bitter and half brown ale), a Boiler Maker (a pint of bitter with a shot of Whisky or Vodka) or a Black Velvet (stout and it should be Champagne or a Sparkling Wine but in our case it was only Cider). Speaking of Cider does anyone remember a Bats Blood (Cider and Blackcurrant Juice) or for those who did not like the bitter taste of commercial Bitter ale, a Lemon Top (bitter with a dash of lemonade in it), and when was the last time that you saw a pint of Mild being served, a Little Bricky or any of the Brickwoods Sunshine Ales? Or even bought a 7 pint can of Pitkin or have gently downed a Merrydown Cider. I bet today’s modern bar staff would have little or no idea what these drinks are and as for Bernard Miles forever telling us that ‘It looks good, it tastes good and by golly it does you good’ they would be completely lost. But not as much as if they ever heard the Stanley Unwin ‘keggy in a blufflade’ advert.

Now looking towards the ladies and their tastes in drinks. For a time, for those who did not want anything alcoholic, a Tomato Juice with salt, pepper and Worcester Sauce was the ‘in’ thing or maybe a St. Clements (orange juice and lemonade). If the lady wanted something with a little punch an Egg Flip or Egg Nog or a Snowball might have been ordered or maybe a rum and black or a whisky Mac. Port and Lemon was often the drink for the older ladies, as was Dubonnet, Sweet Martini or Martini Bianco or maybe even a sweet sherry could have been the drink of choice. I remember that my grandmother occasionally liked a bottled Guinness, a product still on the shelves today but the likes of Milk Stout and Porter are long gone these days I think.

Country and fruit wines were also the ‘in’ drink in the mid 1960’s. Many of these were promoted by the Gales Brewery of Horndean (now gone). Lots of pubs had these wines behind the bar and I can remember the long line of them ranged along the back of the bar in the original Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the Havant Road in Cosham. I know I, along with others, managed to work our way all along the line and complete the full range. We even started again but then the landlord changed and a new one came in and the wines disappeared from their place on the shelf behind the bar, never to return.

I think the area we all lived in and went to school in was not over endowed with pubs and those that were there in are teenage years still appear to be there today. The New Inn ( the place where you would find a little knot of teachers on a Friday Lunchtime), the Sunshine ( Iseem to remember a Jazz Club running out the back of this place for a short while) , the Old Manor and the Shaftsbury are all still in business, as is the Railway (sometime known as the Rocket), the Portsbridge (being the nearest pub to Highbury College it was often frequented by students in term time), The Red Lion, the George and the Wymering Arms. But the likes of Uncle Toms Cabin, the East Cosham Tavern, the Ship and the George and Dragon in Cosham High Street, which had the distinction of being the first pub in Portsmouth to install a condom machine in the gents, the Clacton, the Beacon, the Old House at Home and the Beehive in Paulsgrove have all gone. To say nothing of the Harlequin in Portsdown Park. Before you think that I have forgotten the Churchillian, it took a long time to open and was not serving refreshments until 1957 and is still there. There has only been one pub opened in the area as far as I am aware and that is the First Post in Cosham High Street, but this is a designer pub and not a real boozer with a Bottle & Jug or Off Sales.

In those days the posh wine was Mateus Rose or Leibfraumilch and of course we are back in the days of frothy coffee!!! But that is another story that I explored on the site a long ago.

Ah well back to today,

Keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

From Anon:-



I am an Ex Manor Court boy, I do remember Mr Bennett’s woodworking classes and bringing home the mis-shaped coffee table, there were good times & bad times but it was a good school but it was a shame the name was changed. I too remember the Model Shop in Wayte Street, Cosham where we used to go and buy model aircraft kits and balsa wood. The plastic Airfix kits were always bought from Woolworths. The model shop traded under the name of Haywards and belonged to the parents of a Manor Court girl called Barbara Quinnell who lived in the Tudor style house in Central Road.

News and Views:

"Unchain My Heart," a stage musical of the life and music of Ray Charles, will open on Broadway November 7, with previews beginning October 8. No cast has yet been announced.

On this day 26th May 1960-1965.

On 26/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 26/05/1961 the number one single was You're Driving Me Crazy - The Temperance Seven and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/05/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Panic on Wall Street.


On 26/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/05/1964 the number one single was Juliet - Four Pennies and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On 26/05/1965 the number one single was Where Are You Now (My Love) - Jackie Trent and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.