The History of Ruddington Depot
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Wartime Operations
The Avenue Social Club
The Avenue Social Club was sometimes known as the Victory Club because it was part of ‘Victory House’ which contained the 12 flats. Tim Bloodworth was aware of its early history:
“I think originally it was quite a poor place because it was for people living on the site itself, and it was just somewhere to gather and have a drink. Originally there were only two main rooms, with the bar in one and the ‘cellar’ behind in the other. The cellar wasn’t dug out or underground, it was just the space behind the bar. There was a door at the back of the cellar so that beer and other things could be brought inside.”
By the time he was old enough to join in the children’s activities, the war had ended and the premises had been extended:
“When it was improved, there was a committee room beyond the two main rooms. This was used when T.V. first came out to entertain the children. There was a big black and white T.V. put in there so that the parents could have a few minutes to themselves, but it was always used as a committee room.”
Rosalind Wilson went to the social club after school:
“As we were isolated the club was the social focus of The Avenue really. We used to take our homework up there, and when it was done we played table tennis and other games. There was a record player in the back room and we played our own records on it. You could load 10 records on it, and they dropped down one by one. There were no separate speakers. The speaker was in the lid and it was really a gramophone.”
The Story > Chapter 4 > Section 4.03