KBGS Old Boys' Forum

A place to discuss Keighley Boys' Grammar School. 


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Re: Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Keighley Hippodrome was a real peice of Victoriana and like Brian I well remember going to Christmas pantos there. Like most of the centre of town it was pulled down in the 60s to be replaced by a row of mediocre shops and a multi-story car park. Syncopating Sandy - why on earth choose KEIGHLEY of all places to stage a world-record piano marathon!? His bodily needs were catered for by a discreet drawing of the curtains. I still remember the sound of the comode being brought on to the stage, though not the sound of Sandy performing his lavatorial feats. That was carefully disguised. He twiddled on the keyboard while he widdled on the comode. Bus drivers and conductors got in free. The rest had to pay 6d. Keighley Amateurs used it for their annual musical (the Hippodrome, not the comode) and were forced to gravitate to the Ritz Cinema when the Hippodrome closed.

Keighley was probably alway a bit naff. It's just that when you've always lived there you haven't much to compare it with. But I was alway glad I didn't come from Bingley, and as for Burnley, Colne and the rest ....!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) gwalker@diocant.org

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

What about Cobbydale, Geoff?

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

It's alright for Paul and Trevor to rabbit (a typical Australian nuisance) on about the Keighley they left behind - but Paul was from Cowling. And he returns as frquently as he can to taste decent English beer. I have an abiding recollection of supping (because that's what you do if you come from Lawkholme)a pint of Toohys in Cairns which was so cold it froze my gums, gave me a pain in the forehead and, when it hit my guts, gave me the wotsits. So.lads, you've got cold beer, clear skies and sunkist beaches - but what do you really miss that isn't crap?

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

We expat's seem to have hit a raw nerve!
It wasn't my intention to 'rubbish' Keighley as if I was gloating but from my present perspective it is a dark, foreboding town - I can only tell it as I see it? By the way, rabbits are NOT an Australian nuisance they're an imported English nuisance. They were introduced at Barwon Downs, only a few kilometres from Geelong and spread rapidly as they had no natural enemies - they continue to cause $millions of damage.
I agree about the cold beer, it had that effect on me first time I tried it but on a 30 degree summer day there ain't a better way to quench the thirst. You were game drinking it by the pint too!

OK, what do I miss? The Dales pubs for a start, there simply isn't anything to compare here, and in fact the Dales themselves - as they say, God's Own Country! And yes, to a degree I do miss the range of tastes & textures of English ales/beers. I miss the lollies (ooops, they're called sweets there), Rileys Chocolate Toffee Rolls, Walnut Whips, Poor Bens etc etc.
I sorely miss Rugby Union, I live in the Aussie Rules State of Victoria ( a bloody silly game if ever I saw one) and so I see very little of the great game - unless the Wallabies are playing. And yes, I still support England and the Lions. I cop quite a lot of flack from Aussies too - despite being here for 38 years I'm still not considered 'one of them'.
I miss the snow and atmosphere of a Yorkshire Xmas despite living on the glorious Surf Coast.
I miss Midgley's steak puddings that I used to have most lunchtimes when I was at KBGS.
So, what don't I miss - the cold, wet, grey winters - the aggro, the lack of opportunity, the class system - to name some.
So - I'm sorry some seem to have taken offence at my comments. As you can see, Yorkshire has a lot to offer and I do extol its virtues to Oz travellers at every opportunity.

Cheers
TP

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) tpdesign@primus.com.au

Current location (optional) www.studiofour.com.au

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Thanks Trevor for the exploration of cultural nuances between the motherland and her offspring. I do notice that the state of South Australia is very keen to kickstart new immigration from the UK by lowering the visa points required. So Aussie must have had enough immigration from Vietnam, Eastern Europe and India.

A second point is why have'nt the imported foxes kept the rabbits in check. The foxes appeared to have decimated other indigenous fauna in the country.


Finally, Aussies have always been quick to dish out the criticism but can be very prickly when assailed with disparagements themselves. Incidentally Australia has highest rate of personal assaults per 10,000 of population in the world according to the Economist Book of World facts.


Apart from that it is a wonderful country.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Oh dear Ian - I don't know why I'm even going to reply to your last pitiful entry, but I'll try.
I don't know why the foxes haven't killed the rabbits, but your own answer sounds as good as any I could come up with - there's so much available wildlife here which is obviously easier to catch - who knows?
Why the cynical remarks about European immigration? You should know about that more than I do.
I agree with you in regard to Aussies having thin skins - there is no one more vocal than myself in denouncing Aussies, particularly in the sporting arena. I've lost count of the times I've said 'there's only one thing worse than a bad loser, and that's a bad winner, and Aussies are bloody bad winners'. And I've said that when I've been the only 'pom' in the room. Believe it or not I defend England to the hilt when I get hit by the same negative, sarcastic comments about her that you are implying about Oz.
I can't argue with the Economist Book of World Facts, goodness me! I only tell it as I experience it.
I was requested by another correspondant to say what, if anything, I missed about Keighley/Yorkshire and I sent an honest reply. I think both countries have a lot to offer, but in different ways - that's obvious if you bother to read my reply carefully. If you believe I was being offensive I can assure you it wasn't intended. Can we now leave out the snide remarks and get back to enjoying memories from times past at KBGS?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) tpdesign@primus.com.au

