Two big days in the Brigg calendar were May Day Thursday and the Horse Fair which was held on 5 August unless that date fell on a Sunday.
The fair in May dated back to medieval times and was authorised originally by Act of Parliament or Statute, which is why we called it "Stattus."
It was originally a hiring fair where agricultural workers would be engaged to work for a year, but our main interest was the funfair in the White Horse Pub's paddock with roundabouts, dodgem cars, gypsy fortune tellers, coconut shies and other means of luring pennies from our pockets.
There were also one-armed bandits and my mother once hit the jackpot of about eight shillings. At the time my Dad's weekly wage was fifty shillings, so there was great rejoicing.
The gypsy fortune tellers - I think there were usually three of them - had little tents just inside the paddock gate and the thing I most remember was that they wore brooches of gold sovereigns. These gold coins had been in common use up to 1914, but in the 1930s could be sold to jewellers for thirty shillings; that was about one and a half times their face value.
The gypsy fortune tellers - I think there were usually three of them - had little tents just inside the paddock gate and the thing I most remember was that they wore brooches of gold sovereigns. These gold coins had been in common use up to 1914, but in the 1930s could be sold to jewellers for thirty shillings; that was about one and a half times their face value.
The gypsies used to park their traditional gaily painted caravans on Bigby Road, close to the recreation ground, and I got to know a boy and a girl about my age. Later in life I realised that their accents were probably Welsh and the fact that the boy was always called by two names, John Thomas, in the Welsh fashion, adds to the credibility of that belief.
The girl, whose name I forget, once threatened to get her grandmother to put a curse on me! Although Mayday Thursday was the big day, the funfair went on for about a week.
The Horse Fair fell in the school summer holiday, so all the boys went to see the horse trading that went on in parts of Wrawby Street, Grammar School Road and Queen Street. At the end of the day the fire engine was brought out to hose away the material the horses had deposited.
Occasionally, circuses came to Brigg, to either the White Horse paddock or the Brocklesby Ox paddock, off Bridge Street. Kids could wander around the grounds and get close enough to touch the elephants. One elephant killed its keeper at Louth a few days after the circus had been at Brigg.
The Grand Cinema played a large part in my early life. I think it was built in the late 1920s. When I first started going to the Saturday afternoon matinees the price of admission was one old penny but it was soon raised to two old pence. A big attraction for us was the serial. I think most of the serials had about 12 weekly episodes; every episode ended in a "cliff-hanger" situation from which the hero or heroine was miraculously extricated at the beginning of the next episode. The villain of the piece was exposed in the last episode - it was usually some hitherto unsuspected person.
The Horse Fair fell in the school summer holiday, so all the boys went to see the horse trading that went on in parts of Wrawby Street, Grammar School Road and Queen Street. At the end of the day the fire engine was brought out to hose away the material the horses had deposited.
Occasionally, circuses came to Brigg, to either the White Horse paddock or the Brocklesby Ox paddock, off Bridge Street. Kids could wander around the grounds and get close enough to touch the elephants. One elephant killed its keeper at Louth a few days after the circus had been at Brigg.
The Grand Cinema played a large part in my early life. I think it was built in the late 1920s. When I first started going to the Saturday afternoon matinees the price of admission was one old penny but it was soon raised to two old pence. A big attraction for us was the serial. I think most of the serials had about 12 weekly episodes; every episode ended in a "cliff-hanger" situation from which the hero or heroine was miraculously extricated at the beginning of the next episode. The villain of the piece was exposed in the last episode - it was usually some hitherto unsuspected person.
When I was very young there were two cinemas in Brigg; the other one was called the Electric cinema and was housed in the Corn Exchange.
Not many of the films I saw have remained in my memory but I remember several of the actors: Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn; the trio of Will Hay, Moore Marriot and Graham Moffat. Films with George Formby and Gracie Fields guaranteed a full house. One vivid memory is of Charles Laughton, as Henry VIII, exulting "It's a boy" when he learned that his queen, Jane Seymour, had given him a son.
For a few weeks in about 1937 we had a repertory company in Brigg which performed at the Parish Hall in Elwes Street. I went to a few performances but can recall only one line of dialogue.
Not many of the films I saw have remained in my memory but I remember several of the actors: Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn; the trio of Will Hay, Moore Marriot and Graham Moffat. Films with George Formby and Gracie Fields guaranteed a full house. One vivid memory is of Charles Laughton, as Henry VIII, exulting "It's a boy" when he learned that his queen, Jane Seymour, had given him a son.
For a few weeks in about 1937 we had a repertory company in Brigg which performed at the Parish Hall in Elwes Street. I went to a few performances but can recall only one line of dialogue.
In one play Ken Bell, whose Dad kept the Yarborough Hunt pub, and his girl cousin, appeared as children and Ken's memorable line was "I've been playing hopscotch with Lisa."
To be continued on Brigg Blog . Many more memories of Brigg long ago still to come from Cliff.