h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hi
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when i was about 15 or 16, i was mates with a lad, who,s father was a back stage hand at the alambra theatre at bradford, yorkshire.
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some nights when the actors and comediens like jimmy clitheroe, ken dodd and loads i cant remember where appearing, me and my mate would meet some of them.
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i also met groups, like the beatlles, dave clark five, and others ive long forgotten. i was a soptlight operator at the brdaford icerink in about 1964-65, and a speeed skater. i also rubbed shoulders with the skating stars of the time.
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some would meet with me and the lad on the other spot, before we started to settup what lights and clours they wanted to songs, and the skaters sometimes wanted a bright c0lour or light one. and we had to arrange beforehand for the set.
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when i got to meet the beatles they where just becoming famous
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dont ask me why, but i never got any autographs, just think they would be worth a fortune now.
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jim

two days no reply,oh dear,must be to boring jim

Not all, Jim! We think it's very interesting, the folk you've met. Dave Clark was in the London Metro paper yesterday, I think:
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?Beatles_rival_on_sex,_drugs,_rock%92n%92roll&in_article_id=354458&in_page_id=11

hi just me having a bad day lol
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when i met the alan price set as weel, i think the song at the time was, hi lily hi lo. and they wanted to sing the beatles, yellow submarine, with something special, so me or the lad with me on the spot, came up with a cutout sub on a plain frame, we dropped in when they sang the chorus on the sub intro.
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i cant remember who she was, but it would be in the mid sixties, but there was a special ice dance on, and the pots just had to follow them, mine just as she was about to be thrown out by her partner, jammed, and she was in the full glare of the spot, they where arch type, so she was blinded, and hit the ice hard.
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i went to she her and apoligised,all i remember was she had a foriegn acsent. (sorry about the spelling.
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next time im at the library i,ll see if there is anything on the t and a papers of the time, jim

Great stuff, Jim

when i lived in leicester, i worked at the bss(british steam specialists) and most mornings on the way from my digs for work i would go in a cafe for breakfast
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one morning there was a group of lads, i was sat near them on about the gig they had that weekend, and would this be the star for them, i just said hope it works out, and they went off
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i said the mario the owner, any idea who they are, he said just another band thats going to be dissapointed.
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a few months later they where on top of the pops, as"showwadiwdi"
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i missed out again lol, jim

sometime before i joined the army in 1966, i worked on the lump, as we called it, for a second hand dealer, jimmy woodrow in bradford, i would look at any electrical things and he took my word if worth buying.
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he introduced me to one of his mates. tommy wheelen, he had an amature wrestling circute, and wanted me to do the tanyo stuff for the nights.
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one night, tommy said, tonight is off, so im taking you to the st georges for a night of local wrestling. on the bill was les kellett, bad bobby barns, dennison and others, i watch it, and after tommy took me and the other lads that put up the ring for tommy to meet them all,
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what im writing you might think, nay couldnt know so many, but anyone thats knows me i am 100%.
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when i was about 4 or 4, a lad on the estate in lancashire(nr hadock races) his father was the signalman on the entry to the course for the train, and sometimes we went into the coures, because as the trian slowed down to enter the course, we would get on the last carraige, and when in we would sit in a booth out of the way, mant a jockey of the day would come to say hi, to me it was a man in shinney clothes. but without knowing it, i had,had ice cream, chos, and pop bought for me by some of the famous jockeys of the time. someone once said i should write a book, but my memeory is to far gone, was les piggott around then lol jim

This is fascinating stuff Jim. We really enjoy reading it. What an interesting life you've got! And there doesn't seem to be much wrong with your memory

i,ll write this while i can still remember lol
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at the time i was at leicester, in the days i worked at the bss, but in the dinnertime and some nights, i worked as a pot collector in a workingmans club next door, my digs where about 200 yds away from both.
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the club was on fleet street, name eludes me, it had a ,carabean bar, imatation palmtrees lol
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what made this club special, was, when the other wmc, had to chose the acts for the year all the audtions had to be at this club.
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so i met some that where not even famous at the time, when i took drinks to the d rooms, and collected the glass.
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names like smokey, black lace, and the barron knight.
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some of the comediens, sorry no names come to mind, would have do the clubs, i was there for three years till i moved on the sheffild. jim

