Pictured above is the old steward's house, possibly the last remnant of Transparent Club which has now been knocked down for a good few years. When I was over in Bury, I had to do 'the nostalgia thing' down near where 'Tranny Club' once stood (and the upmarket housing estate below now stands):
If I remember correctly, 'Tranny Club' was the social club attachment to Transparent Paper Mill (near Heap Bridge on the border between Bury and Heywood). In its heydey, the Club was great having a football pitch where you could look down from the balcony of the Club watching the matches; a cricket pitch for as soon as the football season ended; and a bowling green and tennis court for good measure.
How do I remember these things? Well, my father used to take me to 'Tranny Club' every Saturday afternoon when he played football down there. Also have some great TV memories from 'Tranny Club' e.g. as a small child seeing Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) for the first time as he beat Don Quarry, and seeing the great Bjorn Borg beat Roger Taylor in the quarter-final of Wimbledon. Yes, for some reason, these things still remain colourfully in my head (seeing two true sporting greats for the first time).
More than one year on from this blog, I'm now able to update it through somebody having recently put a lot of great pictures of both 'Tranny Club' and Transparent Paper Mill on an 'Old Bury' Facebook site. Below, there is a great shot of 'Tranny Club' from a distance:
While below, there are a couple of shots from a football match, probably from the 1970s by the looks of things, at 'Tranny Club':
And finally, I recognise a few of the faces below:
Great old shots from the cricket ground below, think they're from the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebration in 1977:
I remember starting work as a "slitterman" at TP in 1977 (after leaving my last job at Olives paper mill bury)....At TP on continental shifts that included xmas day and new year!! I also remember the first day being shown around and observing where that smell came from...as the guy showing us round said " its artificial piss!!...Urea "..part of the process !! One thing i will never forget was the heat and humidity, great for keeping your weight down! hard work but happy days...anyone out there at the time i was there would remember " Heapy" Bert Heap foreman in slitting works. happy days but hard work...johnnyoldhitz@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI remember Bart Heap. He represented foremen when he was a MATSA union member. I represented the lab staff and at that time was known as Peter Ball. Happy Days giving the management a run for their money
DeleteI remember starting work as a "slitterman" at TP in 1977 (after leaving my last job at Olives paper mill bury)....At TP on continental shifts that included xmas day and new year!! I also remember the first day being shown around and observing where that smell came from...as the guy showing us round said " its artificial piss!!...Urea "..part of the process !! One thing i will never forget was the heat and humidity, great for keeping your weight down! hard work but happy days...anyone out there at the time i was there would remember " Heapy" Bert Heap foreman in slitting works. happy days but hard work...johnnyoldhitz@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSaw George Best kick off a charity match there when I was a kid...
ReplyDelete