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Skiff Ahoy, Sam's Bar and the New Union Building
No... a skiff is not a small boat bobbing on the waves, but a small plastic container of fond Keele memory...
This story provies the opportunity to see the Students' Union as it appeared in 1962. The three interiors were taken by John Samuel (1964) and here is a view of the original "Mississippi steamboat" building.
Skiff Ahoy!
"I worked on the Students' Union bar, on and off, from 1967 to 1972. Originally, all drinks were served in proper glasses, but skiffs were brought in at some time during my days as a bartender. As far as I recall, 'Skiff' was the brand name of the plastic glasses originally purchased." Jason Hill (1971)
“Skiffs were brought in after I'd decided to take my shoes off in the ballroom and dance on a broken pint glass... Autumn Term 1972... spent about 4 weeks on crutches... Yes I was a fresher and yes I was very silly indeed...” Steve Ellis (1976)
"Skiffs - certainly do remember them. I'm not sure if it's fondly, though, we were mostly interested in getting them filled. We certainly weren't beer snobs. We'd drink the keg beer because it was cheap - and so would would today's 'real ale' nuts if there was nothing else. I think they were introduced around 1970-71. I remember the bar staff going around collecting huge columns of them - just like the cricket fans do now. When I arrived at Keele in 1969, Guinness was 1/11 a pint and Tartan Bitter was about 1/6. Later we had Federation Keg - a beer supplied to working men's clubs and that was even cheaper. I think it was only about 11 or 12 pence in 1973." Peter Varden (1973)
"Until you reminded me I had totally forgotten the word skiff - despite the fact it was a major part of my life at Keele." David Stovell (1978)
"Skiffs! Well, well! A very important word (and vessel) much used in the 1970s and particularly in the Union and its disco - compulsory in the latter but not the bar. Thus a quote from 1970s disco doorman: "You're not dancing without your skiff!!"" Ashley Howells (1979)
Photo Left: The "Snack Bar" in 1962 by John Samuel
"I think the Skiff moniker derived from a company of that name who made them. I seem to recall seeing it on the bottom of the two or three pints I managed to consume in between library visits." Phil Pennicott (1979)
"Yes, I remember skiffs well from 1979-83... they kept the beer warmly lovely. Was the beer cloudy or the glass scratched? They retained that essential aniseed taste for weeks after the Pernod promotions evenings! Oh, the luxury of moving into the KRA when doing a PGCE - real glasses (and I mean jugs!) with Pedigree...aah!" Steve Barks (1982)
"I have a vague memory that 'Skiff' was the brand name for the plastic pots." Ian Radcliffe (1982)
"Skiffs, yes! I had to explain that one recently in a pub where plastic glasses were being used on match day." Robyn Bechelet (1986)
"I worked on the bar 1984-86, and a plastic pint glass was a 'skiff'. Is that true to the present day? I'd forgotten all about this, and big nostalgic thanks for stirring that memory." Hugh Shipman (1986)
Photo Below by Rick Regan (1987) - in the Union
"I remember the skiff'! The word certainly seemed to be prevalent during my time at Keele (1984-87) and I have often used it amongst non-Keele friends. Funny thing is, no-one's ever asked me what I meant, so I always assumed it was pretty universal! Thinking about it though, I've never heard any non-Keelites use the expression, nor have I seen it in writing anywhere. Perhaps it is indeed a unique piece of Keele 'argot'....?" Liz Walmsley (Delany) (1987)
"OK – after a quick facebook poll among my friends and removing all the swearwords – Keelites remember them as skiffs but some research by one of my friends (googling “skiff plastic pint”) reveals that others do use this to mean the same thing, just not very often. It is not a pure Keele word - though of course there are different quality skiffs - the ultra throwaway ones and the ones that want to masquerade as real glasses just without the sliver of glass in you foot/face potential" Simone-Davis (1988)
"Plastic pint glasses were still known as 'skiffs' when I was at Keele (1985-88), and come to think of it I don't think I remember hearing them so described anywhere else. A quick web-trawl comes up with very little, although the online news-site of TCU (TexasChristianUniversity) is called the 'Daily Skiff'. Any connection, I wonder? About the only other Keele-specific term I can remember is PubCirc - the wonkily-printed sheet of useful, irrelevant and bizarre information which appeared under the flat door each week." Helen Southall (1988)
"Certainly remember the word 'skiff'. Have never heard it used anywhere else, but possibly because once you leave Keele, you rarely drink anywhere that uses plastic glasses." Richard O’Hagan (1989) and later... "Somewhat to my surprise, I learned recently that 'skiff' is also used to refer to the plastic pint pots at Oxford University." Richard O'Hagan (1989)
"I worked in the SU bar 1991–94 and plastic glasses were skiffs then. I have also not heard this term since leaving the Uni." Chris Kirby (1995)
"If you look at this http://tandlemanbeerblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/cheltenham-and-moan.html, it shows the uses of "skiff" as by no means restricted to Keele! Cheers!" Simon Sweetman (1966)
Not quite a skiff story but close enough....
