Elaine Shearman memories of Bloomers

As you got older what was, and into your teenage years, where did you go when you started to go out?

I used to go to Bloomers, there was a club where the erm, the Swan, erm, Shopping Centre is now, [draws breath] there used to be a club there before they changed it and that of course, called Bloomers and I used to go there a lot, because it was only over the road. And all, everybody used to go, all my friends used to go. We used to go there or the Swan, there was erm, the Swan, the old Swan, erm, it’s now offices now. That was erm, quite a big erm, public house that was and it used to have dance floors and, er bars, quite a few bars and we used to go there.

Can I just ask you what Bloomers was?

Bloomers was a nightclub. It was a nightclub and we used to go there and it was, erm, like the sister to erm the Dolce Vita in town. So erm, acts used to come there and then when they’d, they used to go then to Dolce Vita. So it was erm, it was nice. That’s where I wen, I met my husband there.

What was the nightclub like, can you describe it a little bit to me?

It was erm… you went, had to go up the stairs, you had to go upstairs ‘cause it was on the top, it wasn’t erm, you didn’t go into the nightclub, you went upstairs, erm… through some doors… along there was the reception where you paid, then you went through and there was the cloakroom, a big dance floor and you’d got, s, seats round, and then there was another smaller dance floor, there was the bar, one bar, there was, two, three bars actually.

It’s quite a big place really, quite big.

Was it, when you used to attend there was it an, a, a dance hall or was it a disco?

A disco. It was a disco. Yes, and like I say, they used to have groups come from erm… come to play at, Bloomers and then they used to go to Dolce Vita. So erm, Screaming Lord Sutch, Long John Baldry, and then they used to go then to erm Bloomers.

Was it open till two o’clock every, every night?

Not Sunday. Sunday I think it was erm, I think it was eleven o’clock Sunday because then places didn’t stay open, on a Sunday, they, [clicking noise] not late anyway, they closed early on a Sunday. ‘cause on a Sunday there was no shops open at all. There was the, a newsagent’s open probably till lunchtime but there was n, no other shops. Your corner shop would probably open but not, if you went into town there would be no shops open at all in, on Sunday in town.

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