The Sunday dance
Next and most important in the life of the servant boys and girls was the Sunday night dancing. Unlike today there was no Saturday night dancing, for that night was strictly reserved for the Sunday night's preparation. On Saturday night there would be the monthly visit to confession, the visit to the village shop to get razor blades and the old packet of fags. If the old money was anyway plentiful the boys would treat themselves to the luxury packet of Players or Gold Flake so they could cut a dash with the girls. Then they'd meet the other boys and girls and plan for the following night. Dancehalls were aplenty, one in almost every village and town, and you'd have an odd good ballroom out in the middle of nowhere and you'd think nothing of travelling twenty to twenty-five miles to a good dancehall. Of course, the average dancehall in those days was a kind of glorified cowshed except that you'd have a good timber floor and you could swing to your heart's content as the proprietor had it well dressed with plenty of Lux toilet flakes. They'd do a great job on it. The flakes at that time were used for washing clothes and came in hand to make the dance-floor slippy. I used to cycle with the boys to all the dances, as I said, up to twenty miles and maybe more. There were no cars and if you got a puncture you might have to walk a quare distance home or cycle the old bike on the rim. And with the roads of bygone days you'd head the old ramshackle for miles on a quiet night. For there were potholes as big as barrels and sometimes when repairing potholes they used sharp stones and shovels of clay to keep them together. It was not easy to keep tyres right on the bike and with little money you were not able to replace them on the bikes too often. As for repairing a puncture it was a waste of time using solution and patches unless it was on a fine Sunday and you were going to a hurling or football match. Then you might attempt it. You had to turn the old bike upside down, resting it on saddle and handlebars. With the aid of two old pennies you'd remove the tyre, take out the tube, and using sandpaper striker on a matchbox you'd clean the tube. Next you applied solution from the tube in your kit to patch and tube and stuck one on the other. Sometimes you would light a match and hold it a little away from the tube and patch as this would help it dry fairly quickly. Replacing tube in tyre you'd pump it and you were again ready for the road. Of course before all this operation you'd have to find out where the puncture was. By pumping up the tube when it was completely removed from inside the tyre you could hear the escaping air and with the help of the wet tongue and maybe the odd spit you were bound to find the exact spot. There was another emergency trick which was great when you had to pinpoint the exact spot where the air was coming. You'd then let out what air there was in the tube and holding the spot between your teeth, tie it with a bit of twine and you were in business again. Indeed I often saw lads having no twine use a shoe lace and it would do the job. Of course you then mended the puncture properly at a later date with solution and patches when you had plenty of time. As for Sunday night dances, there was a great variety. You had the fourpenny hop from 8 pm to 10.30 pm. Then you had what was known as the Cinderella, eight to twelve midnight and finally there was the occasional all-night dance which lasted from 10 until 5 in the morning. These were occasionally held during the wintertime and believe it or not they did dance all night long at them. The admission to these all-night dances was half a crown (two shillings and sixpence) [twelve and a half pence], and supper was served during the night for one shilling: plenty of bread, butter and jam and for an extra sixpence meat, maybe a bit of ham. Now the fourpenny hop was great old crack as the boys and girls were there in their finery, dressed to kill, as they'd say. They all would mix at the dance, servant boys, girls and the fairly well-off. Class distinction was kind of forgotten then. In the summertime it was grand but it was a bit harsh in the winter. But hail, rain or snow they all made out for the dances. In those day, too, a girl could travel all the lonely roads on her own and be quite safe. No such thing as rape. They were all highly respected. The boys usually wore the strong boots when they were going to the dance with the low shoes tied to the carrier of the bike. About a half mile from the dancehall they'd remove the boots and put on the low shoes, having kept them nice and clean and dry. The hobnail boots would then be rolled up in a pile of sacks they'd have with them and these would be hid in the ditch in a marked spot and left there until returning as it was dangerous to tie them to the bike. All the bikes were stacked at the back of the dancehall or there might be house convenient to the hall where they'd be left in the backyard. The owner, probably an old man, would take care of them for the big fee of a penny. Every bike carried a pump and this would be hidden in a suitable place for protection or it would be put in the inside pocket of the coat. And boys would hold onto them for the night and guard them while they were dancing. There were some lads who never danced but stood