SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Was our playground growing up. We knew all the ways in, like which bars were wide enough for us to squeeze through etc. We knew all the nooks and crannies, would climb the spiral staircase up to the box in the south stand. I remember one of the lads risking his life spreadeagled on the roof, inching along in the rain to retrieve his 12p polystyrene airoplane. Some of the lads One of the lads's leg broke through the roof and he fell up to his hips. Talk about close call!We would sometimes be chased by the groundsman, Boycey (exuse the spelling) but he could never catch us though once after playing on the pitch with a hose in summer we had to escape onto the trainign ground then along the railway embankment and through a kind person's backgarden (yes, they did give us permission). Someone once attached a rope to the southstand roof and we would swing out over the pitch and let go. From the top of the southstand you could look through the gap and see for miles over Headingley and Burley etc.The best bit though was the loft. Under the southstand terracing, it wasn't easy to get into, one of the routes requiring some dexterity and bravery to traverse a ledge and climb into a hole, but once in it was a dark and cavernous space with bats inside. The older lads swore there was a ghost of the southstand and come twilight, it was certainly a spook place. The point is, the place had bags of character, but now when I walk past (which is rare as I live miles away), it is a great monstrosity that doesn't fit with the surroundings. It might serve better for rugby and cricket purposes, but it just seems sterile to me.

Do I know you! We did the same. Climbed the old flood lights once. Used to be a great place. My mate worked in the old scoreboard, before the electric one that no-one could read, and we'd spend ages in there with the old duffers keeping the score, getting to turn the wheels and update the number of overs.

The club had to get into the modern era, and as someone who goes there with my kid the new Carnegie stand is wonderful to sit in (my lad is small and could not see from the old crumbling terraces and many a time we were sat behind pillars in the main stand). The buzz around the back to back champions place is great for all those who come along, and OK to some who have no interest the Carnegie may look "sterile" and may just get in the way of nostalgic looks back, but I can assure you as a user of the place it is great.The alternative would be an out of town concrete mass and then we'd all be moaning at the complete loss of Headingley!!As a Parksider at heart though one story of the kids you hear is the Hunslet club used to do a 50P or10/- season "ticket" that was a card used as a pass.Groups of kids would buy one between them for the season and every game one would go in and run to the fence behind the stand and slip it out to the next kid and so on until the one pass had seen them all in!!! Beats climbing over the fence and being chased!!

Bloody hooligans!!

The Parksider wrote: The club had to get into the modern era, and as someone who goes there with my kid the new Carnegie stand is wonderful to sit in (my lad is small and could not see from the old crumbling terraces and many a time we were sat behind pillars in the main stand). The buzz around the back to back champions place is great for all those who come along, and OK to some who have no interest the Carnegie may look "sterile" and may just get in the way of nostalgic looks back, but I can assure you as a user of the place it is great.The alternative would be an out of town concrete mass and then we'd all be moaning at the complete loss of Headingley!!As a Parksider at heart though one story of the kids you hear is the Hunslet club used to do a 50P or10/- season "ticket" that was a card used as a pass.Groups of kids would buy one between them for the season and every game one would go in and run to the fence behind the stand and slip it out to the next kid and so on until the one pass had seen them all in!!! Beats climbing over the fence and being chased!! When I used to go to Parkside as a teenager you could get in for 3d.

I appreciate that it is much better for users now, and yes, I was lost in nostalgia (the worrying thing is, it happens a lot these days). Some of the lads would climb the old floodlights, like a test of bravery. The ultimate was to have a slash off the top (n o I never got anywhere near and wouldn't have done that anyway!). My brother and some of the lads were playing shots in in the clubyard, and he kicked the ball which hit the letter U from the writing on the back face of the southstand and knoecked it off. It landed on my froends head and split it open.There was a way into the Bar, either form the loft or the toilets - not sure exactly which, but one of the lads got a couple of the younger, smaller lads to climb through into the bar and get free beer. Kids, eh?

stuke73 wrote: I appreciate that it is much better for users now, and yes, I was lost in nostalgia (the worrying thing is, it happens a lot these days). Some of the lads would climb the old floodlights, like a test of bravery. The ultimate was to have a slash off the top (n o I never got anywhere near and wouldn't have done that anyway!). My brother and some of the lads were playing shots in in the clubyard, and he kicked the ball which hit the letter U from the writing on the back face of the southstand and knoecked it off. It landed on my froends head and split it open.There was a way into the Bar, either form the loft or the toilets - not sure exactly which, but one of the lads got a couple of the younger, smaller lads to climb through into the bar and get free beer. Kids, eh? Like I said, Bloody hooligans!!

stuke73 wrote: There was a way into the Bar, either form the loft or the toilets - not sure exactly which, but one of the lads got a couple of the younger, smaller lads to climb through into the bar and get free beer. Kids, eh? You found that as well?! God their security was slack for years.

If you want nostalgia, go to the Castleford Tigers ground. I dont thinks its ever changed. It certainly hasnt for the 20 years Ive been going. We dont even have a electric score board lol.I think I'll have reired before we get our new ground.

Cardiarms, we seem to have had similar childhoods - I wonder if it was at the same time? I'm 35 now - what about you?Ok, so what other things did you do the same...When they were building at new stand in the cricket ground, we used to go into the space underneath and play Aufwiedershen Pet (it was in that era) with the builders' tools. run up the slope between the rugby and cricket ground, seeing if you could get to the top (specially when snowed upon in winter). Play along the embankment in the trainign groundAs for security being lax - there was none back then!