Those sweltering assemblies!

by highdose 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  highdose

  Anyone from the UK remember the assemblies at Twickenham? Cytrstal place? Gillingham?

  We sat there on those hard plastic seats getting baked! No breeze just relentless sun beating down. Trying to pay attention to the program while fanning ourselves with every WT we could find!

  I remember people passing out and being taken ill due to the extreme heat, i can remember at Crystal place two first aiders going around with a bucket of water so that people could soak a paper towel in it and get some relief.

  ... i also remember when the set member of the GB would stand on the platform and annouce to an audience of melting dubs in his patronising american voice " havn't we been blessed brothers and sisters with fine weather this assembly week end!"... cue wilting appluase from all the sweat drenched dubs!
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  nugget

  yes Twickenham was fry or freeze. East stand was benches fry all afternoon. West stand freeze all afternoon watching the opposite side fanning themselves.

  cinder path also meant white was a bad colour to wear.
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  Broken Promises

  Awww, did the merc rise to 23 degrees???

  Try sitting in the Australian sun at a race course with little shaded seating. And then you'd get a shower in the afternoon, and the temp would drop by 15 degrees. Brrrr!!!!
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  Heartofaboy

  Twickers.............aah the memories.

  Us kids use to while away the hours as the speakers droned on, spotting the planes as they flew over the stadium to or from Heathrow.

  The sound system echoed terribly & it was a real strain (in more ways than one) trying make out what was being said.

  And the cinders........every mothers nightmare as scrubbed kids turned grey.
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  wobble

  Gillingham, Kent this weekend for local Dubs, Tee Hee.

  Yup, fry or freeze is right, no in-between ! We used to go to Plymouth, and make a week of it, stayed in B&B near a Pub with other drinkin' buddies from my Congo. so slept most of the D.C away, if it was not too hot/cold !

  Last one I went to was actually Gillingham 2006, don't remember the D.C content, funny, all that build up and fuss about going, and I can't remember a thing that was said there, or any other D.C come to that, what a friggin waste of time and effort they are !

  Weather was mild and fine for once then in 2006, but, all in the past, thank goodness !
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  LouBelle

  Try Durban in the middle of summer. Whew, sweltering weather and humidity like you cannot believe. You were sticky, burnt and absolutely drained by 11 am. We used to have the assemblies in a huge rugby stadium, mates and I would make our way to the VERY top and park off with binoculors checking out the ocean or cute brothers
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  ambersun

  Ah yes, Twickenham and the cinder paths, I remember it well. I would arrive there looking like I had just stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine and end the day looking like a poor bedraggled little urchin that needed a good wash, either fried to a crisp or frozen half to death depending on the weather and where we were sitting in the stadium.

  The first time I went I was just 15 years old, not bad looking and had spent hours getting ready. I was eager to impress the lads. I wore a pretty, floaty dress and open toe sandles with carefully polished toes. I felt fantastic! As the day progressed I watched with horror as my beautifully manicured and carefully painted toes turned black, as did my face and hands, and my pale floral dress became a scrap of dirty old rag.
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  wobble

  Dear Ambersun, you weren't supposed to roll around on the cinder paths !!

  AH memories ! I had my first proper snog up in the stands at Twickenham in the late evening gloom, in 1963 with Janet "Hotlips". I was thirteen.
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  St George of England

  So many memories at Twickers and also the old Wembly stadium. I also remember Crystal Palace in the late 1980's when we had a heat wave and they gave out drinks during the sessions, totally unheard of. That must have been about 1998, my new car was broken into, along with dozens of other brothers motors.

  We also went to Edinburgh where it was normal to freeze even though it was June or July. One year however it was so hot all the food went off so ever after that we went into town for lunch.

  George
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  ambersun

  Dear Ambersun, you weren't supposed to roll around on the cinder paths !!

  Lol wobble I think it was quite hot and very dry as I can remember the cinders blowing up in black clouds round our ankles as we walked along, and I do remember spending a lot of time walking about. I can't remember actually rolling around in it but I have always been rather clumsy and accident prone so I probably tripped up and landed flat on my face at least once during the day!