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?

I was a member of the change end gang.

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

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.

I often worked at the bar at away end

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.

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).

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.

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.

My Grandad told me that back in the day it was reasonable practice to urinate through a rolled up match day programme skilfully directed to the floor. Particularly useful if you are at Odsal with 100,000 spectators rammed in.

Does anyone recall the tea/coffee/soup man that walked about the touchline with a space-age backpack of beverages?

What about the blanket for coins hurled from all directions?

Being greeted by that bloke in the bowler shouting, "look at all these sinners" while walking down Fletcher Street.

Used to stand near pond life corner.was fun and games when hull and hull kr came to town.. especially that cup game v hull when we were robbed blind by that ****** Billy Thompson got a bit tasty...there was a guy who sat in the stand above us sure his name was Albert had a booming voice he came out with some X rated comments about referees...happy days

stood under the clock with my dad when old enough went selling programs great days

Sure he disallowed at least 3 tries.

I was in the changing ends brigade. I also remember the toilets under the scoreboard. As was the fashion at the time, we wore long baggy jeans that skimmed the floor. I always tucked my jeans into my socks before going in the toilets, otherwise they soaked up the contents like a wick.
The closest we have to pondlife at the HJ is the western end of the south stand, very uncouth lot.

In my head I'm transported there, the smell of the place (wintergreen and urine), the sounds of the place (the clanks of the turnstiles, speccies banging on the corrugated iron walls at the back of the Fletch, march of gladiators playing as the Wire took the field, derogatory chants concerning Eddie Waring), the feel of the place (being jammed in the Fletch with the world and his wife for an important game with an attendance announcement of 6,254 that made everyone chuckle, the grit that used to fall from the roof when the ball landed on it after a goal kick). If only I could actually be there and do it all again for one more time, as it was, and watch a game.

I used to change ends at half time, but for some games the gate between PLC and the away end was shut. I stood near PLC a few times, watching the two sets of fans goading each other when there was a lull in the action on the pitch.

Sat/stood near the dugouts as a kid, mithering for sockties! Then graduated to the Fletch with my school mates until Wilderspool shut in 2003. We were in the same school year as 'IndepenDance' who used to perform alongside the Starlights. Halcyon days indeed.

Ha ha I used to mither for sockties.

Who remembers the fire?

Remember going to Wilderspool the day after it happened, and just looked in disbelief at the charred remains of the old wooden stand. I was lucky enough to get my hands on two tickets for the opening game in the new stand, where (IFRC) we gave Hull FC a good pummelling.

Walk across the playing fields from my mum's on Burgess Ave, into Marshalls on the Causeway for a quarter of sweets, get told I was a sinner by a bloke in a bowler hat, buy the latest copy of T F & The Wire and then into the darkness under the Fletcher End and on to the terracing, always just to the right of the sticks. Throw some change at the guys with the blanket & then enjoy the 1st half. Always change ends at half time if we were attacking railway end.

I remember the fire, I remember the touchdown club, and Snookers & Fiesta on a Friday night (or Peppermint Gardens), and sitting in the new Bevan stand for A team games, where I had my moment of fame when they called out my car reg for being illegally parked and I had to shift it!

I've not lived in Warrington for 30 years but I was over the other weekend and drove down Fletcher St.....hard to believe there was ever a ground there (even though there is a blue plaque on the wall), and very hard to believe they've never done anything with the land.

Happy memories

Another one for stood to the side of the score board with my old man back in the day.

The joys of an old traditional stadium.

Yup @Wire71 my old man was at the match the night before the stand got burnt down, discarded cig wasn't it?

Nowadays we have been south stand bandits since the new place opened.