Grove Memories

‘The Grove 1977-1979’

His ‘Oasis’ school hop had been swiftly followed by a couple of years
counting the days, hours and minutes to the Grove Social Club in St.
Paul’s, Raheny.
His pinkish ID card ever at the ready, Junior Flinter on sentry duty at the
door, waving him in with a friendly gesture of his big rugby hand.
D.J. Cecil up there on the stage.
His turntable to the fore.
With dozens of young heads standing in the hall nearby, on up the front
or way down the back, their grandfather shirts hanging from baggy blue
jeans, all trying to look absolutely, unconventionally and effortlessly
cool.
With carefully combed, long flowing hair, pony-tails and shaggy big mops.
Hands in pockets, or simply holding on to glass bottles of Fanta or Coke.
No alcohol then.
Loving the long slow dances after lively head-banging sets -
If he was lucky.
To the mellow strains of James Taylor’s “Carolina in my mind” or Kris
Kristofferson’s “Lovin’ her was easier” than anything he had ever done before.
With beautiful Bernie B.
Or a year later on,
with hazel-eyed, long blonde-haired, Irene, clothed in Shree.
During the course of a night.
Should they happen to be there.
All very exciting on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings.
But a terrible thing all the same if you were dreaming you were awake
on the stage and just about to arrive before you ever had left.

Edited by Taylor - 13-August-2019 at 15:22

Hey Taylor, super stuff. More of this please ...

Thank you! 😃👍

Edited by Taylor - 14-August-2019 at 13:45

Very prosey-poetic Taylor. I like it. Did you write it recently or back in the day?

Thanks, VJ!
Glad to be back 😃👍☘️

Pogue Mahoney wrote: Most of the poems I have written start with –"There was a young girl from Nantucket..."

Hard to believe Pat but you were after my time in The Grove. My Grove days ended when I got married in 1971. For some strange reason my wife didn't want me to go anymore. There was a motorcycle gang there during my time, mainly Nortons and BSAs with a few Honda 50s and Suzukies thrown in for good measure. The Brendanfella always wanted to fill the end wall with a biker mural but Cecil didn't go for it.

Good post Mel, succinctly covers a lot of the Grove period ... and the documentary. Must watch it again actually: documentary/32A/documentary again, pass a few hours very nicely ...

Interesting Pogue, I am a big fan of ska/bluebeat/reggae etc, but I had to keep those tastes under wrap in the old days when I was a "hippie". Wasn't cool at all to express any liking for that stuff. I was at a house party where some skins had been invited, and got into a tit-for-tat with some skinhead - he kept puttin Johnny Nash on the stereo; despite the fact I didn't mind it at all I kept going up, taking that off and putting on my Mountain record. Then he would take that off etc etc. Luckily my girlfriend at the time was with me and she prevented me getting into a nasty situation ...

Gas when you think of it. I remember the skinheads were a big thing from the very early 70s Poguey ...

I was Grove-ing 71 to 75 in Mt. Prospect as you lads know. Never heard a ska/reggae-type record played in those days, don't think it would have gone down well...