(01 May 2015, 4:43 pm)Andreos1 wrote Never mind your 5 mins of fame, just read this (after reading your link) http://m.sunderlandecho.com/what-s-on/wa...-1-7240075

See him most Tuesdays at Ingeus and the odd occasion in the City Centre.

(01 May 2015, 4:57 pm)Malarkey wrote See him most Tuesdays at Ingeus and the odd occasion in the City Centre.

Complete with a ham and pease pudding stottie?

Speaking of Sunderland "legends", I saw "The Bag Man" (minus his bags) near Natwest Bank a week or two ago.

Hadn't seen him for a good few years prior to that - thought he had died!

(01 May 2015, 4:08 pm)MrFozz wrote First time in 2001-2002 and again from 2007-2011...Worked on the South Stand Away End till I nearly got sacked in 2010 after a game against Manchester United for the following

Manchester United Fans Like Vultures

Funny little story about that, When I got told off about it,  I was reminded that I was not supposed to talk to the press as outlined in some kind of employees handbook, which surprised me, because up to that point, I had never seen the Handbook and as soon as I told them that every bar got a handbook very quick

Gary Hutchinson(think he is overall head of catering and hpspitality supposedly went absolutely ballistic, I only kept my job because

1:-I had no knowledge of the employees handbook...and
2:-I told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

I was not actually on the bar it happened, but the bar opposite and was close to go and wade in, as my dad was team leader on the affected Bar, his tills were down about 500 notes when things settled down

Fozz you never fail to amuse me with your stories.

Anyway I started off in the West Stand with this lass called Nicole, who didnt live far from where I lived so I occasionally got a lift home if we missed the last bus if it was a late K.O, and then there was a reshuffle of Staff on each bar which ended up in me moving over to the North East Corner, Hated the Team Leader on my Bar so I requested to be moved, didnt go far only two bars up from where I was in the East Stand, but also meant I was allowed to pour pints as it was an Alcohol only Bar which I shouldnt of been on as I was only 17 at the time, but as it was only a few weeks till my 18th Birthday at the time they opted not to move me as I was quite good at the old pint pulling.

---

(01 May 2015, 5:01 pm)Andreos1 wrote Complete with a ham and pease pudding stottie?

Nah just Dancing.

Laura Rostron back on BBC Look North.

(01 May 2015, 5:31 pm)Andreos1 wrote Laura Rostron back on BBC Look North.

More of a Lucy Versamy on ITV type of Guy.

(01 May 2015, 4:43 pm)Andreos1 wrote Never mind your 5 mins of fame, just read this (after reading your link) http://m.sunderlandecho.com/what-s-on/wa...-1-7240075

Dave the Rave is a legend

(01 May 2015, 5:11 pm)Malarkey wrote Fozz you never fail to amuse me with your stories.

Anyway I started off in the West Stand with this lass called Nicole, who didnt live far from where I lived so I occasionally got a lift home if we missed the last bus if it was a late K.O, and then there was a reshuffle of Staff on each bar which ended up in me moving over to the North East Corner, Hated the Team Leader on my Bar so I requested to be moved, didnt go far only two bars up from where I was in the East Stand, but also meant I was allowed to pour pints as it was an Alcohol only Bar which I shouldnt of been on as I was only 17 at the time, but as it was only a few weeks till my 18th Birthday at the time they opted not to move me as I was quite good at the old pint pulling.

---

Nah just Dancing.

Who was the gaffer when you were there, was Dave Moses there...Rita(can't remember her surname)...We used to call Moses the Fuhrer or Il Duce

(01 May 2015, 5:05 pm)Dan wrote Speaking of Sunderland "legends", I saw "The Bag Man" (minus his bags) near Natwest Bank a week or two ago.

Hadn't seen him for a good few years prior to that - thought he had died!

