Post by Les on Nov 8, 2017 7:02:08 GMT
Maidstone I remember it well:
My recollections of the Swimming Baths were the intense smell of chlorine and, as someone said, the stinging eyes afterwards!! The male instructor was, I think, a bus driver or conductor as well as I often saw him on the buses outside of swimming, can't recall his name though.
A later recollection I have was when I was working at Chiesmans, and at Christmes all the staff seemed to get drunk, me included, and I was only about 17. Anyway one Christmas eve we had been in the 'Old House at Home' in Pudding Lane where all the permanent staff from Chiesmans went whilst the temporary staff manned he shop!! (imagine that now!!)
I was plied with too much drink and felt awful by about 3.30 pm, but was aware that I needed to get sober as it was always a big night out at The Star Ballroom on Xmas Eve, so I thought if I go to the Baths and have a shower it may sober me up...so off down Medway Street to the Baths, paid my 4d or whatever it was for a shower and towel, and into a nice shower.
However, I must have slumped to the ground in my drunken state and the next thing I recall is being absolutely frozen, laying under a cold shower!!! Obviously the water had gone cold and I had eventually woken some half hour later!! Still, it did the trick, I was now sober, and got dressed and back to work to sign off, then home to smarten up for a very good night out at The Star!!! And what a superb time we all had at The Star Ballroom.
.we used to go Fridays, Saturdays, and even Sundays later on when it opened on Sundays too. Also Monday nights were dance nights too.
It was THE place to be in the late 50s and early 60s. There was occasional 'trouble' on Saturdays when the American Air Force chaps from West Malling came to town and tried to 'pull' all our local girls, often as we left at midnight the Military Police 'redcaps' would be outside rounding up the drunken airmen!!
There was a very good sprung dance floor there, only surpassed by the sprung floor in Chiesmans 'Georgian' ballroom/Restaruant, that really was sprung well. The Star had three ballrooms too, the main one, The Kings Hall, then the Queens Hall and even the Princes Hall downstairs.
On notable occasions such as the 'Tech Arts Ball' all three ballrooms would be used for the same event...fabulous night that was!!
Anyone else remember the super nights at The Star? Later on about 1963/4 they started having guest 'disc jockeys' there and such names as David Jacobs and Alan Freeman put in appearences.
One night when Jimmy Saville was the guest I won the 'twist' contest with a girl called Pam from John Street (it made the KM newspaper with picture!!) and Jimmy took her home in his Roller much to my annoyance!!! However, some 25 years later when I was a guest at a 'Jim'll Fix It'show in London, I met up again with Jimmy, and he even remembered the occasion and remembered her name!!!