sorry but this is one of the ones i cant remember where.
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in the early sixties my uncle jack(who lived with me, mum two sister, and one of my sisters, daughter.) had two jobs, one daily on the door at the bradford uni, and on special occasians.
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also a night job as a usher at the gaumont cinema, also had a stage for groups and so on, the beatles came one night, if my memeory serves me well.
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at either the uni or gaumont, shirley bassey was there one night, and i was with uncle jack, as sometimes he took me a few places. i remember meeting her, but which, for the life of me its gone.
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i should explain, when i was in the army, in training, we had a major exercise, and i was the front man, not by choice.
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midnight, layed in a field in strensall, all alone, with a bren, with blanks.
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the oposition, another unit was to kidnap me, as i was supposed to have the info. didnt go to plan, they came from the side, pitch black,i pulled the trigger, and, nothing, so go throught the procedure, and then lights out, i was hit on the head with a rifle butt, dragged away, i just had time to fire a few blanks to start the fiasco, i was in and out of con, for ages, and as a result i have found in later years parts of my memeory have gone, i cant even remember anything about my second school.
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in a few weeks i was back quaded, and then mother took very ill and in the midle of 1966, i left the army, and couldnt return, as by the time mother got well enough, half the army units had disbanded, and school leaves is all they wanted, so end of 1966, i eventually left home to manchester the rest is as they say, history. lol jim

some of the mistakes are because im using a remote k/board, on the good old digibox, but not recomended,the k/board i mean lol
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about 60 keys, tv and k/board, like nagotiating a minefield lol
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jim

Don't worry about that!

minds blank getting tired at this time of night,
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if you want boring lol
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take a look at the thread, it was a jerno started years ago by, smurffles, a lady i knew in the 80,s when i was on the cb radio, and had my own cb club, the blackbull, in bradford for about 3 years lol
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i digress, the thred" memeory lane" a lot of my past is on there,living in a house with now electric, just gas, didnt see a tv till i was about 14, jim

im going to the library later today, so i,ll look in the papers for 1964-65 and 66, and see if i can see the special icedancing night that the icerink did, and see if i can find the one i nearly blinded back then. lol jim

hi
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for some reason there was no records, clips and photos at the lib or the local t and a offices before the mecca change over about 1976.but there are papers, to the years 64 and 65 on rolls, so i might find the info in them.
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writing this as given me an idea,
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im going to see what jockeys would have been around that was or became famous when i would hav e been in the haydock course.
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who i would have rubbed shoulders with over the weekends at the alambra at the time,some like ken dodd i did acually met, i remeber he gave me a ticling stick, and sogned autograph for my mother, which i think eneded up with my sister intaed.
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if i can get the info together i will do a guide, and maybe see about putting it in the post later. being 61, and a man of leisure(semi-disabled) i cant do anything i want,when i want, jim

Well Jim, whatever you do, and in your own good time, we'd be very happy indeed to read an Entry on this and maybe get it in to the Edited Guide should you ever write it up and submit it to Peer Review. All the best of luck with it.

hi
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there is to many gaps to go edited, but now i can do something i wanted to, but never did.
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find out who the dancer was, what standing she had, if she was or went onto be a famous icedancer, if the incident caused any last problem. in the 60,s it was just a job, now to me its another thing to research.
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never know she could have been a world famous skater, or at least for her country. lol jim

hi
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i have peiced together the way the icerink was now
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it opened on the 5th of jan 1966, i was going in the army on the 17th,so it was the 23rd of dec 1966,i was asked to take over the arc spot. froom the specila gala on the 25th and 31st dec
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then the first anniversary of the icerink in 1967.
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i was the sopt operator till around,about 20th april 1967, i had to stop, as i got a good day job.
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the papers are not in full pages went missing, and where not able to be added to the archive rolls,
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most groups where just local, one that stood out was.
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31st march, the swinging blue jeans.
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and the nightmare was on the 6th april, yorkshire evening post contests, with professionals as well, including.
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micheal williams, regning champion,helen leamam and enid anderson nsa silver medallists,
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and the pair i nearly blinded lol
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rafe and elinor caldicott,ex-south african pair champions jim

in the 4 months i was there, the one i mention is the only major one they had with professionals.
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if you want to see the clips of this and a few others i copied,i have them on a floppy, the library pc was down, so i havent been able to transfer to the emails yet.
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if you do, send an email to my blueyonder email, its on my p space.
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i also was able to find a book, with the 1950,s winning jockeys in, from the ones i saw back in the haydock race course, so had to be the ones i met, without knowing. jim

hi
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you will find 4 on the flickr,(on my ps) one(three in one) as failed to go on the floppy, so will have to redo this week at the library jim