Memorable stuff from your formative years

[mush_dad]

Not forgetting Black Forest Gateau,and Irish coffee. Going there as kids was real posh.

Father_mush would have the steak, mother_mush the gammon and pineapple, remainder of clan_mush would have two portions of chicken between five of us although baby_mush was only just on solid food.

 

[noliveroundsemptycasespr]

Father_mush would have the steak, mother_mush the gammon and pineapple, remainder of clan_mush would have two portions of chicken between five of us although baby_mush was only just on solid food.

It was great though wasn't it?

 

[solomon88]

The Wartburg. I'll just leave that there for your discomfort.

I remember Wartburgs and Moskvichs on sale in the early 1970's.

Moskvich came with an impressively large tool kit - I wonder why?

 

[Teeblerone]

Watching something or other unimportant on the box tonight, I was suddenly minded to think whatever happened to Berni Inns?
As an inmate of a boarding establishment, where days out with parent/parents were strictly limited, and no staying away from school was permitted, the local Berni Inn, housed in the old Assize Building where Judge Jeffries frequently wore his black cap, was a most welcome change from the daily fare doled out.
A beef or gammon steak, with chips and peas, was pure ambrosia twice a term.

Trout and almonds & a wee swallie of an irish coffee

 

[Teeblerone]

Not forgetting Black Forest Gateau,and Irish coffee. Going there as kids was real posh.

Spot on! I was racking my brains trying to think what the starter & sweet would have been!
Prawn cocktail, maybe the odd liver pate (with a cherry & orange slice if you timed it right), and a gat-urx.
Did they have crepes suzette as well?

 

[Teeblerone]

I remember Wartburgs and Moskvichs on sale in the early 1970's.

Moskvich came with an impressively large tool kit - I wonder why?

I Had (a few) MZ motorbikes. You actually can fix them with the supplied toolkit! Unless you're fussy about torque settings.
I might have to but=y a Ural sidecar outfit one of these days.

 

[Ian525]

I've never been able to forget Thelma's green tights, they did something to me as a rosy checked innocent young lad. Something very bad.

And in bed in that nightie

 

[solomon88]

Spot on! I was racking my brains trying to think what the starter & sweet would have been!
Prawn cocktail, maybe the odd liver pate (with a cherry & orange slice if you timed it right), and a gat-urx.
Did they have crepes suzette as well?

Prawn cocktail in a tall glass? Same glass you had for ice cream sundaes etc,.

 

[giatttt]

Watching something or other unimportant on the box tonight, I was suddenly minded to think whatever happened to Berni Inns?
As an inmate of a boarding establishment, where days out with parent/parents were strictly limited, and no staying away from school was permitted, the local Berni Inn, housed in the old Assize Building where Judge Jeffries frequently wore his black cap, was a most welcome change from the daily fare doled out.
A beef or gammon steak, with chips and peas, was pure ambrosia twice a term.

I spent a whole summer working in the Gatwick Berni. We did three covers a night in both restaurants, chicken and duck as I vaguely recall, the names vary but one was slightly more expensive (posh). Behind the scenes it was mayhem but we regularly sat there for an hour or more until the tills balanced. If you didn’t get the side salad that you asked for as your main hit the table? That’s because it always messed up the evening.

The quality of the ingredients was way higher than the quality of the management. At the end of the shift we got fish fingers and the management ate off the menu, which we cooked for them while our food was going cold.

 

[Provost]

Watching something or other unimportant on the box tonight, I was suddenly minded to think whatever happened to Berni Inns?

I think that as a result of a series of takeovers they were acquired by Whitbread and morphed into Beefeater.

There was a similar setup at the time called Schooner Inns, which were part of Watneys. I remember being taken to one on several occasions as a child; The Leather Bottle in Edgware. It was a curious place, built on several levels but was considered quite swish and trendy by the suburban middle classes of the area. Over the years it changed names and styles and just became another slaggy pub with a very poor reputation. Eventually it closed, was demolished and redeveloped as flats.

There was a scene from The Clockwork Orange that was filmed inside.

There's just Harvester now, which is a sort of adventure playground with buffet for the shellsuited underclasses and their feral brats.

