Retired Old ■■■■:
The Richardsons used to be around New Cross & Peckham quite a bit in the 60s & early 70s.
Always reading ganster books,was loading out of bow in London and went in a pub called carpenters arms,was this run by the krays mother,any one know,keith
keith 2:
Any one ever see the Krays when you was in the east end,keith
Keith, the Krays were locked up at the end of the sixties and I didn’t start parking on Valence Road, Whitechapel until the early seventies. From what I remember the lorry park looked as if it was a couple of rows of bombed out houses and the site had been cleared after it’s visit by The Luftwaffe. Cars were parked during the day and on some days you couldn’t get on before 4 p.m. and had to park in the street. As the cars came off the lorries would go on, late starters at the back against the wall and early starters jockeying for a position at the gate. The Krays apparently lived on Valence Road but I can’t ever remember anybody pointing out which was their house. We often started off having a drink in The Blind Beggar before walking down to The Red Lion in Aldgate. Most lads who cabbed it would go for a wash in the Salvation Army (or was it Y.M.C.A. ?) doss house around the corner.
mushroomman:
keith 2:
Any one ever see the Krays when you was in the east end,keithKeith, the Krays were locked up at the end of the sixties and I didn’t start parking on Valence Road, Whitechapel until the early seventies. From what I remember the lorry park looked as if it was a couple of rows of bombed out houses and the site had been cleared after it’s visit by The Luftwaffe. Cars were parked during the day and on some days you couldn’t get on before 4 p.m. and had to park in the street. As the cars came off the lorries would go on, late starters at the back against the wall and early starters jockeying for a position at the gate. The Krays apparently lived on Valence Road but I can’t ever remember anybody pointing out which was their house. We often started off having a drink in The Blind Beggar before walking down to The Red Lion in Aldgate. Most lads who cabbed it would go for a wash in the Salvation Army (or was it Y.M.C.A. ?) doss house around the corner.
Yes I remember waiting on the street till the cars vacated the parking area, later when we started parking up the Ramp we would call for a pint at Dirty Dicks on Liverpool Street, dead mice, spiders, etc etc , surely it cant still be there now , what with Health & Safety etc… good days…
exsilentnight:
mushroomman:
keith 2:
Any one ever see the Krays when you was in the east end,keithKeith, the Krays were locked up at the end of the sixties and I didn’t start parking on Valence Road, Whitechapel until the early seventies. From what I remember the lorry park looked as if it was a couple of rows of bombed out houses and the site had been cleared after it’s visit by The Luftwaffe. Cars were parked during the day and on some days you couldn’t get on before 4 p.m. and had to park in the street. As the cars came off the lorries would go on, late starters at the back against the wall and early starters jockeying for a position at the gate. The Krays apparently lived on Valence Road but I can’t ever remember anybody pointing out which was their house. We often started off having a drink in The Blind Beggar before walking down to The Red Lion in Aldgate. Most lads who cabbed it would go for a wash in the Salvation Army (or was it Y.M.C.A. ?) doss house around the corner.
Yes I remember waiting on the street till the cars vacated the parking area, later when we started parking up the Ramp we would call for a pint at Dirty Dicks on Liverpool Street, dead mice, spiders, etc etc , surely it cant still be there now , what with Health & Safety etc… good days…
Hi, Dirty Dicks that was some pub, remember the stuffed cat with the string on its tail, took the wife in there one night, my mate pulled the string and the tail shot up, she jumped out of her skin, looks like its still a pub on the web site, there was some good pubs round Bethnal Green then, doffers, entertainment .etc. not to mention the booze, getting in and out of the ramp at rush hour was an experience,[not for us but the car drivers]. 
Les.
Spardo:
I haven’t heard anyone mention Leman St. digs, or did it go by another name? I stopped in there when tipping early doors at Spitalfields. They would put you on the shake in time to make your delivery - or wait to make it more like.
