UKC

End of and rra. RIP Phil



http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Fears-for-Grindleford-cafe-after.3600601...

In reply to stoney joe:

Wow that's so sad. That guy was a legend and his Cafe was extraordinary, it was part of a day in the Peak for as long as i can remember. The memory of it will stand as a legacy for a long time to come.

RIP indeed.

Peace
ml

In reply to Mountain Lass: Total and utter legend. Was always really nice to the 'naughty' kids that I took there over the years...although he did have some interesting comments to make!

RIP

Mat

In reply to mat_galvin: Sad, a friend of my parents who trained at the gym with him, just phoned my parents, they didn't know. Bit shocked.

In reply to stoney joe:

RIP "Grumpy". He was one of a kind and will be missed.

In reply to stoney joe: Sad news. Dying of a heart attack whilst dancing at a party is no bad way to go though.

In reply to stoney joe:
'tis indeed the end of an era. He was the cafe equivilent of the surly landlord and a great character.

In reply to Duncan Bourne:

Yep - RIP. The cafe equivalent of The Pub Landlord at the Falcon in Arncliffe.

The Ent

In reply to stoney joe: Tears fall and words fail me, we can just hope against hope that it will not change significantly. The last great climber and walkers cafe in the old Peak Tradition.

In reply to stoney joe:
RIP. The end of an era, and the loss of a bit of local colour. Nice write up, well balanced and unusually well informed for the Star.

I hope the cafe carries on, it'd be a real shame to see it turned into ludicrously expensive housing.

In reply to stoney joe: Yep - great shame - hope it carries on as it is.

I do like "Philip also had a deep antipathy towards mushrooms..." from the above article...

In reply to deepsoup: this is very sad. i'll go along if i can find out what time it is.

In reply to stoney joe:

Very sad.

We used to be regulars whilst students in Sheffield.

With no money on a Wednesday afternoon after climbing we would wash some dishes in exchange for a chip butty.

RIP Phil - I hope heaven is a mushroom free zone!

In reply to stoney joe: Wow!!!
I find this really upsetting - a special place - maybe we will only realise how special in this corporate sanitised cappucino world now that Phil has gone - yep - a heart attack whilst dancing at a party is a good end though.

Im sure if there is a heaven - when we get there we will find some of Phils hand written notes on the pearly gates

In reply to David Hooper:

Just make sure you switch your mobile off before you go in!

In reply to stoney joe:

Sad news.
Strangely, I had just had a Chip butty for tea!

RIP Phil.

In reply to stoney joe:

Oh no. RIP. Al is right - the last of the great Peak cafes.

Al, is it true there used to be a competition every year to girdle it the fastest, and that Ron was the champion for many years? Or have I just invented that?

jcm

In reply to Enty:

No, Phil was a character, the landlord at The Falcon's just an ignorant tw*t.

In reply to stoney joe:


For as much as Phil was a miserable bugger, didn't get on with the locals, was anti-community & caused a stir whatever he did, its sad to loose him at such a (relatively) young age...

He's been part of my life as a Grindleford local as far back as I remember (he used to bollock us at the tip, the railway line and everywhere else we weren't supposed to be!) and the cafe of course has changed little, apart from the contraversial "Grindleford Water" tapping of the spring & the land battle.

We all knew that this would happen eventually & just what would happen to the cafe was an oft asked question, just one that we hoped wouldn't need to be asked so soon...

Condolences to Phil's family and I'm really really going to miss the fella...his last words he ever spoke to me were "thank you youth" a far cry from when I was a snotty kid...

RIP Phil, but I doubt it!!


;0)

Si

In reply to stoney joe:
Utter tragedy. I have heard a lot about this guy and he sounds like a gem.

Anyone have any tales they would like to tell?

Oh, and what's a "See you at K2" note?

In reply to stoney joe:

I saw the sign up for the funeral at the weekend. I enjoyed a chips with gravy in a yorkshire pudding. Why are there not more places like this still in the UK?

In reply to stoney joe:

"When vegetarians walk in you know there's going to be trouble"

Priceless.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

In reply to stoney joe: Shit. I only visited recently for the very first time, was good to see what all the fuss was about. Phil was perfectly polite and I feel sad that he's not around.

Twas a good bacon butty.

In reply to Stig:

Agreed. A very good and generous bacon buttie.

I liked him.

rgs
lsn

In reply to lowersharpnose: Never had any problems with him or his brother and hours of amusment suggesting that members of the US Forces ask for scrambled eggs, mushrooms etc with a full breakfast.

'If you want to be a fireguard join the fire brigade'

That was the sign of the times.

RIP, we'll miss you.

He was trying to sell the place for years, wonder what will happen to it now.

In reply to stoney joe:
Definitely the end of an era. Sad news indeed.
Signs that I fondly remember from the cafe walls - maybe not word for word but near enough :-

A full breakfast is a full breakfast - no deviation.
No chips before 12 0' clock.
No salads in winter.
We do not serve mushrooms. Never have, never will.

In reply to stoney joe:

bugger !

I never did get to say hello again, let alone goodbye...

a sad loss indeed, Bon voyage Phil, mines a full English when your open again...

Condolences to the family, you were a star, a breath of fresh air, sadly missed....

God speed.....

In reply to stoney joe:

Oh! No! I was there not more than a few weeks ago for a mug of much needed tea, reminicing about the fun times and laughs I've had in the cafe... Best of which must have been sending my german mate to ask Phil for mayonnaise for his chips! The ensuing discussion was priceless!

