NextBackFrom the early to the mid 1960's this was the IN place for teenagers to go. We weren't old enough to drink and we wanted somewhere to meet. There were other cafes but this was the most popular. It was really just a snack bar, they did beefburgers and sandwiches but the most popular, and my favourite, was a bacon bap with melted cheese. They served tea and coffee and we mostly drank coffee. There was a wall-mounted jukebox - that was very modern in those days - and you could smoke, I used to go there in the evenings and weekends when I was I 6 or 17 and sit and chat.
'This was the time of the Mods and Rockers. Because I had a motor bike, I was a Rocker. I used to park it outside the Elcador. I wore a black leather jacket, black gloves and although crash helmets were not compulsory, I wore a blue crash helmet with goggles. It was all part of the image. You could buy chequered tape from Halfords and decorate your helmet. It you took a girl on the back of your bike she didn't wear a helmet as most girls wore their hair on top. The Mods used to wear suits and top hats like the old trilbys, and they used to carry a slim walking stick. They looked very posh although they were probably no better off financially than the Rockers, in fact Mods and Rockers often worked side by side. The Mods usually travelled about in public transport, very few people under 21 had a car.
The Mods came into the cafe as well as the Rockers. There was very little trouble between us, perhaps there might have been one or two skirmishes but on the whole we were very friendly.
Redditch was a lovely town although you didn't realise it at the time. It was full of life for teenagers. There were dances at the Talbot in Evesham Street every Tuesday, while on a Friday evening Rock and Roll dancing took place at the Warwick Arms in Ipsley Street -
Of course, as teenagers we occasionally used to sneak into pubs but if you were caught you were in serious trouble with both the police and your parents. It's not like today. If you had the cane at school your parents would want to know what you had had it for and you were likely to get it again at home!
'Unemployment in the town was very low, there were a lot of small engineering companies and I worked at one of them. In 1961 I was earning ￡3 a week I gave my mother ￡2 and kept ￡1. You could have a good Saturday night out on ten shillings (50p). My first record player in 1962 cost ￡l7 -
