WITH Strictly Come Dancing back on our televisions, former landlord of the Moon and Mushroom at Swilland, Clive Goodall, who is now retired and living in the South of France, has recalled the days when ballroom dancing was popular at local ballrooms.

Clive said: “Ballroom dances were the 60s equivalent of today’s night clubs.

“There were several in Ipswich including The Savoy, The St Lawrence, The Manor Ballroom, The Arlington and Victor Sylvester’s.

“The Savoy was the largest and had the additional attraction of having a licensed bar.

“As dancing was the principal method of meeting the opposite sex, most teenagers could at least waltz, quickstep, cha-cha and jive.

“The jive was the only one done with much physical enthusiasm, the others being an excuse for the fellers to get up close and ‘chat up’ the girls.

“The Savoy bar closed at 11pm on a Saturday night, as did all the pubs, fighting and raucous behavior was a rarity then.”

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