Socialising seems to have been important to my family.
In my grandparents and great grandparents’ times the main
social events would have revolved around Church activities. I often wonder what my ancestors further back
in time did socially. On both sides of
my family, I have Publicans, so I presume that these ancestors were sociable by
nature with the ‘pub often being at the centre of village and town life. In rural areas the seasons and the church would
have dictated social gatherings, from Harvest Supper to Christmas festivities.
My maternal granddad always used to pop in The Radcliffe
Arms in Hitchin on his way home from his job as a plate layer on the railway. The pub was about half-way home and he enjoyed
a regular ‘half’ and a ‘jaw’ with his friends.
My paternal grandfather, from the stories I have heard, enjoyed
a pint as much as the next man, and seems to have been a sociable person. The family enjoyed music and singing,
Granddad’s favourite song and ‘party piece’ was evidently Lady of Spain. My Uncle Basil’s party piece was Sylveste,
of which I have a treasured video of him performing. My Dad’s
mother’s family were especially musical, great granddad was a music hall
artiste and accompanist to many of the stars of the music hall. This musical gene seems to have passed down
to me as I sing with our local amateur operatic society, as I have highlighted
in an earlier blog post.
Sunday School Treats, usually a visit to Southend on Sea,
were eagerly awaited by my mum and her siblings, and were usually run by their
Church. My Dad on the other hand, so he
told me, only attended a Sunday School a few weeks before a ‘Treat’ was due –
he and his siblings were not churchgoers and picked the best ‘treat’ to attend
by talking to their mates.
When my parents, aunts and uncles were young adults the main
events in the social calendar were the weekly dances at local venues in North
Hertfordshire, such as The Hermitage in Hitchin and The Wilbury in Letchworth with
other ‘do’s’ at church halls, community centres and the odd farm barn.
In the 1950s my Dad purchased a Radiogram, which was used
regularly by the family and friends. Put
on full blast the rest of the street could also enjoy the music from the radio and
the 78 records. We still have it, and
the 78 records, and it is still in working order. A substantial lump of mahogany, it has the
radio and the record deck which can accommodate several records and play these one
after the other. It has a particular
smell, very reminiscent of my childhood.
Plug in, turn on and wait a little while for the valves to warm up and
glow green and off you go. Many times,
we have thought of selling it, but I just can’t bring myself to do so – it is a
family heirloom.
Into the 1950’s my dad was a regular attender at the Letchworth Television Society dances at the Icknield Halls, where a celebrity from the TV would be the guest of honour and the locals would enjoy the dance. These seem to have been popular. Music was usually from a live band too.
I have in my possession an Autograph Book which belonged to my dad in which these TV stars have left their signatures, some are well known, such as Shirley Bassey, Sean Connery, Petula Clark and Harry Corbett and Sooty, whilst others were the newsreaders of the day. The book is a window into the celebrities of the 1950s.
There is a story associated with the autograph book which has been passed down in the family. When the actor Bob Hope, who had family in Hitchin, was on a visit to the UK, he had signed his name in the said autograph book, and it was a prize in the raffle at a dance which my dad attended. Dad won the book in the raffle but when he went to collect it, he found that someone had torn Bob Hope’s autograph and the back page out of the book. Dad was not amused!
My parents enjoyed the social whirl of dances and dinner
dances in Letchworth and surrounding areas well into the 1970s. The dances were run by clubs and societies
and also the Letchworth Town Football Club of which my dad was a Committee
Member and later Chairman, after being a player from the 1930s – but that is
another story.
The Football Club had an annual dinner which was regularly
reported upon in the local newspaper. My dad is in the photo on the top left presenting a shield to a player.
One of the most memorable was this is one 1963 when the waitresses donned the Club’s shirts and the piece de resistance of a dessert was ice-cream footballs with the club emblem, a Bluebird on the Wing, stuck in the top.
They sometimes also travelled by train into London to more ‘up market’ venues such as the Park Lane Hotel for dinners and cabaret performances. It was a standing ‘dare’ that Dad and his friends would try to ‘liberate’ the odd ashtray, spoon, tray, or jug from such venues. From the stories I heard these visits were much enjoyed, a night out with your friends and a chance to dress up for the night.
My parents always had a party on New Year’s Eve for family
and friends, with regularly 40+ people crammed into our lounge, dining room,
hall and kitchen, eating, drinking and being merry, especially when they had a
glass or two of my dad’s homemade punch which would literally knock your socks
off. Goodness knows how these people
drove home safely afterwards.
My Dad was also a Mason, so he attended dinners and lunches,
and my Mum (and me when I was older) attended many masonic Ladies Night's. Dad was a member of Dacre Lodge in Letchworth. Being a Mason was a useful networking as well
as a social activity for a local businessman, like my Dad.
Neither my husband or I go to the Pub, apart from enjoying a
Sunday Roast now and again. We do not
really drink, just a social glass of wine or a beer, so a ‘pub visit is not
really something we would do. We belong
to several societies aligned to our interests where we attend talks (online and
physical) and social events related to these interests. We share many interests, but also have
independent interests which can lead to different types of socialising. These can be anything from a formal City of
London Livery Dinner to a meeting of our Local History Society in the Community
Centre in Baldock. Different types of
socialising from the formal, best bib and tucker, decorations, and medals (if
you have any) to local events which are more informal. Wherever you socialise, however you
socialise, it is still important to interact with people with similar interests
or strike up a conversation with your neighbour at a dinner.
Nowadays, we are perhaps not so social in the physical
sense, with the advent of the internet, email, and social media, we often
interact with friends via electronic means rather than in person. It really depends on what your interests
are.
You have some great photos and memories. Yes I think church was definitely a way for many of my ancestors to socialise. And when I think about it music was too and/or work. My father remembers his family getting together around the piano a lot. I attended a morning tea yesterday for my family history society to acknowledge the amazing work of our indexers. After all the COVID lockdowns it was so wonderful to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
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