SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

You don't get the same Saturday night feel these days. I love the Colin Crompton wheel tappers & social shunters way of life we had years ago! There's no characters anymore!

It's a seafood LADY that calls , not once , but TWICE, on Saturday nights. At the Bramley WMC, on Elder Rd. If it's nostalgia you're after, Bramley's the place. {Except the price of beer, that's very modern}.But back to the "green-'un".!Many years ago at Moortown Fire Station, one Sat. at just after 6.15pm. The watchroom full of bods , scanning the 'freebie' that the paper seller used to drop in. The switchboard buzzed. It was the Chief (Dick French), who lived next door to the station. He used to ring at that time every Saturday, to check his pools.( Too tight to buy a 'green-'un' of his own). He would always start by pretending he was interested how the 'Utd.' had got on.Then it began." How's Exeter done.?, how's Darlington gone on.? etc. It became blatantly obvious what was happening.But that night, big Ken L., got the paper. And as the duty watchroom man that night, relayed the Chiefs requests, big Ken gave his answers. " Oh! that was 1-1": or " just 0-0", and so on. This was in the days when ALL draws scored 3pts. Well you could hear the squeals and cheering all the way across the yard. Mrs. French wondering how to spend her share of the £75,000 jackpot.When we, standing around , mouths drooling, saw big Ken start grinning, we realised what he had done. The poor lad on watch,had to break it best way he could to the Chief. But he never forgot.!!

farbank wrote: It's a seafood LADY that calls , not once , but TWICE, on Saturday nights. At the Bramley WMC, on Elder Rd. If it's nostalgia you're after, Bramley's the place. {Except the price of beer, that's very modern}.But back to the "green-'un".!Many years ago at Moortown Fire Station, one Sat. at just after 6.15pm. The watchroom full of bods , scanning the 'freebie' that the paper seller used to drop in. The switchboard buzzed. It was the Chief (Dick French), who lived next door to the station. He used to ring at that time every Saturday, to check his pools.( Too tight to buy a 'green-'un' of his own). He would always start by pretending he was interested how the 'Utd.' had got on.Then it began." How's Exeter done.?, how's Darlington gone on.? etc. It became blatantly obvious what was happening.But that night, big Ken L., got the paper. And as the duty watchroom man that night, relayed the Chiefs requests, big Ken gave his answers. " Oh! that was 1-1": or " just 0-0", and so on. This was in the days when ALL draws scored 3pts. Well you could hear the squeals and cheering all the way across the yard. Mrs. French wondering how to spend her share of the £75,000 jackpot.When we, standing around , mouths drooling, saw big Ken start grinning, we realised what he had done. The poor lad on watch,had to break it best way he could to the Chief. But he never forgot.!! Lovely anecdote farbank.Could never happen today,you can't miss a thing with our information overload.Does anyone know when the green 'un was wound up? I'd guess late '80s.

Phil, you were there when fish bloke turned up.

Oh yeah.. Thats the first time i'd seen him in there ever! A few too many beers i'd forgot all about him!

And the wonderful content of his basket

WOW i can almost smell that basket lol.

drapesy wrote: I seem to remember that the business(or one of them) selling fish/prawns/cockles etc from a basket in pubs was called "Kershaw's". Kershaw's guy used to come into the Regent at Chapel Allerton back in the late 70's - early 80's, it was an oldish bloke who would walk through the pub shouting " Sea foods", some wag would always shout back " I can't, your holding them too high " ! We used to buy the Green Final in town on the way home from Elland Road after every home game for years, I seem to remember (though my mind could be playing tricks) that the Green final became the Pink final (Stop sniggering at the back) during the last years of its publication.

The local newspapers of most towns and cities had special late editions (on pink , green or even yellow/gold paper)that carried football scores and reports but I think all bar one or two have disappeared over the last 30 years or so. I remember it being on the national media when the Liverpool Echo's version (Pink 'Un) closed a couple of years ago.I honestly think you're mistaken though Stevief - I believe the Yorkshire Post's version was always green. I'll try to find out when it closed.

Your probably more than right there Drapsey. I remember the Blackpool one been pink but not Leeds, So many pages with nothing worth reading, The seaside papers seemed to have far better names than ours tho! Gazette, standard e.t.c!