The Estate - Bevendean History Project
Brighton Sheet Metal Company at Bevendean continued 3
The Brighton Sheet Metal Social Club
During the
1960’s the social side of the company were really the Christmas
dances at the Arnold House in Hove, which were quite well attended but
were quite low key. There were one or two other larger functions, one
being at the Old ship Hotel and another at a venue opposite the
Aquarium. At this event the beer and alcohol was free and many took too
much advantage, and it was never repeated. There were lots of people
very drunk lying about, which was a great shame.
It was also a regular event at Christmas for the charge hands and staff to be taken for a meal at the Queen Anne pub at the bottom of West Street, where they were joined by the directors of the company. That was more of a pleasant arrangement. This continued for quite a number of years. It was also a company policy to celebrate long service with a lunch at the Metropole, the Grand or a restaurant of the employees choice. This policy also applied to those long service people who were retiring. Long service was working for the company for 25 years non-stop.
In a about 1977 the company decided to set up a Social Club responsible for organising events for employees of the company and in some case their spouses. The company contributed a sum to set up the scheme and events often required some subscription but were also supported by the company.
The most popular events were the Christmas dances. The venues included The King Alfred Centre, Hove Town Hall and the Hanbury Arms in Kemp Town. These were well supported and had a splendid raffle and often live bands along.
There were regular coach trips to West End shows, one being Tommy Steele and the late Roy Castle which often included a meal either before or after the show. One particular meal was at the Felbridge Hotel at East Grinstead. One show attended was the Paul Daniels Magic show. After the event the coach came back via Brixton which happened to be the night of the Brixton riots. There was chaos and mayhem with shops being looted while we slowly passed along Railton Road. We had to go back into London and come back down the A217. A popular stopping place on the back from London was the Orchid Ball room in Purley, which was their equivalent of The Brighton Regent Ball Room. The Orchid ball room had rotating bars, which was interesting.
The summer outings were also very popular with visits to Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Windsor Safari Park and Margate Dreamland. These coach trips were always filled and one trip we had two completely filled 53 seater coaches. The trips often ended at a pub somewhere in the country, one popular venue being a pub just north of Chailey called The Swan, now a private house.
The children’s parties were also very popular. They were held at the Moulsecoomb Hall along the Lewes Road. There were games, dancing, eating with lots of jelly and ice cream and a children’s entertainer. They ended with Father Christmas (Brian Packham) who brought along presents supplied by the company. They were pretty jolly affairs well supported by the company and the parents.
Other activities included summer dances at the Hanbury Arms, Barn Dances, darts, pool competitions, ten pin bowling, and the very popular Sports Days at Stanmer Park, where medals were made for the children’s races, and the afternoon ended with a game of rounders. There were also cricket matches, football matches and even Strip show evenings.
Perhaps one of the most popular summer events were the car rallies. These were organised by members of the social club committee and focused on looking for clues in the landscape and in villages around the Sussex landscape. The car rallies always ended up at a pub and they were a pleasant social evening. I always remember charge hand Don Kirby arriving at the pub, the air blue with rage, doors slamming and lots of harsh words among his family group. In the morning we were always told what a great evening the family had had, and when was the next one. I think that the largest number of cars in a rally was 17. It did, however, cause some bad feeling from people on the car rally routes who were constantly having their evenings ruined by a continuous parade of motor vehicles, with some clues located in their gardens even being covered over.
It was also a regular event at Christmas for the charge hands and staff to be taken for a meal at the Queen Anne pub at the bottom of West Street, where they were joined by the directors of the company. That was more of a pleasant arrangement. This continued for quite a number of years. It was also a company policy to celebrate long service with a lunch at the Metropole, the Grand or a restaurant of the employees choice. This policy also applied to those long service people who were retiring. Long service was working for the company for 25 years non-stop.
In a about 1977 the company decided to set up a Social Club responsible for organising events for employees of the company and in some case their spouses. The company contributed a sum to set up the scheme and events often required some subscription but were also supported by the company.
The most popular events were the Christmas dances. The venues included The King Alfred Centre, Hove Town Hall and the Hanbury Arms in Kemp Town. These were well supported and had a splendid raffle and often live bands along.
There were regular coach trips to West End shows, one being Tommy Steele and the late Roy Castle which often included a meal either before or after the show. One particular meal was at the Felbridge Hotel at East Grinstead. One show attended was the Paul Daniels Magic show. After the event the coach came back via Brixton which happened to be the night of the Brixton riots. There was chaos and mayhem with shops being looted while we slowly passed along Railton Road. We had to go back into London and come back down the A217. A popular stopping place on the back from London was the Orchid Ball room in Purley, which was their equivalent of The Brighton Regent Ball Room. The Orchid ball room had rotating bars, which was interesting.
The summer outings were also very popular with visits to Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Windsor Safari Park and Margate Dreamland. These coach trips were always filled and one trip we had two completely filled 53 seater coaches. The trips often ended at a pub somewhere in the country, one popular venue being a pub just north of Chailey called The Swan, now a private house.
The children’s parties were also very popular. They were held at the Moulsecoomb Hall along the Lewes Road. There were games, dancing, eating with lots of jelly and ice cream and a children’s entertainer. They ended with Father Christmas (Brian Packham) who brought along presents supplied by the company. They were pretty jolly affairs well supported by the company and the parents.
Other activities included summer dances at the Hanbury Arms, Barn Dances, darts, pool competitions, ten pin bowling, and the very popular Sports Days at Stanmer Park, where medals were made for the children’s races, and the afternoon ended with a game of rounders. There were also cricket matches, football matches and even Strip show evenings.
Perhaps one of the most popular summer events were the car rallies. These were organised by members of the social club committee and focused on looking for clues in the landscape and in villages around the Sussex landscape. The car rallies always ended up at a pub and they were a pleasant social evening. I always remember charge hand Don Kirby arriving at the pub, the air blue with rage, doors slamming and lots of harsh words among his family group. In the morning we were always told what a great evening the family had had, and when was the next one. I think that the largest number of cars in a rally was 17. It did, however, cause some bad feeling from people on the car rally routes who were constantly having their evenings ruined by a continuous parade of motor vehicles, with some clues located in their gardens even being covered over.
John Funnell's memories continued
Stories_Bev_estate_016c
