Document
George Borowski, Bob Dillinger, Steve Coogan, Knowing Irene, Bernie Hot Hot, David Dunne
The Screaming Beaver
1988

Absolutely clueless about this. Not quite sure they weren’t taking the mickey. Sounds like some comic routine from “The Wheeltappers and Shunters Club” or an out-take from “The League of Gentlemen”.....I dunno, maybe it was a cover for a swingers’ club...
Steve Coogan, one of Mike and Sandra’s Hot Pots and all the while the new Dire Straits “Brothers In Arms” c.d. playing in the back ground; sounds like the stuff dreams are made of.....
Used to quite like Steve Gibbons “No Spittin’ On The Bus”..a good blast of English mid 70’s R ‘N B....
I must have picked this flyer up on one of those rare days out of town to places such as Alderly Edge ,Edale over MamTor to The Blue John Mines...(still never been inside!) Styal Woods, Jodrell Bank, pub crawls round Bollington, Rainow and up over White Nancy, Oldham or Ashton Markets etc. and we always swore we would definitely do it more often but we never did. Later, when I had a car, we went on a run to “The Bongs of Lymm” and “The Bells Of Peover” just so, if anyone asked we could tell them we’d been to “The Bongs of Lymm and The Bells of Peeover” etc...they’re real (and nice) places and just thought it sounded good and poetic.... sad ,I know....
I remember we did a similar thing after we’d been in The University Union one night. A mate had just bought an old sports card and probably due to an attack of boredom and /or a sozzled haze we decided it would be a good idea to head to Paris. Well after counting our collective pfennigs, between the four of us, we realised there wasn’t enough in the kitty to cover the petrol there never mind the petrol back; (no A.T.Ms or credit cards in them days as far as I recall, (1980), only cheque books, and I seem to remember you had to have been with the bank for maybe 2 or 3 years before you were even allowed one of those! My, my how times have changed.....
Well we settled on driving to Wales in what was, in reality, a beat up old sports car, with parts of the floor removed at the front where the young lad had been working on his new pride and joy; and winged our way through the dead of night till we came to a grinding halt in some God forsaken car park on the isle of Anglesy. There we stayed for a good few hours, trying to get some kip in the freezing cold, barely venturing out to take a piss for fear of losing the little heat we had generated; and the comfort level was minus7 even for a little fella like me, never mind the 6 footer cramped up next to me, with his head hitting the roof behind the driver’s seat....Well, when eventually the dawn came (not soon enough!), we drove around the empty car park with nothing to see except broken glass, and headed back to home sweet home, stopping only to pick up the odd pint of milk off country doorsteps as we wended our way in the early morning light through the towns and villages of North Wales. Wasn’t the best night out but I can still remember it (after a fashion);.....I think Paris may have been the better option.....
Another flashback....sometimes used to head up to The Wagon And Horses on Oldham Rd., Failsworth to “score” with the self same lads. I knew the pub ‘cos my dad lived one block along from it. Anyway that was a wild pub. First time I went in there two girls kicked off in the middle of the lounge ,knocking tables, beer over etc. with full-on encouragement from the vocal and appreciative crowd. I thought “allo, allo, this is a bit different...”.The Dibble used to be parked up outside the pub but I don’t know when/ how often they raided the place. Oh happy days....
And back to the flyer; the only thing I ever really knew about Macclesfield was once doing a sponsored swim there of all places for some reason; (I got my Bronze you know....), reading Alan Garner books which were mostly located round that area (Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Elidor etc.), and later, that’s where Ian Curtis came from..Always like to pop down to The Ship Inn in Styal or The Tatton Arms near Ringway for sunny afternoon sessions when i get home....
Never know where I'm gonna go with some of these uploads; feel like I went on a bit of a road trip with this one. Hope it wasn't too bumpy a ride....