Current location (optional) www.studiofour.com.au

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Thanks Trevor. Did not wish to appear churlish. In fact, I have a brother who has lived in sunny Adelaide for 35 years. Both up in the hills and on the beach areas. Been there myself and enjoyed it enormously. My brother likes to come back to Airedale and Europe from time to time but enjoys the freedom both environmentally and politically Australia affords him. He has met many leading politicians in Oz, something unlikely in England. Like most Aussies he is very keen on Bali too. As you say no class system, but money talks in Oz. All places have their good and bad qualities. And what the hell Keighley can't be all bad -- judging by the thousands of eager Pakistanis who have flooded in legally and illegally to live in post-industrial Keighley. Incidentally, mine's a 'midi of New', that's Sydney side, of course.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

I find elements of Ian Atkinson's November 11 postings offensive. They serve as a reminder of the more unpleasant aspects of the English psyche. This was a good humoured, nostalgic thread until he unnecessarily alluded to minorities and stereotypes.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) pedwards@nex.net.au

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

This whole thread's lost the plot anyway, and has got bugger-all to do with KBGS. If we can't enjoy SHARED reminiscences, we might as well pack it in!

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

I hope the war memorial is still standing.I expect there'll be a few wreaths round it this weekend.Te fall of the Keighley empire began with the disappearance of the sports shop at the top of Cavendish street..er...what's the name.Keighley, drab though it may be, has the advantage of being an access to some wonderful countryside and places of historical interest. Bronte land,tarn land,Bolton Abbey land, the Dales, and of course, the look-out tower overlooking Cowling(?), the original inspiration for All Along the Watchtower.Dylan hung around the hills with Joan circa 65.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Wiilis Walker's I seem to recall.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

If it is Willis Walkers you're refering to it is still in existance. Willis Walker himself, who played cricket for Nottinghamshire, died some time ago. His son Peter who ran the shop for many years died a couple or three years ago.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) d.r.boddy@btinternet.com

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

oh.I thought it had gone, the last time I was in Keighley. They did a great reversible rugby shirt!

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Alan, Is that really true about the Watchtower - or are you having a lend?
tp

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) tpdesign@primus.com.au

Current location (optional) www.studiofour.com.au

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

There was another sports shop which disappeared years ago.I seem to remember that it was called Bruce Johnstones and was on the corner of Cooke Lane.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

I remember Bruce Johnstone's as the place you went for your mixed packets of stamps for the philately collection. There was a time long ago (which he'll probably not remember!) when me and A Britten used to go there regularly for a packet of mixed triangulars! So don't tell me we didn't know how to live it up in those days!

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Trevor : if you know the watchtower I refer to, and have climbed up the spiral staircase ( Angelina reference by the way)and looked out over the valley with a howling wind reddening the cheeks, and imagine ten thousand riders approaching, it's easy to see without looking too far how Dylan found his inspiration for the song at that precise landmark. At the time he was taking a break in between concerts in the north country. As for the stamps, I take your word on that one Allan, though it was probably a fad lasting a month at the most.Triangular ones indeed.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

"Dylan hung around the hills with Joan (C'65)", Alan?
I thought that was supposed to be Sam Riley with Molly Sugden - or have I lost the thread somewhere?

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

So it was Sam Riley who wrote Positively 4th Street,and sweet Molly who sang of him. After all this time..........I've been deceived the past 30 years.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

I used to think Keighley was a great town when I was a kid. When I married I moved to Bingley (because I ran for Bingley Harriers and it was nearer to training partners) and think that also was a nice place. I now live in Derby and everyone runs it down compared to Nottingham. As for Keighley, I think it started going downhill when it was absorbed by Bradford Metropolitan Council. Any money went to the majoirty who were all old City of Bradford councillors.

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Alan is right to draw attention to the local genesis of some of Dylan's finest. It is sad that his producers and agents made him americanise some of his lines before recording so
"Foundry workers drink me beer and owd fowk dig me earth,
That's the kind o' thing yer'll see down by't River Worth"
was lost.
They also made him change the title of "T' King's Head Approximately" and his tribute to the changing rooms at KRLFC, "The Teams They Are A-Changin'", was completely re-written.

But back to Keighley. It isn't Bradford councillors or immigrant communities or planners that caused the decline. Keighley has outlived its' economic purpose and the best profits are to be made elsewhere, so its' people suffer the consequences.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) sjspye@hotmail.com

Re: Keighley appears to be crap

Oops - I forgot.

I am sure that nobody has missed the significance of Hey "Joe".

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) sjspye@hotmail.com