Remembering Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955)

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
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John Upham
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Re: Remembering Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955)

Post by John Upham » Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:55 pm

In the 1970s I would cycle to Brixton from Waterloo fairly regularly to purchase table tennis equipment from Playrite Sports. Not many fights that I can recall. The shop was owned by ex-England international, Connie Warren.
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John McKenna

Re: Remembering Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955)

Post by John McKenna » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:19 pm

I last 'visited' about a year-and-a-half ago and got a bit of verbal hassle, just off the main drag, for not being quick enough to engage in a bit of banter with one of the locals.

I also know people who have been mugged in Herne Hill in the not too distant past.

How much such trouble and strife do you get in Camberley, Redhill and Guildford, I wonder.

Mike Gunn
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Re: Remembering Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955)

Post by Mike Gunn » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:47 pm

The worst I have experienced in Guildford is being attacked by an OAP with a walking stick for cycling down a footpath (I did slow down to let him pass). I regard myself as partially vindicated by the fact that the council subsequently converted this path into a shared foot/ cycle path, so I was just a bit ahead of my time. Apart from that I have been verbally abused by cars full of youths because I lack a full head of hair. But violence is all around us, and particularly on the chessboard.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Remembering Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955)

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:58 pm

"How much such trouble and strife do you get in Camberley, Redhill and Guildford, I wonder."

I recall being at Guildford Chess Club when there was a fight going on across the street, so one of the Guildford members rushed out to help try and stop it. Everyone else didn't know whether he was brave or stupid (well, we thought it was the latter), so we watched from the window. He came back unscathed. That seemed an isolated incident, although another member did violently shove me in the back a few years ago and falsely accused me of making a noise. (Neither of these people was Mike!)

Redhill is very variable, the Wetherspoons pub (near the chess club) can get a bit lively, and when I walked past one day, some young person followed me hurling abuse and saying, "Run, run." I ignored him and got in my car, and he went off to annoy someone else. But apart from the time the staff were mopping up the blood from the floor as we arrived, we had many peaceful years in there. The Abbot was a good place for a fight. It was near the station and opposite Macdonalds. The police used to arrive about 1030 pm, park outside Macdonalds and wait for the screams.

But most parts are better than that!

Reverting to Brixton, a friend was stopped at traffic lights, and was slightly surprised to see a young man carrying a lighted firework, said person then attempted to open the passenger door of my friend's car. Happily, he routinely locked the doors, so no harm was done.

Brixton was quite posh at the end of the 19th Century, even Mayfair wine merchants lived there.

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