Saturday night beneath plastic palm trees

The news of the demise of the Ilford Palais is so sad. It’s demolition is akin to losing your favourite uncle – you might not have been to see him lately, but you have so many fond memories from visits in the past.
The vast majority of the local population must have been through those doors at some stage and their first ever visit to the Palais will be indelibly etched in their memory banks.
That thrill of anticipation and the adrenalin rush as you went through the doors with your mates.
My first visit was on a Sunday night. The lads from the football team took me.
I was the youngest and still in the sixth form, but they picked me up and even helped me finish my geography homework, so I could go!
They got the light and bitters and lager tops in – there were no Becks or Bud in those days – while I lurked in the background.
Then we hit the dance floor. Remember Hi Ho Silver Lining and All or Nothing? The place was rocking.
And who could ever forget those plastic palm trees? Did they grow over the years?
Happy days.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s ,Ilford Film ruled the world, Ilford FC reached the last Amateur Cup Final and the Ilford Palais was the place to be.
Fast forward 30-odd years and Ilford Limited has closed its site and moved out of the borough. A housing development now stands on Ilford FC’s Lynn Road ground, and the Palais is being knocked down.
TREVOR DAVIES