Although known as Henry's , it's Sunday name was club international . Some of the girls would go there in the early-ish 80 s and the butch's would always be fighting .
It could have been early eighties, as I used to go in Dram Shop most weekend from later seventies up until the mid nineties.
I worked in Dram Shop late seventies. Run by Dot & Wilf Carmichael. Had a group of Deaf & Dumbers in every weekend - 12/15 of them (male & female). Good spenders but when they had a row with each other it often got physical. Borne out of frustration that they struggled to be understood by their mates that they were 'signing' to. Used to laugh at their rucks - no sound apart from the punches hitting home. Dot never banned them cos they were good spenders & usually good people. Memories !
The zoo keepers cottage is still there, I think it used to double up as the entrance. Could have been the blood. Sure it was Red Lion.
I used to go in Station on Bev Road after Monday night football at Endevour, you got some right nutters in there, there were always a few skagheads flogging bacon and cheese that they'd just nicked from the supermarket up the road.
I remember having a conversation with the landlord in there and him telling me how he'd had a few heart attacks and had just had triple bypass surgery. His arteries were in rag order, so he told me. As he was telling me this he lit up a Benny and Hedgehog and starting puffing away, happy as Larry. Unbelievable.
Only pub I remember feeling like had a hostile vibe towards me and my brethren was Banks Harbour, but nowt happened. I can reel off a list of naff estate pubs I've been in but never felt threatened. The spectre of violence looms largest in popular pubs on Bank Holiday weekends in my experience, when the rugby lads have been out too long. Do remember feeling wary in boozers in Stoke, Grimsby, Manchester & Leeds at various times, though no idea what they were called and nowt happened. It's the door staff you gotta watch!
Ha. I remember getting 'offered out' by some pensioner Ted in Banks Harbour in the 1990s for no reason at all. I just walked away - as Simon and Garfunkel said, in that particular case "everyway you look at it you lose".