there all night looking on. These lads would mind the pumps for the boys and girls while they were dancing and they'd often have five or six pumps in their possession. Peaked caps were all the go that time and some lads never removed them when dancing. As the night wore on and the sets and barn dances were in full swing you'd see the boys turning back the caps and the peak of the cap would slope down their back. They'd then remove their jackets and roll up the sleeves of their shirts. This gave an indication of how heavy the going was, as did the sweat running down their faces. And I can tell you they'd be fair rubbing with the big white handkerchief for no visit to the dancehall was complete without displaying a big white handkerchief or a nice coloured one as the case might be and this was displayed on the top pocket of the jacket with a half yard of it hanging down. This showed great style and they'd go to all rounds in the world to make sure it was well folded and displayed. They'd have a big safety pin on the inside of the jacket stuck through the handkerchief to keep it in place. Some of the prime boys might give it a pull but faith! it would stay tight in the pocket. The girls would roll up their sleeves and remove their cardigans when the going was getting hot. The boys would all cluster together at the back of the dancehall just inside the door and the girls would usually pack together around the cloakroom door like flies on a summer day. They move out when the music started and when finished they'd gently return back to the same position. This was the case at the beginning of the dance and all were very shy to start. But like horses when they'd get warmed up things would change. There was always a very slow start to see who'd take the floor first. So when the first pair would begin they'd all move out. As with cattle or sheep there was always one good leader and he'd get the rest of them going. As the night wore on the boys would move further into the dancehall and the girls would move to the seats by the wall on stools or long forms which were there for the comfort of dancers when they wanted to rest. And usually when they'd get acquainted the boy would take the girl on his knee and oh! you'd never see such squeezing and hugging. The proprietor would move freely through the dancers keeping order, and he'd occasionally produce the big box of Lux flakes and sprinkle handfuls of them on the timber floor. This gave a good bite and slide for the dancers. Waltzing and foxtrots were very orderly but when it came to the set-dances you'd hear an occasional shout from the proprietor, 'No four-wheeling here!' as they'd usually create a bit of a rumpus. When two boys and two girls joined together there was a danger of a big spill. Some fellow might get a bit of a bump and he'd get his dander up; so order had to be restored fairly quickly. The boys would occasionally return to the cloakroom to have a look in the mirror and give the hair a bit of a comb - that's the ones who didn't wear the caps. No more than the hankies, the small pocket comb, better known as the rack, was also part of their toiletry and to accompany this they'd carry in their inside pockets a small bottle of hair oil known as Brilliantine which could be bought for twopence at the time. So a drop of this on the hand was rubbed into the hair, it was combed back and they were right again for the floor and another whirl. The jacket having been removed, the tie might be taken off with the collar of the shirt. These would be folded very nicely and put into the jacket pocket. Shirt sleeves freshly rolled up displayed their hairy hands and neck, giving a great display of strength. The women would also be very active between the dances in the cloakroom. Powdering and painting the rouge, as they called it, were very much the order of the night. Cosmetics were in very short supply and a great man in those times was the red tea-bag. After the tea was emptied the red-coloured packet was kept by the servant girl and accompanied her to the dances. Indeed it was often passed around the other girls who might not have one. When the bag was damped and rubbed to the face it left part of its red colour on the cheekbones. A good daub of this on the dial would give them a grand blushing look like the sun going down and with a good dousing of powder they'd look like a mouse coming out of a flourbag. This made them very attractive to the boys. Eyebrows were also done in the most sophisticated way. A bit of a stick reddened in the fire and left cold was their ideal eyebrow pencil. This gave a great blackening to the eyebrows, giving the appearance of a full moon. This piece of stick was always taken by the girls to the dances rolled up in a piece of paper, kept in an empty matchbox in case it would get damaged and placed in the compact bag with powder and lipstick. The same bag was not let out of the hand all night. A lot of this tiffin' up was done before they left the house. But since the girls had to cycle long distances in all kinds of weather some of this make-up would have vanished. When they'd arrive at the dancehall they'd have to replenish the dial again. After some lively dances, too, with perspiration running down their faces it would look like snow melting or a rainbow with the different colours mixing. The