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"the Dining Rooms"


THYLACINE

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Sometime in the late 60's, I'm an apprentice electrician at UCC otherwise known as Orgreave Coke Ovens. My superiors have big ambitions for me, according to them I could make Electrical Engineer in 5 years if I apply myself. But despite a Grammar School education, I've been on the slide for the last couple of years, going through a teenage crisis when nothing else matters but riding the motorbike, playing football on Saturday and going to the pub on weekends. They're pushing the Ordinary National but night school is not on my agenda - three nights a week! Who are they kidding? I lump for the City and Guilds on block release and they send me to some Dickensian workhouse near Kelham Island, wooden benches and Bunsen burners. But it has it's advantages - there are girls on the course, two girls, heavily outnumbered but it didn’t matter. And there was the Alma, on a back street behind the college, 2 minutes walk, pie and peas every lunchtime and a pint of Stones. I think I came of age at that place, at that time.

I made a friend there, a lad called Tony Haines. We were drawn together by a mutual love of bikes, he rode a Triumph, me a BSA. He was the only bloke I know who smoked a cigarette and rode his bike at the same time. His parents ran a chip shop and one lunch time when we were really skint, we rode up to Crookes and grabbed ourselves a free feed of fish and chips. Another time, and I reckon this only happened once, he took me to place called simply “The Dining Rooms”. I remember it as a very modest establishment, somewhere in the heart of Sheffield, which attracted all walks of people from penniless students like us to aspiring businessmen, mothers with little ones to feed and drop-outs of all ages in off the street. The Dining Rooms were staffed by three or four hard working ladies wearing pinafores and headscarves, all fine adverts for the fare they served. Seating was on wooden benches at long tables, there was no menu, no choices, you had what was served on the day or went elsewhere. The food was hearty, basic, healthy and cheap.

I hope my description has jogged a few memories, does anyone out there remember ‘The Dining Rooms’?

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Sounds like you may be talking about "Butlers Dining Rooms" Thylacine. Later named Butlers Cafe then the Baltihouse, then of course being demolished.

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There's been dining rooms at 194 Brook Hill since the early 1900's (before that it was Foster's Decorators and before that Camm's Drapers)

Butler, Stephen (Dining Rooms).

Residing at 194 Brook Hill, in 1925.( Sheffield & Rotherham Kelly’s Directory).

Champion, William (Eating House).

Residing at 194 Brook Hill, in 1905. ( White’s Directory of Sheffield & Rotherham.)

There was a Butler's Dining Rooms, unrelated as far as I can see, at 60 Snighill and 11 Fargate from 1878 - 1898.

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