UNCLE TOMS KIDS DISCO

Due to the amount of E-Mails we have received about the "Kids Disco" here are a few memories I have managed to cobble together from different sources.

The Disco was run twice a week on Sunday afternoons and Tuesday nights. The admission charge? nobody seems to know how much was charged to get in. But I would guess it wasn't much because in those days you could watch Jimmy Ruffin for ten shillings. That's the equivalent of 50p, by God you got value for money then.

The disco was run by Jimmy Barlow who as most of you know is still involved with "The Nostalgia Revue", he also doubled as disc jockey. That wasn't a problem as Jimmy used to do a bit of DJ'ing in those days. He says that I made him run the "Kids Disco" as I was trying to get out of the way of the little darlings (I don't remember maybe that was true). Jimmy like most of us is pretty hazy on the details but remembers organising dancing competitions. Nobody seems to remember what the prizes were, but even we couldn't have done the Bucket of Beer and Pomagne. Evidently the standard of dancing was quite good with the kids. A couple of tunes that people remember from the sessions were "Simple Simon" and "A Little Piece of Leather". I can just imagine hundreds of kids doing the "put your hands on your head". Having suffered that it's a miracle Jimmy isn't still on medication.

Evidently the biggest seller on the sessions was chips,chips,and more chips. I do remember us going to the cash and carry and coming back with a car full of the things, so I guess we must have kept selling them. Another of Jimmy's memories is at the end of each session the floor would be littered with empty chocolate wrappers and used chewing gum. That would have been a job for the paint scrappers and you thought the entertainment industry was glamorous-think again.

The lovely Clare who now lives in Spain tells me she used to come to the disco's dressed in white knee length socks and a dress, evidently quite the fashion in those days. Nowadays ladies in white knee length socks would be thought of as extremely erotic, just shows you where fashion is concerned everything goes round in circles.

If you can add anything to this please E-Mail it in and I will add it on. It's good to keep the memories alive.

Kevin.