boys in those times were like tick-tack men at races with one, two or three fingers up while dancing, booking future dances, and this confusion would go on all night. Indeed there were many high tempers when a girl didn't keep her promise. Many's the disappointed customer would approach the girl in question and say, 'You promised me this dance!' I can assure you there were a lot of fist fights but that was as far as they went. God love them, they'd square out to one another with the coats off and the caps pushed back. They were like young fighting cocks. The proprietor or floorman would rush in quickly to try and cool their tempers and then they'd say to each other, 'Come on outside!' which they did. A big crowd would follow and the two would beat the shit out of each other; then it was all over and that was that. Of course there was many a black eye and bleeding nose. They'd return to the dancehall but these lads were like prize bulls and they'd be watching each other all night. And maybe they'd have a go at each other outside on the road when the dance was over. There was always some interfering lad who'd urge them on. This was great fun and always a big audience gathering whether it was day or night. While at these dances the servant boys usually kept with the servant girls. There would also be a good gathering of farmers' sons and daughters and a few workers from industries. They were there from all walks of life, though some of the farming people would not mix with the servants, which indeed was a great ridiculous class distinction. The majority of these working class were every bit a good as the ones that shunned them. As far as I and some of my pals were concerned we never turned our back on these poor people as they were the same in our eyes as any other boy or girl. Indeed many a good farmer's son married a servant girl though it had to be a runaway marriage as they were blacklisted by the boy's family. When a thing like that happened it was a crime and they'd be whispering and talking about it for weeks. Some of these marriages turned out very well and lucky and they made great partners and great parents and did very well for themselves. They brought up great families who I have no doubt did very well for themselves and commanded very good positions. Marriages of that kind met all kinds of obstacles; the clergy were not in favour and it made things kind of hard for a boy and girl. The class distinction was stinking and the clergy were all for the big man though there might be the odd man of the robe who was fair and kinds. But, thanks be to God, all that nonsense is done away with and gone we hope for ever. Some of these halls were very primitive. I remember one which had neither a ladies' nor a gent's toilets. It was just a glorified barn with hanging lamps; so if you wanted to go to the toilet it was the case of going out around the corner and relieving yourself in the dark. With no light to direct him many's the man went out to relieve himself was just about to do that when he'd hear a scream. A few women would be already there before him and on their haunches doing the same and already maybe after getting a fair sprinkling from some other lads. But all these things were taken in good spirits with no bad feelings. Such were the thrills of enjoyment in those days. I remember one such dancehall out in the middle of nowhere. This contraption was owned by two brothers and it consisted of a large good shed with a partition at one end for a gents' and ladies' cloakroom. The toilets were on the side of the hall, crude homemade yokes. Outside there was a running stream which never dried, summer or winter, and the toilets were built over this. There were four big poles stuck down on the ground for each toilet with an opening out from the dancehall. Around the poles were nailed a few sheets of galvanised iron to give a bit of privacy. Now in each toilet was a piece of wood about eighteen inches from the ground with a big round hole cut in it where the boy or girl could relieve themselves. The girls would naturally sit on these and there was a drop of about four feet between that and the running water. So it was ideal for the job, a natural flush. Now from outside you could make your way into the dancehall through the toilet holes which many's the lad did as there was no fence or sheet iron on the bottom of the outside. A very large crowd from miles around would come to this dancehall whenever it was open. 'Twas a great attraction. Many prime boys used to congregate outside in the summertime and they were up to all sorts of devilment. One evening some of these lads thought up a plan. One of them got a bunch of nettles and when the girl came to the toilet the buck was ready outside with a full view of what was happening. The minute she sat on the toilet up with the bunch of nettles and oh my God the screams! I can assure you it was a sore thing. The lads from inside used to say it was a mighty howl to see the girl running into the dancehall with fright and her knickers around her ankles. The lads outside made their getaway as fast as they could. After those happenings the proprietors made sure they had the outside protected by boarding up the bottoms of the toilets on the outside. A notice was placed on the ladies' toilet saying: 'All bottoms are not protected'.