Bah Humbug… Part VII

Christmas 20 years ago, back in 1989, was the first Yorkshire Area Christmas Dance at the Castleford Civic Centre. I don’t actually remember much about the dance other than what I can glean from the photographs, I do remember we had a bus there (well a shared coach, with Horsforth and Pudsey groups) and that the alcohol was flowing on the coach… so perhaps it’s not a surprise I don’t remember much about it. At the time I used to take lots of pictures so I could use them to work out what had gone on, and now twenty years later I’m still using the same technique to piece together what happened.

Check out the photographs to see who was there…

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Malibu Mel was there, though for this dance we re-christened her Bacofoil Mel
She wasn’t very happy about the name, but, you know, it was Christmas and at the time there was a bacofoil ad campaign on all about what else you could use bacofoil other than covering your turkey in it.
If any younger readers are looking, the shiny silver top and wearing far too much blue eyeshadow under your eyes were quite a fashionable look for the late 80’s

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Where Bacofoil Mel went, Taz was usually to be found as well
(After 20 years I’ve only just realised you can see Mel’s knickers in this shot…
doesn’t look like they were made out of Bacofoil !)

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Hubert was there on the dance floor, was this dancing ?

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Nelly the Pump was there, on the dancefloor with Hubert…
this must have been dancing

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Zippy was there, with Dave (the cardboard box)
her then boyfriend from the Horsforth group –

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Dave (the cardboard box) with Cath, so she was there
At the time Cath was Zippy’s Landlady… and Dave (the cardboard box) a regular visitor to their house. Cath was a Wharfedale member before she had Zippy as a lodger.

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Cath molesting Ibbo, so he was there

It looks like there was quite a good turnout from Waffledale at this dance, as apart from the 7 or 8 people already mentioned, I also have pictures of

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Popeye, The Nook, Roger, Thornbush, Whelan-Growler and Dicky
and it most likely would have been Gran dancing with Popeye, and on the right of the pic of Whelan-Growler and Dicky is Wendy-woo… so there were at least 16 of us in attendance.

There are a few notable absentees from the regulars at the time, Nelly, Sherry, DL, The Wadd and Cozbert, I’m thinking that at Christmas they probably had Works Christmas parties to go to (though there’s this inkling in my mind that Cozbert was supposed to be going but was ill, it’s strange but it’s the photo’s of Bacocoil Mel that form an association in my memory with Cozbert being ill)

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Cath getting up close and personal with The Fuhrer, Hubert looks on
I could recount some stories about The Fuhrer, but he wasn’t from Waffledale so his stories don’t really fit in this blog

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Bacofoil Mel and Wendy-woo in the midst of the wreckage…
… that Waffledale usually left behind them.

Actually I’m thinking that there must have been a buffet at this dance as there are serviettes and cocktail sticks on the table and a sandwich on the serviettes to the right… apart from that it’s mainly party poppers (I think I was responsible for bringing a lot of them) and raffle tickets and christmas card envelopes… one thing you may have noticed on the floor by Wendy-woo’s right foot (which is on the left in the picture) is a vodka bottle… I think I was probably responsible for that as well !
Getting drunk and making a mess at Christmas was all part of having a good time, growing up and being British

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