I think it was Farmers who also had the cafe we called "down the steps "on Commercial Rd
lolipop:
Spardo:
I haven’t heard anyone mention Leman St. digs, or did it go by another name? I stopped in there when tipping early doors at Spitalfields. They would put you on the shake in time to make your delivery - or wait to make it more like.I think it was Farmers who also had the cafe we called "down the steps "on Commercial Rd
That’s correct Farmers had the café on Commercial Rd, They also had a one in Leman Street next to the Brown Bear Pub, Rumour had that someone shot him some years ago, IIRC, The one in Leman Street used to serve some canny nosh in the 50/60s Era, Regards Larry.
That’s correct a gunman came to the door of farmers café in leman street asked for farmer by name,
he came from a back room and was shot dead.
this I think happened in the early to mid seventies.
What a cracking thread it brings it all back i was in tooley street the day the flats came down by a gas "romar point"off canning town.stopped in the dose house jusr over tower bridge you slept with all your gear on [nice] remember the roll and tea van parked south side on tower bridge…also exsilenight, all true what you say, as is all the posts, i was around the canning town/silvertown area in the 1960 /64 i used to stay at the seamans mission[ at sea ]and the blind piano player used to play in the round house, and another pub ,off the roundabout in canning town, i think he was part of a duoe,martin and peters, girl singer…i used to stay in greys ,and drink in the rabbits…when you read a lot of the posts you think…hello,these men would not have lasted one week like we used to and as for the Stobarts ,drivers,god forbid i am pleased i do not have to even look at them up the road as i have been retired 9 years…rant over i was one of the men who used to flash stobarts,and then give them the finger and more,sad but true…the worst digs ever where in NEWARK DOWN BY THE RIVER BEDS SEPERATED BY SACKING,also the A5 at markate in the late 60s rough.
don’t think anyones mentioned the lorry park behind the elephant and castle, just off the Walworth rd. used to park there a lot in the late 70s good area for night out. don’t know whats there now.
WELL GUYS I HAVE JUST BEEN LOOKING THREW THIS THREAD I PUT ON QUIT A WHILE AGO IM GLADE ITS BROUGHT BACK SOME MEMORIES.SEEM THAT A LOT OF YOU ALL MUST HAVE DRANK IN THE SAME PLACES,AND PARKED IN THE PLACES I MENTIONED.I THINK WHEN WE LOOK BACK ALL THOSE YEARS AGO THEY WERE REALY GOOD TIMES YOU MET DRIVERS FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE THAT HEADED TO THE SO CALLED LORRY PARKS TO PARK FOR THE NIGHT .
CAN ANY OF YOU REMEMBER PARKING AT THE OLD ST JAMES,S FOOTBALL GROUND IN NEWCASTLE [THE MAGPIE ] HAD SOME GOOD NIGHTS THERE IN THE EARLY 80.S THE KIDS CAME AND ASKED IF YOU WANTED THEM TO LOOK AFTER YOUR TRUCK FOR A FEW PENCE.
NONE PAYMENT RESULTED IN A BROCKEN WINDOW ETC.
HAPPY MEMORIES DO ANY OF YOU THINK IN 20 YEARS TIME WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT STOPPING AT ASHFORD TRUCK STOP OR ANY OF THE OTHER OVER/PRICED SO CALLED TRUCK STOPS ! REGARDS
NICK BASFORD
malc step:
Fergie47:
MalcTHAT’S IT MATE !!! well done that man, been thinking of the name since the first post !
The Ram, I wonder if it’s still there, if’ it’s still a pub, and still does B&B.
Thanks for that !!
Fergie
Hi Fergie,
Was still there in july 2010 ,a night club you can see the old name above the Ram’s Head in the photo.
You
3
2
1
0Cheers Malc.
