We lived in Barn Hey Road, off Westhead ave opposite the Molyneaux pub
in the Northwood area of the town. Other families I remember who lived around were:
The Blundells, Michael and Lizzie and Joey I think. Michael had stunted growth,
something we didn't realise when we were kids but as I grew up with him I didn't
seem to notice he wasn't growing nor indeed did it matter, he was a great mate.
Years later Lizzie ended up marrying another mate, Phil Alexander.
My Mate Tony (Bubble) Hennighan who lived in 19 Glegside.
Tina Hughes (Bubbles long time girlfriend) who lived opposite
Mick & Lizzie in Lifton Road
The Greens (Tommy, Alan?) who lived on the same side.
I also remember the true love of my pre-pubescent life (censored ;-), she had
a little sister who was always in the way, would never leave us alone in the front
room of their house in, an act which probably kept her sisters hymen intact for more
years than I would have liked. I remember Farrier Rd were the Knibbs, and the Smiths
(Ticky). Opposite me in Barn Hey were the Parrs (John I think was the son)
and next door was the Holcrofts, Robin and Chris I can only recall. Next
door to The Parr's in Barn Hey was the old cottage ( I has since it has
had blocks of maisonettes built in its place) we had to walk to Sacred
Heart school and the cottage grounds were a shortcut but legend had it
that the old woman who lived there was a witch and she eat kids for dinner
so we tended more often than not to walk around !
As they were constructing these maisonettes there was so much thievery
going on at the building site with building materials going 'west' every day
that the developers decided to protect their interests and bought two big giant
German Shepherd dogs to patrol, unleashed, during the nights when most of the
stuff was going missing. The morning after the dogs debut it was found that
someone had scaled the fence, stolen tons of building materials and the
dogs had done nothing, in fact the robbers had stolen the two dogs and
rumour had it that they were sold in The Peacock pub later that week.
After that the developers employed someone like Securicor to patrol
the site 24/7.
Over on Westhead Avenue along with the Contehs were the Burkes
with Kevin being the eldest of about three lads (Gerry and Francis were
the others I think), good lads they were. I remember Kevin, or KRB as he
liked to be known, used to hang around with Bugsy (Paul Burrows) who was
always in the bookies in the towny, he used to mark the board in there
and at one time I remember on school holidays marking the board myself
when Bugsy didn't turn up. Ended up I could work out (settle) bets dead
easy, but I was still crap at maths in school. .Mmmm probably a moral
there somewhere!
I was born actually in Kirkby in October of 1956 and lived there
with me dad who worked in Fisher Bendix, me mam worked in Pendletons
on the estate and then later in the Birds Eye where she stayed for years.
Both my Sister (Karen) and Brother (Barry) both worked there also at one time.
I recall my brother Barry who worked there with his mate Brian Kennedy.
I used to pick them up occasionally when I worked briefly for Kirkby Kabs (or
Kars) in Quarry Green shops. I remember one day when I went to pick them up
and both of them came toward me. I could see them on the inside of the main
gate walking towards me in my parked yellow Cortina Mk3 . As they came
closer I could see they seemed to be 'waddling' and they looked as if
they had both gained a couple of stone since I had seen them the day
before. I thought they must have been at the pies but I soon realised
they hadn't when they both jumped into the car and began removing long
strips of rib-eye steak from their waists, there seemed to be about a
back seat full and I was amazed that two guys could carry such a
weight in meat. Thinking about it it seemed everybody was 'waddling' looking back,
it looked like the mass migration of the King Penguin on Ice. Needless to
say The Birds Eye soon closed down and I am sure it was in part, (a very
small part as the Birds Eye management would prove later), due to our
kid, Brian Kenno and all the other waddling carnivores and light fingered
entrepreneurs who worked there. (Ed - surely they must have bought the
meat from the workers store or it was scraps etc)
'Beaneeeeeeooooooo'
I am getting on a bit now, 48 now and it was reading Tracy Scully's
memories (whom I remember and also her mam working in the 'offy' in the Molly).
I remember the funny little door in the corner. We all used to hang around the Molly minding
cars for a few pence. I remember that the car park always had a few cars on the weekend and
when the owners came out the would chuck up a few bob in the air and shout 'Beaneeeeeeooooooo' ,
we kids would all scramble for the money. I too remember Mr Conteh fighting outside the Molly.
I remember unfortunately an axe being involved and it being the scariest fight
I had ever witnessed outside the pub, and I had witnessed a few. The axe was
thrown onto the flat roof just to the right of the main door as you come out,
this was to avoid the police finding it who were on the scene pretty sharpish.