Is Bag Man the guy who won't take anything off anyone, I remember offering some old homeless looking guy a cigarette and pound, he was not happy about it...He would walk round the town checking phone boxes to see if people left there change

(01 May 2015, 5:47 pm)MrFozz wrote Dave the Rave is a legend

Who was the gaffer when you were there, was Dave Moses there...Rita(can't remember her surname)...We used to call Moses the Fuhrer or Il Duce

No idea but they were all a bunch of arseholes, got told off by one of them one Match for taking my Hat and Jumper off as I was about to pass out due to it being over 20 Degrees on this particular day, took me around to the office and demanded I put them back on as I flat out refused to do so at the bar, in the end as he wasnt listening to me so I dumped them on his desk and told him to piss off, before walking out of the office and back around to the bar.

(01 May 2015, 5:50 pm)MrFozz wrote Is Bag Man the guy who won't take anything off anyone, I remember offering some old homeless looking guy a cigarette and pound, he was not happy about it...He would walk round the town checking phone boxes to see if people left there change

Was that not Jimmy Jesus?

I have't seen bag man in ages, glad hes ok though!

(01 May 2015, 5:50 pm)MrFozz wrote Is Bag Man the guy who won't take anything off anyone, I remember offering some old homeless looking guy a cigarette and pound, he was not happy about it...He would walk round the town checking phone boxes to see if people left there change

Not sure... "The Bag Man" is the one who tends to be dressed in a suit and tophat, and is typically found carrying various suitcases, briefcases or shopping bags around the City Centre.

You could stumble across about 20 various bags near Sunderland Station, all belonging to him, and they'd just sit there untouched as everyone seemingly knew they were his.

(01 May 2015, 5:56 pm)Malarkey wrote No idea but they were all a bunch of arseholes, got told off by one of them one Match for taking my Hat and Jumper off as I was about to pass out due to it being over 20 Degrees on this particular day, took me around to the office and demanded I put them back on as I flat out refused to do so at the bar, in the end as he wasnt listening to me so I dumped them on his desk and told him to piss off, before walking out of the office and back around to the bar.

I got on ok with the gaffers, most of the time my Team Leader was my dad, our stand manager was great, Dave Moses was a good boss, I decided to have a day off and meet some lads from Birmingham when Aston Villa came up in 2009, I went in the Away End, word somehow got back to Dave, I was appaeantly very easy to pick out, I was the only person out of nearly 2,500 fans trying to hide my face, I stood out like a sore thumb with my hood up and scarf round my face.

Moses also had an in-built David detector, as if he psychicly knew when I was talking too loud...Moses was like an RKO he would turn up out of nowhere

I also used to be team leader now and again...When The Fuhrer left, a woman called Rita(from Pompey) took over temporarily, then Nigel came and finally Lianne Henderson...Lianne was canny, but was out of her depth...I decided to leave in 2011, as I could not be arsed with the grief from Lindley Managers

My photo of Skelton Coaches SC63TOY is certainly getting some usage, it's now on their website.

(01 May 2015, 6:21 pm)MrFozz wrote I got on ok with the gaffers, most of the time my Team Leader was my dad, our stand manager was great, Dave Moses was a good boss, I decided to have a day off and meet some lads from Birmingham when Aston Villa came up in 2009, I went in the Away End, word somehow got back to Dave, I was appaeantly very easy to pick out, I was the only person out of nearly 2,500 fans trying to hide my face, I stood out like a sore thumb with my hood up and scarf round my face.

Moses also had an in-built David detector, as if he psychicly knew when I was talking too loud...Moses was like an RKO he would turn up out of nowhere

I also used to be team leader now and again...When The Fuhrer left, a woman called Rita(from Pompey) took over temporarily, then Nigel came and finally Lianne Henderson...Lianne was canny, but was out of her depth...I decided to leave in 2011, as I could not be arsed with the grief from Lindley Managers

That was the one that was there when I was there then left not long after, friggin Nigel.

I left for pretty much the same reason as you in the January of 2011, and also to focus more on my College Studies.

I also no showed for the Spurs Home Game that season as I had won Tickets through the SAFC Foundation Bus at College, for having the best average Weight out of all the Students who went to Usworth College, Nigel collared me in the Queue at the Bar at Half Time, not my fault he didnt return my calls saying I wouldnt be working said Match, although iirc correctly didnt they have rule where if you missed 3 Games in a Row they assumed you Quit.

(01 May 2015, 6:30 pm)Malarkey wrote That was the one that was there when I was there then left not long after, friggin Nigel.