"A few years ago, I met Chris "Kit" Renwick at a teachers' conference. He said, "I want to ask you an important question, Pete. Did I have a good time at Keele, or is it just nostalgia?" Chris belonged to a different circle than me, but they were always in the Union, by the left hand door, rarely opened, into the ballroom. And since we were always there too, they knew us. My reply was something like this: "Put it this way, Chris, every time I saw you, you had a full pint and were laughing your head off." Chris said: "Pete, that's good enough for me. You've put my mind at rest." Isn't it amazing what one can find at the bottom of a beer glass?" Pete Varden (1973)
The Origins of Sam's Bar
“During my period this was called the Allright Bar. No one seemed to know where that name came from either..." Nick “Vic Lemon” London (1992)
“Could 'Sam' refer to Sammy Finer?” John D Smith (1957)
“I originally thought Sam was a Sneyd but then I remembered that they named Sam's bar after a long serving member of staff of the Union.” Matt Woods (1996)
“I believe Sam's bar used to be called Baldwin's Bar after a chap who used to used to hang out at the Union most of the time - Neil Baldwin? I think it was renamed Sam's Bar around 1996 but the reason escapes me. It may have been in honour of someone who gave many years of service to the Union as grounds staff, cleaner, or some such, but it didn't seem that big a deal at the time.” Thom Craigen (1997)
“It was named Sam's bar after I left. Sam wasn’t a bar manager (the bar manager was called Tommy and the assistant Bar Manager whom I think took over was called Ralph I think (he lived in a flat at the top of the SU building). Sam was a lovely man whom I cannot think of a bad word to say about, and he was the (Head?) Cleaner. He was a redhead, and I remember him always seeming to wear blue. He well deserved to have a bar named after him… unlike the aforementioned bar managers.” Anna Summerskill (1981)
“Now all you have to do is work out who was a red-headed cleaner at the SU in the 1980s! In my own Committee’s SU Handbook (1981) they name the three Union Bars as the Main Bar, the Ballroom Bar and the Alright Bar so I’d guess it was renamed in 1982 or 1983. I think maybe there was a refurbishment involved and it reopened with the new name. That may have been something to do with the Leisure Games deal too but I really can’t remember.” Peter Roberts (1983)
"The Allright bar was named after George Allright who was connected with the SU in some way, died and the bar was named in his honour. In 1990/91 year a group of students took a motion to a UGM (Union General Meeting) to rename it (I believe to 'Book and Candle'). Unfortunately they entitled their motion "(deleted) from (deleted)" and the previous year's Deputy President (Cathy Gattis?) was in attendance. She explained the provenance of the name (I believe she also explained why the bar was named in memory of George Allright but there my memory, and the twenty year chasm of time, fail me) and expressed some opinions about the motion and the people who proposed it." Stephen Booth (1993)
"It was called the Allright Bar after George Allright who was the Student Union Porter for many years. George was a great character - always smiling and well known to everyone who used the SU. He was very skilled at diffusing any trouble which he dealt with calmly and a clear determination that it was going to stop immediately. As SU President (1970/1) I always knew I could rely on George to deal with any problems in the building. I think he retired in the 1970s and I even have a vague recollection of attending his retirement party." Bob Stow (1972)
"For the record, the plastic glasses were still called Skiffs at the turn of the Millennium when I worked there" Chris Durham (2001)
The New Union Building
The New Union Building was opened in 1962. The foundation stone was laid by HM the Queen in the presence of HRH the Princess Margaret, President of the University College of North Staffordshire, on 2nd May 1961. The Union Presdient was Colin Thomas and the Vice-President Jocelyn Ryder-Smith. The Architects were Stillman and Eastwick-Field.
Photos Below Left: The Ballroom and Below Right The Lounge in 1962 by John Samuel. All that beautiful pine!
New Union Building 1962
"Here is a full front view of the Mississippi Steamboat Union Building. which is a reprint from a postcard sold in the Students' Union shop at that time. There is no publisher's name on the reverse, just the inscription 'Students' Union, University of Keele' with the reference number PT17182. The dome of the ballroom is clearly visible at the far end. The architect was very proud of that. No vehicles were allowed on the wide paved area leading down to the main doors, on the left hand side of the building. Deliveries to the shop had to be made through the designated rear entrance on the other side of the building. Indeed a vehicle is partially visible there. You may then well ask, What is that car on the paving? I can tell you that it was a Ford Zephyr car (a big one at the time), registration no 88WEH and it belonged to Charlie Wainwright, the Chief Porter and Head of Security. He was a former police officer and a law unto himself. He gave himself leave to park his car there! In the samlelr photo at the top of this page, one of the vehicles in the front is a Morris 1000 shooting brake. They had wooden frames on the outside panels. The Assistant Secretary of the Sudents' Union in 1962/63 was Maureen Ritchie (1964). She owned one of the said vehicles. There is picture from his time at Keele in Mike Mansfield (1964)'s autobiography. It shows him and Maureen Ritchie getting up to some high jinks. Sadly she is now deceased. I took the internal photo of the ballroom (above) from the balcony above the door. I wanted to show something of the scale of the place, so I persuaded my friend and fellow student, Pete Smith (1966) to lean on the grand piano. He can be seen in the photo. Just by coincidence, Pete and I met on the Hole in the Wall soccer pitch in Keele in October 1961 and are still good friends nearly 50 years later. His wife, then Hilary Deere, also graduated from Keele in 1966." John Samuel (1962)
This photo (right) was taken by Malcolm Payne (1969) from Observatory Hill - the Union and its dome and more of the campus is visible from the opposite direction to John Samuels' shot.The grey Chapel has now been built (1965) with the Walter Moberly Building beyond. The tawney Building is obscured by the tree on the right. The administration Huts can be seen to the right of the Chapel - where there is now a lawn of flowering cherry trees.
New Union Building in Photographs
The following eight photographs appear with the permission of "The Architectural Review" 1963 v133. The building was featured in 1963 with descriptions of the materials and floor plans. The Architects were Stillman and Eastwick-Field. The beautiful, airy, open pine staircase was boxed in many years later for reasons of Health & Safety, making the light, bright interior darker and boxier... but it should be restored to its least some of its early glory during the planned ground-floor refurbishment of 2012-2013. But... who authorised the light pine panelling of the Ballroom to be painted black?
Did you enjoy this? Why not read more stories from the Keele Oral History Project?
