Tramps in the 80s


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Does anyone remember the tramps of this time?

There was one who had a long 'white' beard , a huge pot belly [always exposed] And the other clearly wanted to be a woman, quite tall and slim with straggly long hair. I used to see the 'santa' one all the time over a long period and then he just dissappeared.

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Yep I remember those two. The latter if I have the right one is still around. He lives quite near The Peacock and is often to be seen wandering up and down the lower end of Mansfield Road and sometimes outside the Clock Tower entrance of The Vic Centre. Believe his name is Dennis. He has a short 'bob' wig these days but used to often wear a long blonde wig some years ago.

Does anyone remember the guy who used to stalk along the streets fairly silently then when he got up to you kind of 'explode' and shout in front of you? Enough to make you jump out of your y-fronts!

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Yep I remember those two. The latter if I have the right one is still around. He lives quite near The Peacock and is often to be seen wandering up and down the lower end of Mansfield Road and sometimes outside the Clock Tower entrance of The Vic Centre. Believe his name is Dennis. He has a short 'bob' wig these days but used to often wear a long blonde wig some years ago.

Does anyone remember the guy who used to stalk along the streets fairly silently then when he got up to you kind of 'explode' and shout in front of you? Enough to make you jump out of your y-fronts!

Yep the one with the bob sounds right as I lived in Vic flats many years ago and used to see 'him' at clock entrance-he always looked as though he was going somewhere and not just loafing around.

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Once again this is a topic that has been touched on elsewhere on here, there is also a nice tie in to your story on buskers with a commentary (Maybe via a link to another site) about "The xylophone man" who used to hang about outside C and A too

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The xylophone man died about 2 years ago, there is a plaque with his name on i think it's outside Marks and Spencers.

The one with the 'bob' had a job as a "checkout girl" in a supermarket in Vic centre. This was early seventies when you could advertise for female staff only, i don't know how he fooled them.

Den.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Yep I remember those two. The latter if I have the right one is still around. He lives quite near The Peacock and is often to be seen wandering up and down the lower end of Mansfield Road and sometimes outside the Clock Tower entrance of The Vic Centre. Believe his name is Dennis. He has a short 'bob' wig these days but used to often wear a long blonde wig some years ago.

Does anyone remember the guy who used to stalk along the streets fairly silently then when he got up to you kind of 'explode' and shout in front of you? Enough to make you jump out of your y-fronts!

He (Dennis) was on TV last year!! One of those 'City of Vice' type programmes, you know the sort of thing, where we are all meant to be outraged, but secretly hoping for a spot of nudity!! He was arressted for soliciting on a street corner in Forest Fields, the police then discovered that 'she' was indeed a very ugly 'he'!! I don't think S/He was really looking to make any money, just liking the passing attention. Seem him around for years. We all called him Manwomen, we were clever like that!

What about the really tall tramp called Itchycoo. White chap with matted dreadlocks and old school tramp style 'flappy' shoes? Once came into the Jobcentre were I worked once and took a dump on one of the chairs.

How is it all tramps have such thick hair?

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I think it's a long-time pastime of Dennis's, Stuart!

More than thirty years ago he used to get in trouble for that. I was told he got quite a few kickings after picking men up, (he used to perhaps look a little more like a woman in those days!)

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What about the really tall tramp called Itchycoo. White chap with matted dreadlocks and old school tramp style 'flappy' shoes? Once came into the Jobcentre were I worked once and took a dump on one of the chairs.

Sounds Like, Christopher mentioned elswhere here?

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The blonde bob used to walk past where I first started work (On North Sherwood Street, )picking up dog ends and smoking them as he/she went

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He (Dennis) was on TV last year!! One of those 'City of Vice' type programmes, you know the sort of thing, where we are all meant to be outraged, but secretly hoping for a spot of nudity!! He was arressted for soliciting on a street corner in Forest Fields, the police then discovered that 'she' was indeed a very ugly 'he'!! I don't think S/He was really looking to make any money, just liking the passing attention. Seem him around for years. We all called him Manwomen, we were clever like that!

