Category: Other British Gigs

Other British Gigs Part 7 – York

There is archaeological evidence that gives weight to the theory that the area of York existed as far back as 8000BC. As you cross over into an AD timeline the town was owned by the Romans and the Vikings, and it was subsequently significantly damaged in the Norman conquest of 1066. In later times, it prospered as the urban centre of Yorkshire and remarkably in 1660, it was the third-largest city in England behind London and Norwich.

Famous York folk include Judi Dench, Frankie Howard, former England manager Steve McClaren, composer John Barry and the bands Shed Seven and the 1980’s ‘anarchists’ The Redskins who once famously in 1984 brought a striking miner onto stage on Channel 4’s The Tube to make a speech during their song but his microphone was switched off! They also must have a sweet tooth in the area as the chocolatiers Joseph Rowntree and Joseph Terry (latterly of Chocolate Orange fame) were born there. 

The Redskins. Image Credit Pinterest

York is literally stacked with history and remarkably contains 34 conservation areas, 2084 listed buildings, 22 ancient monuments and a plethora of olde worlde atmospheric old boozers! I have very fond memories of visiting York as a child and tromping along the remnants of the city walls.

We reacquainted about 20 years ago with some old friends that Gill trained with back in the day and geographically York was a mutually agreeable meeting place to have a rendezvous. We had three annual trips and, on each occasion, coupled it with a jaunt to the nearby Wetherby races and I recall one drunken night visiting the local branch of Popworld! On one of those forays, I also remember being in a boozer there watching Michael Owen score two late goals for England to win a terrific match 3-2 against old rivals Argentina.  

The small downsides are that the city can be a tad touristy and has a rather complex one-way traffic system. To mitigate this, we now choose to travel there on the train and tend to stay at the nearby Premier Inn. As a train enthusiast I always try and make a pilgrimage to the terrific and heartily recommended Railway Museum which first opened its doors in 1975. There are even two public houses encased within the station, namely the Duke of York and the York Tap to whet your whistle before the journey home!     

My favourite ever racecourse is located in the city and the races have taken place since 1731 on the nearby Knavesmire accessed via a short shuttle bus ride from the station. The Knavesmire is a large green space where the gallows were originally located, and Dick Turpin was hanged there in 1739. It is such a good viewing course and exemplifies one of my visualisations of the ‘green and pleasant land’.

York Racecourse. Image Credit webaviation.co.uk

When in attendance in 2018 there was a pop-up stage in the York Races County Stand, where we saw Dr Jazz who are a local 6-piece Great Gatsby band who play songs from the 1920/1930’s era and are bedecked in top hat, waistcoats and bow ties. We saw the same band again at our most recent visit a couple of months ago.

In 2018 they also had another band called Dr Thirsty playing on the York Races Tattersalls Stage, who are a wedding and function band. On our next visit the following year we witnessed Superlicks, a locally based three piece ‘party’ band.  On our latest trip they had then set up a bespoke area thus creating York Races Tattersalls Stage 2 where the Irish Jags were performing some woeful covers. Additionally, by the bus pick up area there was the York Racecourse Stage where a singer called Ed Winchard was playing.  

On the 2024 visit we decided to stay a couple of nights and on the Thursday, we discovered a terrific pub called the Market Cat, a three-storey establishment with views of the market and the archaic streets of the city. They had a comprehensive selection of fine ales and tidy looking pizzas. Best of all, they had a fine indie soundtrack, and I heard tracks by the View, Sea Power and most excitingly Husker Du whilst ensconced there. On our way back to the digs we caught a chap called Barney playing in York Brewdog.

Market Cat viewpoint. Image Credit tripadvisor.co.uk

We braved the chaotic local Wetherspoons for breakfast on race day and had a good sally round the city post -racing including a sly return visit to the Market Cat. On the Saturday we were on York St Helen’s Square, off Stonegate which was the original location for the departure point for stagecoaches to London. On a pop up stage, we saw Malachy playing whilst three years earlier we witnessed local four piece King No-One there. The latter recently played at the Year End Festival I attended in Manchester a couple of weeks ago.  

Other British Gigs – Part 6

Despite being a proud Lancastrian, I always enjoy visiting Yorkshire towns as they quite often have a rustic charm to them. In 2016 we made a visit to Ripon racecourse which has a long history dating back to 1660 and they were quite literally forerunners by having the historic first ever occurrence of a ‘ladies only’ race as early as 1723. It is an ongoing travesty that is has taken another three centuries since then to even reach any modicum of equality in this regard.  

The pleasant setting at Ripon Racecourse generates the moniker as Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse, and we stayed nearby at the Black A Moor Inn which was literally five minutes’ walk away down a country road. We visited on St George’s Day where they rather quaintly had a separate turnstile and free access to anyone called George, if you could provide evidence of your name. It was a shame that we didn’t have Uncle George in tow on this trip!    

Ripon Racecourse. Image Credit the strayferret.co.uk

They had Theakstons beer on draught which is a good thing in my book and there was also traditional music with a set by the Wetherby Silver Band who have been performing since 1878, not with the same band members! It was a taxi ride into the town centre, and we found a couple of decent pubs to dethaw from the bracing winds outside and I recall the FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Manchester United was showing on a small TV in the corner.

We subsequently ended up in a rather average quality eatery, which was unusual as we always generally found a decent restaurant when away on these trips, quite often a curry house.   

In that regard when we visited Catterick races, we stayed in the nearby town of Catterick Garrison and had some tea in the Asha Tandoori, which I would quantify as a hugely traditional venue. This sparked a thought as what criteria constituted a perfect old fashioned Indian restaurant and I have identified five key elements evolved since my first experience of Preston’s ‘Curry 1/16th Mile’ down on Church Street back in the 1980’s!

The first is fine food and drink, including ice cold Cobra, which is a ‘Shay’ Given! The second is traditional bhangra music to tap your feet to and the third is a slopey floor and the dangerous vertigo inducing stairs, an example of this is in the Shahzaad Tandoori in Preston. The fourth is food being served on a trolley in true Mrs Overall style and the fifth is the most important of them all in that at the culmination of the meal you are served After Eights with no substitutes accepted!

Ten miles down the A61 from Ripon lies Thirsk where we visited the races in the summer of 2022, complete with a stay in one of the requisite quirky B&B’s you always find in these small towns!  They have been racing there since 1612 and it is a lovely homely old market town with many green areas on the outskirts and the course is within easy walking distance from town. They are the home of the World of James Herriot Museum and are also within a 20-minute commute of direct trains on to York.  

Thirsk Market Square. Image Credit reddit.com

At a bandstand at Thirsk Racecourse, we saw a chap called Aidan undertake a short set between races. We completed the day by visiting a couple of hostelries around the Market Square and then had a fine meal at Hung Moey Chinese restaurant to complete the evening.