Do you come here often?
When I was Young (OK, stop sniggering back there. I was young once. Maybe not last week… I think it was the one before that! :roll: ) The Four Provinces was a dance hall at the top of Harcourt Street in Dublin. I know I was kinda discouraged from going there. It later became the TV Club and somehow the place became more acceptable then. Add to this the Crystal Ballroom and the Olympic on the south side of the city. On the North side you had the Ierne, the Town & Country and the Irish Club. All the top bands in Ireland at the time played these venues. The Royal, Dixies, Capitol, Miami, Drifters, Cadets and Freshmen.
Do you remember Brendan Bowyer’s Hucklebuck? That put a stop to the dancers moving anti-clockwise en-masse round the floor. The bars in the dance halls had no licence and served milk and Club Orange….. Can you believe it?
When the pubs closed the crowd swelled with men stinking of drink, some seemed to have forgotten the ‘little woman’ at home minding the kids. They also took us single girls for goofs, not realising that removing the wedding band left a lighter patch of skin on the finger.
The girls lined up on one side of the dance floor all bouffant hair and five cans of hairspray, pale pink lipstick that suited nobody, and skirts with a hundred layers of scratchy net to make them stand out.. It was to make the skirts stand out not the girls! 
The guys on the far side dressed in jacket and tie, eyed up the talent, while shimmering mohair suits were all the rage on stage for the guys doing funny step routines as they played.
I hated those dances and only went occasionally to stop people nagging me. Dublin in those days had seven women to every man, so what chance did a very skinny freckled lass have of being asked to dance. When it came to the slow numbers a fellow wanted something soft to smooch with and not a bag of bones! At least if any of my brothers or their friends turned up I was sure of a dance.
So many dances back then ended with ‘Goodnight, Godbless and Safe Home’ followed by the National Anthem.
Rhyleysgranny said,
July 20, 2010 at 8:48 am
It was the Locarno in Glasgow I went to………………….once, never again.. You paint a perfect description Grannymar. It reminded me a little of a cattle market lol. We didn’t have the great show bands though.
nick said,
July 20, 2010 at 9:26 am
I was never a Dance person. My later teenage years were spent at rock venues and parties, with drink and drugs in heavy use (not the drugs in my case). There were certainly plenty of women around and I went through a long line of impulsive flings. Women’s clothes in my circles were mainly casual hippie - cheesecloth skirts and tops, floppy hats, bead necklaces etc. The young nowadays seem to be just as casual and just as drink and drug prone.
Maynard said,
July 20, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Kids are kids no matter what part of the world you live in.
Grannymar, having feckles myself, I would have danced with you!
Rummuser said,
July 20, 2010 at 1:28 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb4dXd5kmsc
Had I been around, I would have zeroed in on you and danced ………………………….all night.
Maynard said,
July 20, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Rummy, get in line, I believe I was here first.
wisewebwoman said,
July 20, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Oh GM, I just loved those dances! Redbarn in Youghal, Crosshaven, Arcadia, Highfield, Imperial, “The Rest” at UCC, etc. I couldn’t get enough! I would dance all night and the talent was mighty! I loved the showbands, knew some of the lads, they’d play my favourites.
Isn’t it odd how experiences can be so different in the same country?
XO
WWW
jenniffer said,
July 20, 2010 at 3:43 pm
it sounds so fun… my granny tells me stories of her times during wwii when she’d sneak out (because she was 15) and catch a bus to the air force base just to dance with the “boys” before they were shipped off… hee hee!!
Grannymar said,
July 20, 2010 at 4:41 pm
RG - They were very much like cattle markets and I only went to avoid arguments, there was much more craic sitting around our table at home!
Nick - I have never been to rock concert and never had any desire to either. In one company where I worked, we had the use of a swimming pool on a Friday night for a pittance. We had great fun and I was often thrown in at the deep end…. HEAD FIRST! LOL! Then we all adjourned to our house for a few drinks, a good old discussion on the news of the day, a bowl of hot soup in wintertime and a a few games that involved balls of string, cutlery or the weeks supply of loo paper. Don’t ask!
Maynard - You are a gentleman!
Ramana - Another gentleman, where were you all when I needed rescuing?
WWW - The girl next door loved them too. She never married and went to those dances several nights a week until she was nearly 50.
Jenniffer - For some it was great fun, but for me it was purgatory.
Darlene said,
July 20, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I was a wallflower in High School and didn’t do much dancing until I was engaged. My fiancee and I would stay on the dance floor until the band played “Good Night, Ladies”. Since we were the only couple left in the club by then I am sure the band hated us for keeping them playing so long.
Alice said,
July 21, 2010 at 3:22 am
What can I say? I’m 68 and STILL can’t dance!
bikehikebabe said,
July 21, 2010 at 3:35 am
I was a bag of bones back then too. Aren’t we glad now. We can eat. So many women diet & are still huge.
bikehikebabe said,
July 21, 2010 at 3:36 am
Er…Well OK– Biking & hiking helps.
Brighid said,
July 21, 2010 at 4:14 am
Been down this road a few times my self. Ever a country girl, & never quite fit in. Then in college I went to a bunch of old fashioned country dances and it was so much fun. I would do it again in a heart beat if the opportunity arises.
Grannymar said,
July 21, 2010 at 11:07 am
Darlene - Dancing is fun when you have a partner, but standing around waiting to be invited to dance at the whim of the men was degrading.
Alice - I am still no expert, but enjoy trying.
BHB - I am indeed glad to be able to enjoy my food.
Brighid - If the opportunity arises, have a blast!