The Hallucinating Goose Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 9 minutes ago, Wolford6 said: Ebbw Vale is a lovely former steelworks town, shafted by Thacher. Then the rugby team was shafted by the Newport Dragons. It's got possibly the best hospital in Wales and there are active plans to build a motor racing track there. When I was 15, I played soccer for a year for my village's youth team. Ebbw Vale Steelworks had a team in the Welsh Youth league but entered a reserve team (they had over 50 apprentices every year) in our league. We played them before Christmas and lost 14-1 ... we were the first team to score against them. Much later in the season, I'd been long-dropped and was having a kickabout with my mates in our street when my team came calling for me ... I was told that there had been a few cry-offs and, by the way, we're playing Ebbw Vale. The pitch was bone hard and rutted so passing and bounce were unpredictable. I was told to keep running up the wing and chase after any balls cleared from our defence as this would make sure the opposition would always keep someone in defence. They might not realise that I actually had little speed and no talent. We defended desperately all game; Ebbw Vale hit the post, hit the bar and had a penalty saved. We had one chance and scored. It ended a 1-1 draw and we mobbed each other. I'm fairly sure that I didn't actually touch the ball once in the game. I know I had blisters on my feet after it. How are the plans for the Circuit of Wales coming along? I know it was proposed about 10 years ago but haven't heard overly much about it for quite a while. I just assumed the plans had been scrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 minute ago, The Hallucinating Goose said: How are the plans for the Circuit of Wales coming along? I know it was proposed about 10 years ago but haven't heard overly much about it for quite a while. I just assumed the plans had been scrapped. The original £400m plans are scrapped; a lower-standard £150m one is planned with potential to expand to F1-grade if desired. The intention is to make it a test-bed and motoring research hub with lower-grade racing on the track. Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hallucinating Goose Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 21 minutes ago, Wolford6 said: The original £400m plans are scrapped; a lower-standard £150m one is planned with potential to expand to F1-grade if desired. The intention is to make it a test-bed and motoring research hub with lower-grade racing on the track. Decent! Will have to visit for the touring cars and have a weekend in the area. Been around Brecon as I said and done a lot of walking in the area. Good to see a town coming up with such a different and innovative idea to regenerate itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Ackroman said: I had the pleasure of a year living in Palace Fields while working for ICI in Widnes. However it was 30 years ago! Driving through Runcorn today is still dull and soul-less as the town's roads were designed to help you avoid the place. The new bridge helps avoid Widnes as well. It's like the planners are trying to tell us something. Thirty years ago, we would occasionally go to the Tricorn in Palacefields. Don't think I ever went there without seeing a punch-up or chairs or pint glasses being chucked. Since then, though, the worst estates (e.g. Southgate) have gone, the new estates wouldn't look out of place on the edge of most towns in the country, and Spike Island (on the Widnes bank), Wigg Island (on the Runcorn bank) and all along the Mersey estuary have been done up beautifully. I think dull and soul-less is definitely a step-up from dangerous and depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ullman Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 3 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said: Ebbw Vale. Was on a coach once going to Brecon and it was getting dark as we were approaching Ebbw Vale and the driver stopped and turned round in his seat and asked, "is anyone getting off in Ebbw Vale?" no one said they were so the driver said, "I'll avoid it then and take the bypass". Great advert for a town, the buses want to avoid it at night! Me and my mrs were on the train from Hull to Doncaster a couple of years back. As we crossed the Ouse the conductor announced "Ladies and gentlemen we are approaching Goole, yes I'm afraid we do have to stop there". "I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 I like driving past Goole and seeing the ships so far inland. Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 On 26/06/2020 at 12:42, Shadow said: I was there one about 15 years ago, two of us were overnighting not far from there on a Saturday prior to running the Great North Run on the Sunday but our hotel had a Geordie wedding booked so the restaurant was shut to us. We looked in the road atlas and headed to the nearest town for a meal, not knowing that fine dining and consett are not words that go together. All we could find was a pizza takeaway that consisted of a window heavily armoured with mire mesh and a pizza box sized slot we were invited to put our money in and take our pizza out of. Feeling horribly southern we beat a hasty retreat and found a Bella pasta in Gateshead. Consett was so unpleasant it wasn't funny. I have never before or since been to a place in the UK that I felt such genuine pity for anyone that circumstances meant there was no where else to live. Clearly if you had to live there all other options were closed. Edit The Geordie wedding however was fantastic, lager flowed like er well Lager and at 1am I was woken up by a fight in the car park between two of the bridesmaids. Apparently one of the bridesmaids had been intimate with the other bridesmaid's betrothed in a manner that was, shall we say one sided and gustatory. The first bridesmaid either witnessed or was informed of this event and proceeded to question her colleague as to her reasoning. If I recall it went a little like this: "WHY THE #### DID YE GIVE MY WAYNE A BLER JOB YER ####### SLOOT?" "I DIVVENT KNAAH E WUZ YER WAYNE DID AH? E ASKED FER A BLER AND SO I GIVE IM AND E SAID IT WERE GREET. BEST ES EVVAH HAD" "YER ####### COW LIKE" <SLAP SLAP SLAPPITY SLAP, SCUFFLE SLAP"#####" "WHOOER"> (sudden louder voice) YOU TWO. ####### STOP THAT RIGHT NOW. YER ROOININ CHARDONNAY'S WEDDIN" And with that it was pretty much all over. (Useful point filed away, just ask and it shall be given) I worked for a company based in Craghead, just down the road from Consett in the 70's used to visit quite a bit. It was a fairly thriving town in those days. Then along came Thatcher who shat all over it. “Few thought him even a starter.There were many who thought themselves smarter. But he ended PM, CH and OM. An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.” Clement Attlee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Two of the biggest shocks of my driving life have been: - turning a corner on Trafford Park and seeing a train coming towards me - turning a corner in Grimsby and seeing a ship next to me. Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Walsall's pretty depressing. Willenhall next door is even more depressing. Dewsbury is a bit of a dump. Lived there for 6 1/2 years. There isn't a decent restaurant in the town centre. The all you can eat Asian buffet closed. There's a pretty good Asian supermarket - Mullaco - though.Even the Wetherspoons closed. “Few thought him even a starter.There were many who thought themselves smarter. But he ended PM, CH and OM. An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.” Clement Attlee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolford6 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Twenty odd years ago, Dewsbury used to have the best market in Yorkshire. I used to book any appointments in that neck of the woods for Wednesdays. Hopefully, Johnny will let us know how good it is these days. Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ullman Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 21 minutes ago, Wolford6 said: I like driving past Goole and seeing the ships so far inland. One thing I like about Goole is that the the docks are still in the heart of the town. In larger ports they've all moved further out of town to bigger and deeper facilities so you don't get to watch the shipping movements. As a kid I used to love walking under the bows of ships almost on the pavement poking out of Princes Dock smack in the centre of Hull. "I'm from a fishing family. Trawlermen are like pirates with biscuits." - Lucy Beaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, Wolford6 said: Twenty odd years ago, Dewsbury used to have the best market in Yorkshire. I used to book any appointments in that neck of the woods for Wednesdays. Hopefully, Johnny will let us know how good it is these days. I've always rated donny as the best market in Yorkshire. Way way back when..... barnsley used to be brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky 7 Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Trojan said: Walsall's pretty depressing. Willenhall next door is even more depressing. Dewsbury is a bit of a dump. Lived there for 6 1/2 years. There isn't a decent restaurant in the town centre. The all you can eat Asian buffet closed. There's a pretty good Asian supermarket - Mullaco - though.Even the Wetherspoons closed. That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 minute ago, lucky 7 said: That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed Close them all for me mate.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedfordshire Bronco Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 6 minutes ago, lucky 7 said: That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed Didn't someone mention McDonald's in Dewsbury closed down? Again, unheard of I like the the Victoria buildings in Dewsbury but not much else from the odd time I have been Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 16 minutes ago, lucky 7 said: That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed The one down the road from me closed years ago. Mind you, so did all the other pubs in the area. But the 'Spoons was a massively over-ambitious project for the neighbourhood, using the premises of an old Woolworth's over two floors. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hallucinating Goose Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 57 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said: Didn't someone mention McDonald's in Dewsbury closed down? Again, unheard of I like the the Victoria buildings in Dewsbury but not much else from the odd time I have been McDonald's closed down in Bridlington quite a few years back. I said at the time that McDonald's leaving somewhere really is a sign that somewhere is dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 McDonalds in Haverhill (Suffolk) closed down a few years ago. The town has pretty much doubled in size since then (30 000+ people) and KFC, Subway, Greggs, Dominoes and numerous other similar chains have opened up places. I s'pose the franchise owner just didn't do a very good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSoutherner Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, lucky 7 said: That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed 2 of the 4 in Reading shut - 1 (Monks Retreat town centre) became a stonegate pubs pub, the other (Baron Cadogan) has been sold on open market and was only just reopening pre lcokdown (that one is in posh caversham over the bridge) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackroman Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 6 hours ago, JonM said: Thirty years ago, we would occasionally go to the Tricorn in Palacefields. Don't think I ever went there without seeing a punch-up or chairs or pint glasses being chucked. Since then, though, the worst estates (e.g. Southgate) have gone, the new estates wouldn't look out of place on the edge of most towns in the country, and Spike Island (on the Widnes bank), Wigg Island (on the Runcorn bank) and all along the Mersey estuary have been done up beautifully. I think dull and soul-less is definitely a step-up from dangerous and depressing. Spike Island was right next door to where I worked. We could stand at the top of the gantry of the chemical plant and there would be regular "liasons" going on in the bushes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackroman Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 1 hour ago, lucky 7 said: That must be bad if a Wetherspoons closed. That's the first time I've heard of a Wetherspoons closings,but i suspect now now some posters will post a list on them that have closed I believe 'spoons in Dewsbury is shut for a refit. Plenty of nice areas on the outskirts of the Borough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 9 hours ago, Robin Evans said: Close them all for me mate.... I like the Wetherspoons Robin, they are affordable, safe and allow families and children. It is also very good value with refill tea and coffee. What I disagree with is people who have money complaining about them. They can afford to go elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 13 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said: McDonald's closed down in Bridlington quite a few years back. I said at the time that McDonald's leaving somewhere really is a sign that somewhere is dying. It closed in Chesham the week before we moved there. Which did say a lot about the place. Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckn Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 3 posts removed, please don't bring politics into this. "When in deadly danger, when beset by doubt; run in little circles, wave your arms and shout" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Evans Posted June 29, 2020 Author Share Posted June 29, 2020 8 hours ago, Niels said: I like the Wetherspoons Robin, they are affordable, safe and allow families and children. It is also very good value with refill tea and coffee. What I disagree with is people who have money complaining about them. They can afford to go elsewhere. I dislike them Neils.... i haven't been in one I've enjoyed and the owner I find vile.... loathsome even. So keeping away from spoons is a fairly easy decision. CKN... thats not necessarily a political point.... i just dislike him across a whole range of reasons. Im a nurse. I live in rawmarsh Rovrum. Make your own assessment as to where I sit on the Sunday Times rich list..... and I certainly would not under any circumstances take my kids into the spoons at wath or Mexborough. Not a cat in (sounds like bells but starts with H) chance!! I genuinely prefer to use smaller pubs/taps etc. My local tap makes free tea or coffee for the driver!! Yes... im a grumpy b'stard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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