1970 Spon End Flood

[rebbonk]

Bilitzkid, can we have more tales like this please? I'd love to know more about the local gambling scene.

[dutchman]

Dutchman
A house in fleet street about four in from St Johns church was completely wiped out, and so they built a temp shop around 1950, a one room coffee bar called the Casino, small, but frequented by Coventry sportsmen, boxer's swimmers, rugby players, they all met there after training and swapped training methods. I wonder if that moved on to spon street? in the sixties.

Yes it did!

In the fifties I became a pro Gambler, a house in Spon street was an illegal betting shop for selected gamblers, a back room were you could listen and bet to races being run, the police where always trying raiding it but the owner had a tip off when they were due, and so they found no evidence, But they limited my bets to £5 that was no use to me. I do believe it became the first betting shop In Coventry.

Jimmy Cleverley, No.79 (close to the Bowling Green).