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Mick Balmer offers a tribute to ….The Student Union ‘Outdoor Activities Society (1975ish)'
This basement dwelling organisation existed to lend gear to those of us who were sufficiently un-hung-over by Friday teatime to want to spend the weekend scampering over or under the Dales.
Favourite bases were the Hill Inn (Alternate weekend discos in the barn at the back, copious quantities of Old Peculiar, threading the cartwheel spokes … did anyone ever succeed?) or the Station Inn at Ribblehead.
Careful financial planning from one's generous full grant was essential for these weekends. The budget breakdown would typically look something like.... Transport 0%: Beer etc 98%: Breakfast at Bernies 2%: Contingency 0%
Bingley College … education for life! |
On one weekend at Ribblehead I remember one of our ‘underground leaders' (ie someone who'd been caving once more than us) deciding that it would be a good idea to streak through the large communal tents of a party of Girl Guides who happened to be sharing the ‘campsite'.
However his excellent jape backfired somewhat as it was later reported that the girls thought that a novelty game of ‘hunt the thimble' had been organised for their benefit. This was also, I think, the same guy who smiled sweetly before abandoning half a dozen of us carbide lamp and Damart equipped novices down Lower Long Churn to find our own way out to daylight.
You know who you are you b***ard… thanks … it was brilliant! Once confident enough to explore the Dales ‘unsupervised' I recall my mate Jerry and me setting off one spring weekend to recce a cave site to ‘live in' for phase 3.
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Armed with a 14lb ‘ Sombrero ' tent and a ton and a half of Primus stove, billies, fuel etc we set off to Kettlewell with only a vague notion of what to look for.
A heavy frost on the first night converted the two man tent into something that felt more like a marquee. It could stand up without the poles and had to be jumped on to fold it up.
We found no suitable sites, hardly surprising as we spent most of our time ‘looking' in the King's Head and the Bluebell.
Then we stumbled into a time warp at the Falcon at Arncliffe, beer served from an enamel jug on a pumpless bar, but we did lubricate the thinking tackle enough to decide that Wally Keay could find somewhere for us instead.
What a place it was….Heights cave between Threshfield and Malham … May 1975 and in a 12 hour stretch we suffered both sunstroke and frostbite!! We lasted 3 days/2nights then gave up.
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Neil Grant remembers the student strike during the summer of 69
For me one of the highlights, among many, was the two week Strike in the summer of 1969. There was a "teach in" for over a week during which time many of us felt we learned more than we did in our entire course....and great fun. The strike came about because of objections to the way in which the college disciplined a couple of students. The full details were recorded in a special issue of Bingley Now, the magazine of the day. |
That Summer a few of us worked as bus conductors on West Yorkshire, based in Keighley. It's difficult to imagine but, even thirty years ago, it was possible, at 4.50 am in Bingley High St, to hear the staff bus driving along the valley from Keighley as it passed through Cross Flatts to collect crews for the first buses out of the depot. Those silences have long gone...even within 5 years. Anyway, £20 a week wages long way in those days, even if the hours of bus conductoring - double and split shifts - left us ill prepared for the Autumn teaching practice which followed. |
The Drama Studio, which opened in about 1968, under the guidance of the late John Carberry saw many fine productions - the Work House Donkey, Wesker |Trilogy, The Caretaker etc etc. and many a devised production.
John was a lovely guy, who engaged many of us in drama for the first time and the drama studio and the activity surrounding it played a central part in the social life of the time.
The plays were always packed out, as was the bar when they finished. Ian Bleasdale, now Josh in Casualty, cut his teeth in the studio, effortlessly revealing his talents en route. |