Mr Conteh I was told then went to live in Sierra Leone, I never saw him again.
I, like Tracey Scully, was a mate of Mick Conteh and also knew Gerard, Robert
and John, it amazed me that John was the world lightweight champion , the
Cock of the World as we used to call him and yet his Elder brother Robert
could fight him, we just couldn't work out why Robert wasn't the champion.
I remember going on the 92b with Mick to town and John was with us. He
was going to the gym, (The new Kirkby Sports Centre Westvale opposite the
Johnny Todd) training. I remember his trainer was Rusty. I once went with
him training and Rusty threw a medicine ball at my stomach..quite a few times
in fact. I never went back. John did and the rest as they say.
After John was champion and very famous, Mick could get his mits on
a few bob and he decided to do a Michael Jackson , (who he looked a bit
like with his afro) and make a record. I remember it was crap I can't
remember the name of the song but I do remember it was on the BOXA label
which I though was quite clever. Needless to say it didn't fight its way
up the charts.
Initially I went to St Kevs which as you may know had over 2000 kids (all boys)
in it. Our headmaster at time was Mr Moorcroft. Were were all in 'Houses' and mine
was called Newman who's housemaster was Mr White. I remember him as being great,
I really liked him. I was in P2. I was quite clever in those days apparently. The classes
were P1, P2, P3 P4 the 'P' stood for professor we thought, then there was A1, A2,A3
and A4 the 'A' stood for average, then X1, X2,X3,X4 which stood for eXpletive and
then there was the bottom of the pile the 'D,s' D1,D2,D3 and D4 that stood for Divvies.
There was a Mr Taylor who used to strap us and his strap was split
horizontally and sometimes it used to 'bite' your hand. One on occasion
we were strapped by Mr O'Hara the deputy head. It was film day in the
assembly hall and I think all the school was in the hall to watch the
film which was a one off treat for us. Mr O'Hara asked myself , Tony
'Bubble' Hennighan and Barry Molloy to operate the curtains on stage
and because of this we could watch the film from the wings onstage.
We were made up coz then we could have a sly smoke and watch the film
like grown ups!
Halfway through the film, in the dark we lit up, passing the ciggy around
the three of us, it was bliss, all of a sudden O'Hara was standing behind
us tugging at my ear-ole. He dragged the three of us out onto the stage
with our ciggies , stopped the projector and began to admonish us in
front of all the school. But how had he known?, had he smelt the smoke,
had someone snitched on us? Well in fact we had been caught by our own
stupidity as we puffed away the smoke was travelling from the stage,
down the shafts of moving light from the old fashioned cine projector.
I often think back and realise now that the teachers and kids must
have had a scream at that one.
After a few years in St Kevs I moved to Brookfield school in Southdene,
this was due to the fact that I had a little run in with Mr Moorehead and he
had decided to give me six of the strap of the arse, I Decided that he wasn't
and refused to let him. We were at a crossroads. I mean, what was wrong with
putting an industrial strength 5 gallon container of detergent into the swimming
pool, they guy had no sense of humour but he did have a mean way of kicking kids
out the school. I left by mutual consent.
Brookie was great,. it had girls, loads of them all over the place,
I couldn't believe my luck. First day I was waiting outside the headmaster
office with my mam, waiting to enrol and it was lunchtime. All the windows
along the whole side of the dining room had faces all pushed up to them,
all girls faces too I might add. I was in my element, at Fourteen I had
died and gone to heaven.
People I remember in Brookie (and what I think, if I know, they are doing now) were:
Margie Brighouse (Married in Kirkby),
Sylvia Farley (Living Married in Oz, two kids),
Lyn Fearnyough (Living in Canada)
Helen Russell
Gill Yates (Died of a brain tumour),
Helen Hunt
Frank Wallace
Ros Smith
Can't remember much else from those days, as they say, if you can
remember them you weren't there.
Anyway that's all I can remember for now, I'm sorry this was so
long and to most people boring, but I just couldn't stop once I got going.
If you wanna read some more tell me here ,I am sure I could go on
for a book full if someone wants to read it.
Ed: Cheers Mick, plenty of laughs and great memories there, a great piece
of writing which will no doubt inspire others to contribute. Classic memories of the
Molly Offy, the Contehs and St Kevs to name a few. We look forward to more.
More memories soon of St Kevs - and jumping the Alt and getting 'leggers'
off the 'bizzies'.
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