Play for Today "Leeds United"

[blackprince]

I didn't know whether to reopen the "Leeds on Screen" thread for this but that thread has been dormant since 2017.
BBC4 rebroadcast an old Play for Today called "Leeds United " last week. It was about the Leeds clothing workers strike of Feb 1970.
If you want a good dose of nostalgia it's still viewable on play it again and You tube.
It was filmed in B&W on location around the city with a very large cast. I was still living in Leeds at the time but knew nothing about the strike.
There were external & internal scenes in various clothing firms. The only one I recognised was Burtons , Hudson Road factory, renamed "Bendinks" for the play. A long scene of a meeting in the Town Hall brought back memories for me. Scenes filmed on the good old LCT buses.
"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there".

[TABBYCAT]

Now there’s a blast from my past!

In the opening scene where the women leaves home to catch the bus you can see a shop door way in the background. This is the top of Greenmount Street in Beeston and to the left out of shot myself and a few others watched this opening scene being filmed.

If you look at the streets they give the impression of it having been raining whereas in fact it was a perfectly dry night. The local fire brigade was called in to spray the houses and street to give the desired effect and the house holders were warned about this. However one old dear left her bedroom window open and after the consequent bedroom soaking occurred she came out playing holy hell with the film crew!

The closest shop is a fish and chip shop and the one next door just visible was a news agents run by former Leeds Utd footballer David Cochrane and was the first shop to give me the then new decimal coinage in my change.

Also I recall a Middleton Chap,now sadly passed, who was a film extra called Ken Astwell had a small speaking part in it.

Approx' position of opening scene most properties now demolished.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.77648 ... 384!8i8192


Roughly where I was stood(courtesy of Leodis)

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... SPLAY=FULL

[tilly]

Famous or nearly do you do autographs.TABBYCAT He He.

[TABBYCAT]

That's MR TABBYCAT to you Sundowner!!!

[tilly]

I think it should be Sir Mr TABBYCAT its got a certain ring to it.What was the building in your photograph it looks quite majestic.

[iansmithofotley]

I watched it again and enjoyed it. I recognised Bernard Atha (ex Leeds Lord Mayor and Councillor) who is still alive (aged 92 years) and lives at Cookridge, and Dennis Huckerby (died in 1996) who was a Leeds entrepreneur and once owned the Windmill Club on North Street.

[TABBYCAT]

I think it should be Sir Mr TABBYCAT its got a certain ring to it.What was the building in your photograph it looks quite majestic.

At the time the picture was taken the main frontage was a launderette now the whole building is a Muslim educational centre of some sort I believe..

[TABBYCAT]

I watched it again and enjoyed it. I recognised Bernard Atha (ex Leeds Lord Mayor and Councillor) who is still alive (aged 92 years) and lives at Cookridge, and Dennis Huckerby (died in 1996) who was a Leeds entrepreneur and once owned the Windmill Club on North Street.

Bernard Atha was in Kes too I seem to remember.

[volvojack]

The large building shown in Beeston on the play "Leeds United" was originally the Leeds Coop in the 50s i think parts of it was a laundry. in later years it became a Mosque.
The name Atha mentioned earlier reminded me that in the 1950s there was a man who lived in a large house in Cross Flatts Grove who had a removal business. The odd thing was that he had a large cart and an equally large horse and the three of them worked mostly around the top end of Beeston. as a kid I have watched him bring the horse and cart out past the side of the house with just inches to spare.
Have not watched the Leeds United play yet but having recorded it i shall see it tonight

[TABBYCAT]

I remember the horse and van removal firm still going into the 70's and possibly the 80's.