Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:28 pm  

Sally brought back a blast from the past in describing the delightful spectating area at Wilderspool commonly referred to as "Pond Life Corner". He refers to it as containing "scallies and grumpy men".

I wanted to enquire if we have any current forum members who elected to stand there?

Myself I preferred the cover, latrines and aroma of the Fletcher Street End, with occasional forays onto the 25m line of the standing in the Bevan Stand if my Dad was coming.

Who used to change ends at HT?

Final question - Do we have a new Pond Life corner at the HJ?

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:41 pm  

I was a member of the change end gang.

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:43 pm  

Always changed ends whenever it was possible. Actually found the railway end better than the fletch to watch the game.

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:45 pm  

Moe syslak wrote:

Always changed ends whenever it was possible. Actually found the railway end better than the fletch to watch the game.

Was that because the smell was not as bad in that end

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:51 pm  

karetaker wrote:

Was that because the smell was not as bad in that end

I was more concerned of going "a over t" by slipping on the yellow coloured ice within and around the gents near the scoreboard. The youngsters just don't realise how much peril you could be in, before summer rugby was introduced.

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:53 pm  

I often worked at the bar at away end

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 3:56 pm  

Mostly Fletcher Street End. I was superstitious about it during the Jonathan Davies era because we were generally winning, so I wanted to go in the same part every week, slightly to the left of the posts.

The superstition stopped working soon after Davies left so I started to roam around more. Still mostly the Fletcher Street End for the big games with the big crowds but when the crowds were thinner I'd watch some games in Pondlife. You would get some good wisecracking banter in there from the cynical old timers but there were idiots too who could ruin it. Worst was if you got a group of young lads who had spent a few hours getting tanked up in the Original Wire before the game. The "Stone Island" type.

In the last few years at Wilderspool I started going to the section to the right of the Bevan stand, close to the touchline. Most of my memories of the DVDV/Plange/Cullen era are from there.

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 4:00 pm  

I was to be found on 'Windy Corner' at the Fletcher Street End, just to the side of the scoreboard. Handy spot for both the bar (though in pre-summer rugby times, I was more likely to have what optimistically passed for a coffee) and the toilets (which rarely passed for toilets).

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 4:25 pm  

We either stood on the halfway line by the dug out, or literally underneath Geordie's drum. Did get wacked a few times there. Watched 2 games in the boxes. One against Cas, ended 6-8 and Wilson scored our try... if memory serves.

Re: Pond Life Corner : Fri Aug 11, 2023 5:23 pm  

What? There were latrines behind the Fletch? I thought one just relieved themselves where one was stood. Sort of added to the atmosphere. The smell of Urine and Wintergreen on the palate.

I used to change ends. The best place to be in a rugby league ground is behind the sticks of where your team is scoring. There is no other way.