AFTERSHAVE, ARMY LIFE AND ROCK 'N' ROLL
While in Cork recently, passing through the Brown Thomas store, I noticed these three young lads, one no more than 13/14, the others possibly 15 or 16. They were in the perfume section and they were testing aftershave at one of the many display stands.
I had an immediate flashback to 1964 when I was a member of the Red Cross (medical arm of the FCA as opposed to the Irish Red Cross), in Kilworth.
I had joined up earlier that year with a number of my pals from around the village. The 'joining up' was a bit scary but very exciting and eventually, taking ownership of the uniform, the boots and the gaiters, gave me that 'young man' feel.
The weekly training sessions upstairs in the Market House (overhead what is now the Chiropractic Clinic) were something I eagerly looked forward to and soon we were off on field days to places like Collins Barracks and Ballincollig.
A big incentive to join the FCA or the Red Cross was the annual fortnight's training for which you were paid! Just imagine - two weeks 'away' to Cork or Lahinch or wherever - and getting paid for it!
Now, back to the lads and the aftershave. We were sent for a fortnight’s training that summer to Collins’ Barracks in Cork city.
What jogged my memory regarding the aftershave was, having received our first week’s ‘wages’ from the Red Cross, a gang of us headed to Patrick Street to check out the various shops and stores. What freedom, what independence - and money in our pockets to boot!
It was in Cash’s (now Brown Thomas) that I tried out my first splash of aftershave.
Old Spice was a big seller at that time but it was the freshness of Tabac Original that took my fancy - a brand that I stuck with for many years after.
The freedom of ‘shopping in the city’ (and having the money to do just that) was exhilarating to say the least. I recall purchasing a ‘summer’ shirt - shortsleeved with check pattern in Roche’s Stores and, to this day, I can say it was the nicest shirt I ever wore.
Practically all the shirts at that time would have long sleeves and sported just three buttons at the top, resulting in having to pull the shirt on over your head. My purchase came complete with breast pocket and buttons all the way down - what style!
THE CANTEEN
Another great memory of that fortnight in Cork is going to the canteen each evening in the barracks when 'work' was done. A bottle of milk and two cheesecakes - that was the stuff to hit the spot! Milk was a big hit with young people at that time with the city sporting several shops that were the 'in-place' for a bottle of milk and a few cakes or buns - even late at night after a dance. It was not unusual to see a queue form outside these shops at half two or three o'clock in the morning.
THE DANCE
From the back of the Army lorry that transported us from The Square in Kilworth to Collins Barrack to start our fortnight's training, we saw a queue beginning to form outside The Arcadia Ballroom on the Glanmire Road. Topping the bill that night was none other than Bill Haley and his Comets who were riding high in the charts with 'Rock Around The Clock'. The following day's Cork Examiner brought the news that someone had been stabbed outside The Arcadia that same night.
We didn't venture to The Arcadia but rather, headed for The Palm Court down on Caroline Street. We had heard so much about The Palm Court because it was owned by a Kilworth native, Mr John W Reidy. John W became an independent member of Cork Corporation and for his election campaign used the slogan "The needy need Reidy and Reidy needs your votes". John W also had a dance hall in Carrigaline.
Having got past half a dozen or so 'quare wans' outside The Palm Court asking 'do ya want someone to dance with boy' (in other words 'pay me in and you'd never know').
'THE TWIST'
In keeping with the music of the time, while 'Rock Around The Clock' was big, Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' was the new dance craze and we spent most of our night in The Palm Court watching a lad who we understood was a sailor, giving a master class on how to do 'The Twist'. And could he do it - twisting all the way to the floor, knees bent and his head back and his hair touching the floor behind him.
Dancers were scarce on the floor but a few of us 'country boys' decided to have a go and plucked up enough courage to ask a few girls out to dance. It was a slow set and my partner was only up to my chest in height and as we mooched around the floor, I noticed the lads in floods of tears pointing me out to one another. It turned out my dance partner had two bandy legs, something the lads thought was hilarious. I think that finished my dancing for that night - the twisting kid gyrating on the floor with all the women around him, somehow seemed a better attraction.
CAUGHT WITH MY TROUSERS DOWN
One memory I should really forget was during that fortnight, we were taken to Ballincollig Barracks for some exercise or other. That over, we had a meal and were told the lorry would be leaving at a certain time. The grub didn't agree with me which, on realising I would never make it back to Cork, necessitated a trip to the loo. Whatever the chef added to the mix, certainly put me through the ringer and, with the time ticking away, I eventually heard some of the lads call my name. A hasty exit from the toilet block saw me, with my trousers down around my ankles, try to run after the lorry as it pulled away with all the lads cheering! Hilarious? Maybe for them but certainly not for me!
In conclusion, I must point out that I was not the most diligent 'Red Crosser'. That summer camp in Collins' Barracks was my first and only one. Music took over - that became the new passion where the electric guitar and my trying to learn about crotchets and quavers replaced the shiny buttons of my Red Cross uniform. Happy days!