What about the really tall tramp called Itchycoo. White chap with matted dreadlocks and old school tramp style 'flappy' shoes? Once came into the Jobcentre were I worked once and took a dump on one of the chairs.

How is it all tramps have such thick hair?

If this is the same one we used to call him 'Santa' don't ask why. He had a massive pot belly and was REALLY dirty

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  • 4 years later...

never had much time for the xylophone man,he just plinked plonked on his 99p toy,bit off a rip off to me but lots of people gave him cash,how he became famous to be talked about on radio nottingham,i will never know and then for a plaque to be put up crazy

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  • 5 months later...

The Fat guy with the exposed belly did originally have red hair then it turned white. He was always shouting at passers by. for many years he lived in carboard boxes in a narrow alley behind what was then a City Council Housing office on Mansfield Road where Huntingdon St starts and sadly one day the staff there found he had died during the night. I remember him being hauled off to somewhere and given a bath and fresh new clothes every year or so and as soon as he was kitted out he would shred the clothes and bare his BIG belly again.. ut

There was also a tall skinny character called CHRIS who hung around the Guildhall and smelled RANK, being a public place ( and courthouse at the time) he could not be denied access but eventually the stench was so strong the police would move him on. It was rumourse he had been left money and a house by a relative but chose the Tramp life. Again he would be given a haircut and new clothes but like the fat guy he would tear them and muck them up himself. I suspect he is also no longer alive, but I don't know. Finally DENISE as he liked to be called used to wear the most dreadful ROD STEWART or TINA TURNER type wig. Poor man I guess he was transgender before it became acceptable. I wonder what DID happen to him, you don't see him around any more?

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  • 2 years later...
On 6/12/2008 at 1:15 PM, mariag said:

Does anyone remember the tramps of this time?

There was one who had a long 'white' beard , a huge pot belly [always exposed] And the other clearly wanted to be a woman, quite tall and slim with straggly long hair. I used to see the 'santa' one all the time over a long period and then he just dissappeared.

I posted somewhere in the forums on a simalar topic but I cant remember where If I am right sounds like the one I mentioned this guy

 

Oh apparently i cant upload the image so if anyone knows how or where i can upload it for viewing let me know

 

only thing i can suggest is type in google ( nottingham tramps 1980s) images should be the first image

 

I was told by a police constable that he was a teacher his wife died and it sent him crazy so he ended up a tramp.

I was also told he died with over 800 000 in the bank I think he had a son who did not want anything to do with him.

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On 6/12/2008 at 1:15 PM, mariag said:

There was one who had a long 'white' beard , a huge pot belly [always exposed]  I used to see the 'santa' one all the time over a long period and then he just dissappeared.

 

On 9/9/2013 at 8:23 PM, davidf said:

He was always shouting at passers by. for many years he lived in carboard boxes in a narrow alley behind what was then a City Council Housing office on Mansfield Road where Huntingdon St starts and sadly one day the staff there found he had died during the night. I remember him being hauled off to somewhere and given a bath and fresh new clothes every year or so and as soon as he was kitted out he would shred the clothes and bare his BIG belly again..

 

I'd missed these comments earlier, but I realised I remember seeing this guy quite often. He used to wander into Selectadisc on Market Street when they opened late into the evenings; he would just walk around the place talking to himself and to the wall and to the LPs; the staff didn't bother, treating him almost as a celebrity who customers would come to see.

 

He also had an amazing voice; a deep, clear, classic radio announcer's voice with perfect pronunciation. If you heard him without see where the voice came from, it was a bit of a shock.

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  • 3 weeks later...

   

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25344376@N03/2389260585

 

 

Hope that dont break any terms and conditions thats the pot bellied teacher who`s wife died and it sent him off the rails poor guy I heard him speaking to someone you could tell he was very well spoken very deep voice but well spoken.

Was another tramp tall guy dark hair very tall cant find a pic of him.

Both were proberbly the most well known around town as they were both in prietty bad state poor guys.

 

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