Thanks for posting the photo’s Malc…brought back some memories…
l guess l would’nt recognise the place now…time moves on…over 40 years ago…
Cheers
Fergie
HOW MANY U BOYS REMEMBER TOOLEY STREET
VALANCE R.D
THE RAMP
SHEPEARDS BUSH
THE MARRYCHEST
WOT GOOD NIGHTS OUT THEY WERE
HAPPY DAYS
Merry Chest Still a good meal
Vauxhall bridge 
biggest rats in town
1970s…Slough lorry park,walk down Alpha Street to Nell’s digs.9 beds in a 2 bedroom terace house 17/6d a night b&b.See-through slices of cheese for supper!¬!!Before sleeper cabs,evening meal 6pm,breakfast 0730am.Night out in the Red Cow or Floral Arms or at one of the 2 cinemas.I remember the day that lager went up to 5/- (25p) a pint.we thought the end of the world was nigh.Fill in log-sheets at end of week.
Archbolds,Hepworth tailoring,Smith & Robinson,Harold Wood,Distillers,Timpsons,Armouride,where are the drivers now!!!
NICK BASFORD:
HOW MANY U BOYS REMEMBER TOOLEY STREET
VALANCE R.D
THE RAMP
SHEPEARDS BUSH
THE MARRYCHEST
WOT GOOD NIGHTS OUT THEY WERE
HAPPY DAYS
Aye nick i remember tooley st, valance rd and sheperds bush.Tooly st i used to stop there when i worked for snaylams of bolton.Used to dig in the st johns pub.Lots of northern lads stayed there,beresfords of stoke,drt tpt bolton,vernacare bolton,marshalls evesham to name a few.Downstairs in the cafe[before it caught fire]drinking in the kings arms,the copper,and the pub down the st towards london bridge stn run by scot lad abbey and his mrs.Happy days eh.I remember eating in the old railway coach at sheperds bush.Valance rd i used when i worked for sheldons of bury,drinking on mile end rd,and that great cafe,what was it called g and ts.Great memorys,lots of good mates as well.
regards dave.
I certainly remember the Ramp (Bishopsgate) you had to do a blind side left across four lanes of traffic to get up there, loved carving them London commuters up 
and giving it large on the air horns to stop em going under the trailer 
Then up Bethnal Green Rd; to Gina’s cafe for a pretty decent feed, got put off one night though when the bloke opposite on the same table, it was always packed out in there, took his false teeth out and sucked two pork chops clean, not a pretty sight and then to top it all my apple pie and custard sweet had been made with an onion instead of an apple 
Oh happy days 
Regards
Dave Penn;
Wot good days they were the sound of Daveys Beckets BERRISFORDS E .E BASSETS MOST OF THE WITH GARNERS ENGINES
THEY USED ALL BE UP EARLEY HEDING UP COMERCIAL RD
DESTINATIONS (MIDLANDS)
NOT MANY SLEEPER CABS THEM DAYS
WOT WAS A NIGHT HEATER
what about american sq
Not so much lorry parks but parked a couple of times at the place nr Tate + Lyles, was it “Silvertown Truckmotel” ?
Then i found out you could park at the the Crooked Billett pub on River Road,had a few good nights in there 
Noakes cafe on the A13 - Happy days.
Pump Lane Hayes used to be ok.
I think the only lorry park i used (once) was the Ncp at Vauxhall bridge - some strange boozers around there hello
Did anyone ever park up in that one at Beckton?
WOW, I had forgotton half of those, Silvertown, Vauxhall Bridge, The Ramp having a cup of tea in the old railway carriage on Shepherds Bush lorry park, although I never ate in there. I prefered to walk through to the Shepherds Bush pub taking the short cut past those indoor tennis courts or were they squash courts ?. The toilets in that porta cabin that were always flooded or the bogs that were always blocked up any time after five o’clock.
I used to like Valance Road in the early seventies, after a wash in the Salvation Army doss house for 10p it was a pint in the Blind Begger on Whitechaple Road and then does anybody remember going over to the Montague Arms at New Cross on the tube to see the comedians Jimmy Jones ect. Or how many can remember going to see the exotic Swedish stripper in the Red Lion at Aldgate ?. Swedish ? the nearest she had ever been to Sweden was lying on the bunk of a Volvo F88.