I left for pretty much the same reason as you in the January of 2011, and also to focus more on my College Studies.

I also no showed for the Spurs Home Game that season as I had won Tickets through the SAFC Foundation Bus at College, for having the best average Weight out of all the Students who went to Usworth College, Nigel collared me in the Queue at the Bar at Half Time, not my fault he didnt return my calls saying I wouldnt be working said Match, although iirc correctly didnt they have rule where if you missed 3 Games in a Row they assumed you Quit.

Yes, I think they did, I found Nigel to be ok, our job title was Kiosk Staff and Nigel tried to change it Public Catering assistant...

Nigel was sack halfway through that season as someone laid him for supposedly dipping the tills, we later found out he had not done a thing wrong, it was someone who did not like him...

Did you ever work the concerts, over 4 concerts in 2009, my bar took about 25-30 large per night and one night my dad nearly walked out the Ground with 5k in his back pocket, if he had walked out with it, they would never have noticed it was gone, we took 35 large in one night when Oasis played the Stadium, I had never seen as much money as that ever

(01 May 2015, 6:50 pm)MrFozz wrote Yes, I think they did, I found Nigel to be ok, our job title was Kiosk Staff and Nigel tried to change it Public Catering assistant...

Nigel was sack halfway through that season as someone laid him for supposedly dipping the tills, we later found out he had not done a thing wrong, it was someone who did not like him...

Did you ever work the concerts, over 4 concerts in 2009, my bar took about 25-30 large per night and one night my dad nearly walked out the Ground with 5k in his back pocket, if he had walked out with it, they would never have noticed it was gone, we took 35 large in one night when Oasis played the Stadium, I had never seen as much money as that ever

The food/drink at Oasis was an absolute shambles.
Mates missed whole sets stood in queues.

(01 May 2015, 6:30 pm)Malarkey wrote That was the one that was there when I was there then left not long after, friggin Nigel.

I left for pretty much the same reason as you in the January of 2011, and also to focus more on my College Studies.

I also no showed for the Spurs Home Game that season as I had won Tickets through the SAFC Foundation Bus at College, for having the best average Weight out of all the Students who went to Usworth College, Nigel collared me in the Queue at the Bar at Half Time, not my fault he didnt return my calls saying I wouldnt be working said Match, although iirc correctly didnt they have rule where if you missed 3 Games in a Row they assumed you Quit.

No I didnt do any Concerts as I was only there from August 2010 to January 2011.

(01 May 2015, 6:56 pm)Andreos1 wrote The food/drink at Oasis was an absolute shambles.
Mates missed whole sets stood in queues.

I know it was, Lindley were not prepared for it, they should have double the staff and the kiosks were never designed with concerts in mind, there was not enough beer taps on the bars, they were going quicker than we could pull them, I could pull 4 pints in about 20 seconds and at one point that night I never stopped pulling pints for over 2 hours constantly...queues between 45-60 minutes at one point, it was a joke and a disgrace to be honest.

We could see from the off we would not cope and the management were having none of it

This is how bad it got, we had 3 buckets full of spillage and from the drip tray, a Lindley Executive, from Head Office came onto a bar and told us to fill pint glasses half full and pull the other half through the tap, and that is what some did(they didn't want to go against a big boss) I wanted nothing to do with that, I walked off and did something else...It was absolutely disgusting!!!

(01 May 2015, 7:17 pm)MrFozz wrote I know it was, Lindley were not prepared for it, they should have double the staff and the kiosks were never designed with concerts in mind, there was not enough beer taps on the bars, they were going quicker than we could pull them, I could pull 4 pints in about 20 seconds and at one point that night I never stopped pulling pints for over 2 hours constantly...queues between 45-60 minutes at one point, it was a joke and a disgrace to be honest.

We could see from the off we would not cope and the management were having none of it

This is how bad it got, we had 3 buckets full of spillage and from the drip tray, a Lindley Executive, from Head Office came onto a bar and told us to fill pint glasses half full and pull the other half through the tap, and that is what some did(they didn't want to go against a big boss) I wanted nothing to do with that, I walked off and did something else...It was absolutely disgusting!!!

Minging.
Doesn't surprise me like. Thank goodness I didn't drink that much that night.

