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Odds And Ends And Anything You Fancy

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There were of course some Commonwealth students in the University towns and cities ,but "serious" immigration only really started in 1948 with the influx from the Caribbean, the "Windrush" generation, followed by the Pakistanis and the the Asians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin. Prior to this ,unless he lived in a Seaport, or had served in the Military, the average Briton would have probably never have met a non white person.
The only other instances were when there were Coloured GIs stationed here during the war, and they were usually segregated in remote and carefully selected areas.
As for the middle class aspect, that was part of the agenda of the establishment of the day, and unreconstructed bomb sites were still commonplace in 1950.
One other thing that I wondered about - two young women shown drinking glasses of wine outside a pub in the City -
now my understanding is that (a)in most of England, unaccompanied ladies weren't even admitted, never mind served,
and (b) a glass of wine then cost a great deal more than it would now, in real terms -
it wasn't the sort of drink office girls could afford on their wages.
 
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Well inspired by some even earlier immigration


I'd love to hear these lyrics with the original vocals and arrangement, Old Norse is a wonderfully evocative language
 
One other thing that I wondered about - two young women shown drinking glasses of wine outside a pub in the City -
now my understanding is that (a)in most of England, unaccompanied ladies weren't even admitted, never mind served,
and (b) a glass of wine then cost a great deal more than it would now, in real terms -
it wasn't the sort of drink office girls could afford on their wages.
By the 1950s, in most of England, women, even if unaccompanied, were generally allowed in allowed in pubs, but only in the "Lounge" or "Snug". The "Taproom" or "Saloon Bar" was strictly for men only.
In the more fashionable and cosmopolitan parts of London, the mores were probably different.
 
One other thing that I wondered about - two young women shown drinking glasses of wine outside a pub in the City -
now my understanding is that (a)in most of England, unaccompanied ladies weren't even admitted, never mind served,
and (b) a glass of wine then cost a great deal more than it would now, in real terms -
it wasn't the sort of drink office girls could afford on their wages.
In the '50s, 'port & lemon' (lemonade, the sweet British drink, very little to do with real lemons) was a very popular drink for ladies, served in a wine glass.

Also, Martini Bianco was served in my very unsophisticated rural pub, for those who wanted to show off. I was always fascinated by its label, so 'foreign'.download (3).jpg
 
Wasn't in 1960-70, the entrance to a pub in the UK still restricted to paying 'members'? A measure taken in WWI, to restrict the drinking of alcohol, both for avoiding factory and agriculture workers and craftsmen to get drunk, as for saving corn? A measure that was only abolished decades later?
 
Wasn't in 1960-70, the entrance to a pub in the UK still restricted to paying 'members'? A measure taken in WWI, to restrict the drinking of alcohol, both for avoiding factory and agriculture workers and craftsmen to get drunk, as for saving corn? A measure that was only abolished decades later?
When I was in Ireland for the first time, in 1994, I often saw it outside of Dublin in the pub that the bell rang at 11 p.m. "Last Order".
 
Wasn't in 1960-70, the entrance to a pub in the UK still restricted to paying 'members'? A measure taken in WWI, to restrict the drinking of alcohol, both for avoiding factory and agriculture workers and craftsmen to get drunk, as for saving corn? A measure that was only abolished decades later?
Not really, you have blended several ideas.
Pubs had their hours of permitted opening severely restricted by laws for WW1, 10.00 to 14.00 and 18.00 to 22.00. But they were open to all (except children--unless the child lived there, as I did). A licence to operate a pub was very difficult to obtain, basically no new ones were issued after WW1, so newly built ones had to take over a licence of a demolished one.

To get around the law of restricted numbers, a private club was allowed to operate. Most towns had at least one, and large cities had dozens. Members paid a small annual subscription, and only they and their guests (who often had to pay an entrance fee) were allowed to buy alcohol. Clubs often had entertainment, and many celebrities started their careers in them. Very many of these clubs, especially in the north of England, themselves belonged to a 'super-club' the Club and Institute Union (CIU), and a member of one club was automatically a member of all the others.

This is the website of one such----it really does exist!!Capture.PNG
 
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Not really, you have blended several ideas.
Pubs had their hours of permitted opening severely restricted by laws for WW1, 10.00 to 14.00 and 18.00 to 22.00. But they were open to all (except children--unless the child lived there, as I did). A licence to operate a pub was very difficult to obtain, basically no new ones were issued after WW1, so newly built ones had to take over a licence of a demolished one.

To get around the law of restricted numbers, a private club was allowed to operate. Most towns had at least one, and large cities had dozens. Members paid a small annual subscription, and only they and their guests (who often had to pay an entrance fee) were allowed to buy alcohol. Clubs often had entertainment, and many celebrities started their careers in them. Very many of these clubs, especially in the north of England, themselves belonged to a 'super-club' the Club and Institute Union (CIU), and a member of one club was automatically a member of all the others.

This is the website of one such----it really does exist!!View attachment 915054
The CIU, the Clubs And Institute Union, was a Cooperative organisation which set up Clubs for working class people, mainly in Northern industrial areas and South Wales. They also had their own beer brewed for them, and very good it was too, and cheaper than in the pubs.
Being a Club, brought some benefits, including Sunday opening in Wales, which was denied to conventional pubs.
 
One other thing that I wondered about - two young women shown drinking glasses of wine outside a pub in the City -
now my understanding is that (a)in most of England, unaccompanied ladies weren't even admitted, never mind served,
and (b) a glass of wine then cost a great deal more than it would now, in real terms -
it wasn't the sort of drink office girls could afford on their wages.
OK. Let's take a look a women and their role in Britain at the end of the 50's

Produced by BBC Scotland -so you know it - ?
 
Not really, you have blended several ideas.
Pubs had their hours of permitted opening severely restricted by laws for WW1, 10.00 to 14.00 and 18.00 to 22.00. But they were open to all (except children--unless the child lived there, as I did). A licence to operate a pub was very difficult to obtain, basically no new ones were issued after WW1, so newly built ones had to take over a licence of a demolished one.

To get around the law of restricted numbers, a private club was allowed to operate. Most towns had at least one, and large cities had dozens. Members paid a small annual subscription, and only they and their guests (who often had to pay an entrance fee) were allowed to buy alcohol. Clubs often had entertainment, and many celebrities started their careers in them. Very many of these clubs, especially in the north of England, themselves belonged to a 'super-club' the Club and Institute Union (CIU), and a member of one club was automatically a member of all the others.

This is the website of one such----it really does exist!!View attachment 915054
I see, thanks for explaining.

There must have been so many private clubs/pubs, that, on the continent, the perception existed that this was the general rule, applying to all of them.
 
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