Questions for older hornets

Speaking of Queens Road, if you ever need any tools, J Simble has been there for ever and is an absolute treasure trove. And if you do your own car repairs, Midnight Motors in StAlbans Road likewise.

 

Sadly, I think you're thinking of the wrong Pete Ausden. The one that owned the Barton & Ausden sports shops (there was another in St Albans) with Dave Barton died about 15 years ago. Maybe longer

 

I used to work in the New Penny on a Wednesday night from mid 76 to late 77. That got me free entry on other nights-particularly Thursdays and if nothing better to do, then Saturday night

I was asked if i wanted work on a Saturday in June 77 after the England v Scotland game as they were expecting it to be busy late on so i turned up at 8 to eat and then doors opened at 9 IIRC. No one used came in till at least 10, i was told.

At 9.01 four scots guys entered and stood at the end of the downstairs bar nearest the toilets. They said they had saved up for 2 years for this day and had to spend all they had so they gave me a fiver and said when they asked for 4 double vodkas and lemonade i should make sure they got served pronto. They stayed there till closing at 2, only venturing to the bog and only drank these vodkas. They caused no problems and were happy to chat in their own dialect about anything and everything. They never spoke to anyone else.

Unlike many of their fellow countrymen that day who infamously invaded the pitch and broke the crossbar as they won 2-1 they were well behaved.

Again IIRC Mr Harris also ran a club in stevenage-he employed bouncers from there to look after the New Penny and bouncers from Watford to work in Stevenage to ensure no "collusion" and to deal with problems without fear or favour.

 

Used go to "The Penny" nearly every Thursday night for quite a few years and other nights too, but not quite so often.

 

But now the carnevale is over.

 

Ahhhh, the location of my first kiss (with tongues)!

A random girl my friends knew. Never saw her again after that.

 

If you'd only brushed your teeth that day.

 

Would have helped if he had put his teeth in that day for a start!

 

I remember the new penny went there once and saw Pat Morrisey and Jimmy Lindsay together, Jimmy asked me if Imhad brought any women with me, I was 19 and had just finished late shift, couldn't understand his Scottish brogue accent and didn't know what he was on about!

 

It was that and the smell of wee that finally put her off!

 

Pat Morrisey was quite the social butterfly.

I saw him watching a cricket match at Croxley Fields one July, with his shirt off enjoying the sunshine and drinking a bottle of brown ale. This was when he was still a first team regular. My youthful awe of Watford and boasts of us being the greatest team the world had ever seen was dealt an enormous blow by the fact that his Watford shirt had concealed the fact that he was evidently not in prime physical condition. To say the very least.

 

Peter Spivey had a fantastic range of shell suits in the upstairs bit in the early 90's.

I saved long and hard to buy a full beautiful Adidas number in 1990 - purple with multi-colour fluorescent piping. When walking round in that and a pair of Reebok Hexalite, I felt like I had officially gone from boy to man, except I was about 14 and had to be home before it was dark to do my homework.

 

I remember a record shop around there called Harlequins, was it that before or after Submarine Records? Or am I just making it up?!

There was also a record shop near the New Penny, anyone remember what that was called? I bought my first LP in there!

 

I agree, those shell suits are real fashion statements.

Unfortunately mine are starting to get a bit tight round the middle now.

 

You're right of course, Peter Spiveys had their other branch in Hemel up the far end of the Marlowes

what was the name of the men's outfitters on the parade, I think they were the only place in Watford you could get a Pringle jumper

 

Carrs - the owners of the Queens Road second hand bookshop must have been in their late 80s in the 1970s.

 

The Green shield stamp shop is now a charity furniture shop with flats above.

 

Ah yes! Next to what is now Lloyd Cooper, the motorbike dealer?

 

Did anyone venture into George's Books on Market Street? As a kid me and my mate went in as we thought it was a second hand bookshop but it looked like most of the'books' were well thumbed and goodness knows what else gentlemen's magazines and there were quite a few of the dirty mac brigade perusing the wares. We got a few amused looks before we scarpered.

 

It's still there.. https://goo.gl/maps/WCH8dN7r3Zo

 

The Peter Spiveys in Watford is now Oxfam.

 

Yep. Geo Ausden and Sons. He was one of the sons.

 

As a 1970s ball boy at the Vic, our official uniform tracksuit top had 'Spivey for Sport' emblazoned on the back.

Plain boring green though.

 

I only remember the Greek next to the old cinema but that was late 80s early 90s I think.

 

An oxymoron if ever I saw one

 

I seem to remember there being a sex shop next to one of the Italian restaurants on St Albans Rd.

 

"seem to remember" ????...clearly a regular

 

The only reason I cant recall properly is because the poppers they sold were so strong Ive lost half my brain cells.