(01 May 2015, 7:27 pm)Andreos1 wrote Minging.
Doesn't surprise me like. Thank goodness I didn't drink that much that night.

I never get a drink if I goto a Sunderland, the lager was minging...Despite being told different, I am personally convinced it is watered down...

But the prices were daylight robbery as well

£3.10(During the football season) for Lager(£4 odd for Concerts)
£2.90(During the football season) for Bitter(£4 odd for concerts)
Pies: £2.90
Pop: £1.70 or about £2.50 for concerts
Crisps/Chocolate/Sweets : £1 or about £2.50 at gigs
Miniature spirits were well over 3 quid and nearly 5 quid at gigs and half a bottle of wine set ya back 13 quid at a gig...

I was disillusioned in the end, I sympathise with football fans and concert goers, some of our staff were idiots, and some could barely speak English, now, I ain't racist or xenophobic, but it would piss me off to hear Chinese, French, Arabic, even bits of Russian and Hindi/Urdu/Punjabi, in the end, one of our gaffers said 'English Only in the bar' and promised to come down hard on people who took no notice

Reading the posts on this thread tonight does worry me as I will be heading to the Stadium of Light for the Foo Fighters gig on the next bank holiday Monday.

The prices for drinks at gigs everywhere is a joke, I often drink very little at gigs as it costs an absolute fortune to pay for, I think I bought some chips when I saw the Killers at Wembley Stadium and I think it costed something ridiculous like £5! And I think just a regular sized Coke was around £4. They charge so much simply because they can.

Also saw Kings of Leon at the Stadium of Light a few years back and the queues were horrendous for food and drink.

Hopefully things will be okay this time but it is always hell at these sorts of things.

(01 May 2015, 8:21 pm)Jimmi wrote Reading the posts on this thread tonight does worry me as I will be heading to the Stadium of Light for the Foo Fighters gig on the next bank holiday Monday.

The prices for drinks at gigs everywhere is a joke, I often drink very little at gigs as it costs an absolute fortune to pay for, I think I bought some chips when I saw the Killers at Wembley Stadium and I think it costed something ridiculous like £5! And I think just a regular sized Coke was around £4. They charge so much simply because they can.

Also saw Kings of Leon at the Stadium of Light a few years back and the queues were horrendous for food and drink.

Hopefully things will be okay this time but it is always hell at these sorts of things.

The bars at the Stadium were never designed with concerts in mind, some of the bars barely cope for football...And none of our SAFC based managers had experience of an event as big as a concert

There designed to cope with 90 minutes before a match and 40 minutes around half time, at some concerts were simply overwhelmed and really unprepared for those first concerts in 2009(Take That x3 and Oasis)...

And your right Jimmi, the pricing is a joke, and your right, they charge a kings ransom because it ain't like you can say to a steward 'I'm popping out for a pint' or 'Can I goto the Off-Licence', it is scandalous and to be honest, it should not be allowed in my opinion, if you want a good drink in the Stadium during a concert you will need a to remortgage your house to do so

My partner telling me that they want to come along to the bus rally on BH Monday. Unfortunatly with me having to start work at 1330, I be gone by 1230.

I'm really looking forward to the rally tomorrow. Going to get myself sorted tonight get my bits and bobs etc ready then be up early in the morning

(03 May 2015, 4:22 pm)leestransportphotos wrote I'm really looking forward to the rally tomorrow. Going to get myself sorted tonight get my bits and bobs etc ready then be up early in the morning

Enjoy...! 

On a role with my research project, trying to get the big bits out the way.............. due in on Tuesday though.

I'm having a really long weekend...off school again due to a powercut  

(05 May 2015, 6:26 am)Robert wrote I'm having a really long weekend...off school again due to a powercut  

If their was a power cut at my brother's school - lets just say that half of Ashington, including the Arriva depot and Asda will be having power cuts too, including houses.  :s Never want that to happen again...

Got tickets to see Blur live in Blackpool next month

Think I may take the Nikon with me for bus photos as the new Mercedes Citaro's enter service a few weeks before I go. If I don't I am supposed to be going again about a week or two later where I plan to do an outing around Blackpool.

The election