 

[noliveroundsemptycasespr]

Spot on! I was racking my brains trying to think what the starter & sweet would have been!
Prawn cocktail, maybe the odd liver pate (with a cherry & orange slice if you timed it right), and a gat-urx.
Did they have crepes suzette as well?

No never, that would habe been Les Berni Inn.

 

[Bacongrills]

And in bed in that nightie

Link please, purely for research purposes.

 

[Helm]

Or even trying to locate the right place. First time in USA in 1979, took hire car to a "gas" station to refuel. Got out, walked around car but simply couldn't find the fuel filler..........

Eventually, an amplified voice boomed from the kiosk: "It's under the license plate! (slightly more quiet) Jeez, I bet he's a limey...."

Even then, it took me several seconds to find that the plate itself was hinged!

You must be a youngster, lot of UK cars had them in the 60s, Fords particularly.

 

[Provost]

You must be a youngster, lot of UK cars had them in the 60s, Fords particularly.

Various filler caps were cunningly hidden behind number plates, underneath bonnet mascots and the like. I think the batteries of earlier Bristol cars were hidden underneath an opening wheel arch panel.

 

[Helm]

Lots of things like filler caps and the like were cunningly hidden. I think the batteries of earlier Bristol cars were hidden underneath an opening wheel arch panel.

I bet that was fun on a dark, rainy night to jump start. A shower of sparks to delight young and old, no doubt.

 

[ericferret]

You must be a youngster, lot of UK cars had them in the 60s, Fords particularly.

Pulled up at a garage close to Dublin airport where I was accosted by an extremely attractive Ryan Air hostie who couldn't find out how to open the flap over the filler cap. Took me ages to find the release lever clearly visible next to the drivers seat. How often do I get to share time with such a beauty?
Interesting fact from this encounter, all Ryan Air staff are permanently on the look out for another job where they are treated with a little respect.

 

[Chef]

Watching something or other unimportant on the box tonight, I was suddenly minded to think whatever happened to Berni Inns? Edited for brevity.

Berni Inns, Aberdeen and Angus Steakhouses were more upmarket, all with velour covered banquette seating.

Also the Kentucky and Tennessee Pancake Houses. Complete with a black and white type minstrel mannequin holding the menu outside. I can't see them making a comeback.

 

[Dicky Ticker]

Pulled up at a garage close to Dublin airport where I was accosted by an extremely attractive Ryan Air hostie who couldn't find out how to open the flap over the filler cap. Took me ages to find the release lever clearly visible next to the drivers seat. How often do I get to share time with such a beauty?
Interesting fast from this encounter, all Ryan Air staff are permanently on the look out for another job where they are treated with a little respect.

Stood checking car passes on the gate at a top secret Air Base in the North of Scotland on the 1st of August, just about 13:00 a young officer type pulls up in what is obviously his brand new BMW that he has just picked up from the dealers. As is the procedure at the time, once he had produced his ID he was requested to park in front of the guard room, get a car pass, and open the bonnet and boot for inspection.

20 minutes he was there trying to find the bonnet release, he had the book out, the mats out, on his hands and knees looking everywhere. Of course we were forbidden from touching any of the vehicles in case we damaged anything but eventually someone from the guard force walked over and pointed with a pythonesque "pointed finger with raised thumb" at this little device that when pulled opened the bonnet.

Took him another five minutes to actually raise the bonnet, after which we gave the engine bay a good look over. It was the least we could do after all that entertainment.

 

[Provost]

Aberdeen and Angus Steakhouses were more upmarket,

Were they? I think they were only ever there (they were unknown outside of the West End of London) to fleece American tourists who were seemingly incapable of eating anything while abroad other than hamburgers and steaks. I don't know if they were ever upmarket.

Also the Kentucky and Tennessee Pancake Houses. Complete with a black and white type minstrel mannequin holding the menu outside. I can't see them making a comeback.

Nor the Golden Egg restaurants.

 

[mush_dad]

Spot on! I was racking my brains trying to think what the starter & sweet would have been!
Prawn cocktail, maybe the odd liver pate (with a cherry & orange slice if you timed it right), and a gat-urx.
Did they have crepes suzette as well?

I'll have the fruit juice starter please