Houdini in Leeds, anyone?

[TenDaysaLoiner]

My grandad owned Listers Dairy in Harehills, Leeds. Before that it was my great grandfather's, Tom Boothman's and was in Shadwell near Roundhay Park as well as in Harehills.My grandad (born 1899) used to say he had seen Houdini do his act - the one where he went in the river in a milk churn, I think it was, off Leeds Bridge. A Houdini expert has told me this was probably 1915.But... even more intriguing.... grandad also used to say he knew the man who was Houdini's locksmith when he was in England. The man was from Derbyshire. That's all I know of him. The Houdini enthusiast told me that in fact, the object of interest wasn't the lock so much as the milk churn. I've seen photos online and Houdini's churns do indeed look very like those our dairy had - some were still kicking around in the 1960s when I was a kid. And the Houdini expert tells me that maybe we were the supplier of the churns for his act when he came to England. We can;t verify this but it might explain why my grandfather knew someone in Houdini's entourage. Anyone else know anything about Houdini in Leeds? I understand he came here several times? Just curious.When my family lived on Bankside St in Harehills, (Vicar's terrace was its other address) in the 1920s it was a 'posh' area and I remember dad telling me of a theatrical boarding house somewhere down their street. Anyone heard tell of that? Maybe there's a connection?

[Hats Off]

TenDaysaLoiner wrote: My grandad owned Listers Dairy in Harehills, Leeds. Before that it was my great grandfather's, Tom Boothman's and was in Shadwell near Roundhay Park as well as in Harehills.My grandad (born 1899) used to say he had seen Houdini do his act - the one where he went in the river in a milk churn, I think it was, off Leeds Bridge. A Houdini expert has told me this was probably 1915.But... even more intriguing.... grandad also used to say he knew the man who was Houdini's locksmith when he was in England. The man was from Derbyshire. That's all I know of him. The Houdini enthusiast told me that in fact, the object of interest wasn't the lock so much as the milk churn. I've seen photos online and Houdini's churns do indeed look very like those our dairy had - some were still kicking around in the 1960s when I was a kid. And the Houdini expert tells me that maybe we were the supplier of the churns for his act when he came to England. We can;t verify this but it might explain why my grandfather knew someone in Houdini's entourage. Anyone else know anything about Houdini in Leeds? I understand he came here several times? Just curious.When my family lived on Bankside St in Harehills, (Vicar's terrace was its other address) in the 1920s it was a 'posh' area and I remember dad telling me of a theatrical boarding house somewhere down their street. Anyone heard tell of that? Maybe there's a connection? All I know about him in Leeds is that in 1911, Tetley's brewery challenged Houdini to escape from a padlocked cask of Tetley ale. Houdini accepted the challenge, however it proved too much for him and he had to be rescued from the cask.

[Chrism]

I found this for you... ...

[drapesy]

That poster intrigues me - nothing to do with Houdini though!!its the wording 'Early Doors' and 'Ordinary Doors' .Everyone's now familiar with the 'early doors' phrase - but a mystery as to where it came from - I think due to Ron Atkinson most think its to do with football.and what does 'ordinary doors' mean??? Did it mean, I wonder, that you had to pay a premium to get in at 'early doors' -so you good get a better seat or else wait half an hour for 'ordinary doors' and pay the normal price???