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Hysterical Productions #16

HYSTERICAL PRODUCTIONS: By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets and they were still going strong.  Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second king now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had got a catering firm in to do it all.  Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII I am’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead.  But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by...

WHODUNIT IN THE LIBRARY? #25

...n a local bar that the landlord rang for an ambulance and I was whisked off to hospital with suspected appendicitis.  After a full examination I was told there was nothing wrong but that it was probably my nerves affecting me.  After a visit to my GP he prescribed Valium tablets (now known as Diazepam) which was a drug to relax you when you felt under stress.  Both my parents were already on this medication and we would often borrow each other’s tablets if one of us ran out!   I now realise what a ridiculous situation this was – Valium was a powerful drug to be taken for 2-3 months  but back in the 70s I was freely given it (aged 17) and was not monito...

RACE TRACK ‘AFTER PARTIES’ #27

...ks at the bar, Kev asked how much they were and was told in no uncertain terms that if we were real VIPs, we would know that it was all free!  My dad revelled in these events as there was always lots of free food and drink and he usually managed to help himself to one or two bottles of champagne which were squirrelled away in the car, “for when you get married Viv” he would tell me.  He had a whole rack of them in his bedroom all ready for my wedding!  To get to this event we had all squeezed ourselves into my dad’s Lotus Elite, which he had recently bought as a way of cheering himself up, and it did suit the occasion nicely! These racing events alway...

See You In Court! #28

...to make a barricade then used fire extinguishers and soda syphons to squirt water and throw beer at each other until one side ‘won’.  As you can imagine, the mess was horrendous; water was everywhere!  Every week the cleaner resigned and they would have to find another one.  What a place! But all this jollity didn’t put off the inevitable day in court.   Birmingham Crown Court was where we all met to finally sort out this miserable mess that my parents had got themselves into.   On the one side was my dad with his solicitor and barrister plus Kev and I for moral support.   On the other side was my mum with her solicitor and barrister and one or t...

Here comes the bride (Part 1) #30

...HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Part 1)   Our wedding preparations were going quite well.  As we knew lots of musicians it wasn’t hard to find a local band and a DJ to do the disco.  A friend of my dad’s offered to do the catering and the bar was set up with plenty of kegs from the local brewery in Burton on Trent.  I had two bridesmaids and we all went to Birmingham one day to choose our dresses and shoes – it was all kept very simple really as I had no help or advice from my mum as most brides do.   Kev’s parents had eloped after the war and got married in a register office with two witnesses dragged off the street, so they had no idea what you did to pla...

Here comes the bride (Part 2)

...drank the bar dry.  My dad brought down the promised bottles of champagne that he had been saving for all those years and put them on our table.  After a while he noticed that everyone was happily drinking the cheaper pomagne, which we had bought for the toast, so he took all the bottles back upstairs to his room!  We didn’t even get one for ourselves! Later on we had the speeches and, as I said, our best man was in the entertainment industry and did a magic act.  As he did his speech, he incorporated some of his tricks into the talk and guests were treated to bunches of flowers being pulled from his sleeve and strings of hankies appearing from nowhere. ...