RIP Phil. You will be missed

In reply to stoney joe: When his dad, or was it his elder brother was alive, they were perfect doubles for Steptoe ans Son

In reply to stoney joe:

Half a farmyard for breakfast, served with a snarl from a grumpy old git.... Ah, memories of Saturday mornings in the Grindleford caff. Not been for a few years though. Ever since Outside took over Longland's and moved away from the Nut Roasts to a proper brekkie to be honest. Grindlefords was just that bit further to travel, so it fell by the wayside.

I really hope that if it remains a cafe, the new owner doesn't 'go all PC' and 'bistro'. I love a bit of rebellion against correctness.

RIP

I do like mushrooms though.

In reply to stoney joe: Every time I visited with my family before a day at one of the local grit crags, our excellent breakfasts were served with good humour and, if no-one was queueing behind, a pleasant chat. This country could do with more characters like him, rather than the politically correct wets who want to stifle anything interesting or adventurous.
Phil, rest in peace and may your cafe live on.

In reply to stoney joe:
Yeah it should remain a caff It was a legendary climing meeting place and his antics had us in stitches.Great beans on toast.After the end of the origional stoney cafe and now this the only decent scram in the peak is woodbine at Hope.
Funny how everyone remembers the full brekkys when we are supposed to be fit and honed rock athletes (yeah right)

Bloody hell, just found out and to say I'm not a happy bunny is an understatement. Phil was a legend that I've known and shared many a cuppa, joke and conversation with over the last 27 years or so.

A generous and colourful man and one of the Peak's great characters that will never be replaced in this sanitised day and age. So what if he had forthright views, that only endeared him to me even more. He used to let us kip in his cafe back in the early days and tip us the odd cuppa and chip butty when we were skint. The end of a long era.
Seems sort of fitting that he died whilst dancing at a party and enjoying himself.

Shame I can't make his memorial but RIP Phil and don't forget to take your marker pen and paper - there's lots of notices to place up there.

In reply to stoney joe:

Sad news: used to enjoy going there when I lived in Manchester. A good game was trying to figure out the menu pricing: ordering egg on toast with beans was cheaper than beans on toast with egg (or was it the other way round?) but the results were indistinguishable!

In reply to stoney joe:
He used to have a weight bench in there and would talk us in to having a go when he shut the cafe for the day. He was a hard task master for us 'youths'.

In reply to Al Evans:
I seem to remember that it was his elder brother but I could be wrong Al but I know what you mean - priceless.

I once was bet by my mates to take in a bag of mushrooms for him to cook - bloody hell, I've never run so quick. The language was amazing. I kept my head down for a while after that I can tell you. Still he forgave me in the end.

In reply to David Simmonite:



I remember having a play on that after a chip butty or 2 - wasn't he into boxing as well I seem to recall??

si

In reply to stoney joe: The NUMC once held a dinner there. One member who became a reasonably well known climber was so disgusted with his food that he through the plateful against the wall. The congealed remains were visible for many years. Class place.

In reply to the news:
I knew I shouldn't have got up this morning.
Been living in SEA for a few years now and things get a little wierd from time to time here; thinking of the peak in winter and stopping off at the cafe in the frost, rain and snow to sit in front of the fire has been a much loved retreat. Not going to be the same now.
All the best Phil, wherever you are.

In reply to stoney joe: Extremely sad news, had so many good times there. One of the first times i went in there (25 years ago, in the days of the torn red leather benches) he was chatting away to us after we complimented him onthe breakfast and he said 'you know some people look in the door and don't bother coming in, why do you think that is?' I guess some people didn't appreciate the grindleford's hidden delights. I was also very pleased with the 'we don't sell snickers, only marathon bars' notice.

In reply to Major Clanger:

That's wonderful, it really is. PMSL

In reply to stoney joe:

Most Sincere Condolences to any/all.

In reply to stoney joe:
Been going there for 25 years but it won't be the same without Phil.

I always found him pleasant, helpful and a good cook - he knew what climbers wanted in 1982 and it hasn't changed massively by 2007.

My mate used to ask for poached eggs as a wind-up.

Thanks for evrything Phil - we never told you how much we appreciated your caff and perhaps we all should have done.

In reply to stoney joe:

It's a bugger, isn't it, that Dave Hewitt of The Angry Corrie, a Derbyshire thickneck in Stirling, had to let me know about this. I remember the caff from the 60s and later. I never had any bother from him but then I'm rhino-skinned. I regret now that I didn't take my grandson in last time we were out there but I was intent on not missing the train, which was late anyway. It would have been part of his education. After Ma Thomas's and Eric's at Stoney, what's going to be left for the disreputable to eat (and re-heat sometimes) in? The Woodbine's OK but it doesn't have the same character, does it?

Mick Furey

In reply to stoney joe: My best memory of Grindleford was the morning after Dennis Gray's retirement do. It went on all night & Steve Bancroft & co were still suppin pints at 09.00 in the morning.

In reply to Al Evans: Wasn't the old guy called Frank.

In reply to midweekmountain:

That sounds par for the course We once all woke up by the previous nights campfire in La Palud, and Touty picked up a bottle of cheap red wine that was still three quarters full and downed it in one. I wandered off to be sick

In reply to midweekmountain:

That's probably my main memory of the place, think I slept on a bench outside at some point, and spent the following day throwing up while belaying at Millstone. Not been to the cafe for about 10 years, but will always have fond memories, never had any hassle from Phil - but never tried to order mushrooms!

My own personal favourite sign, as seen attached to the serving hatch:
"This is not a viewing gallery"

In reply to stoney joe:

Just found out... very sad indeed but at least he went out with a bang which is typical Phil. Better to burn out than fade away

Was last in the cafe in October after a great night out on the moor. Full breakfast n mug of tea as always.

When I was chair of Sheffield Poly caving club Phil always cooked our club christmas dinner turkey, as his oven was the only one we knew big enough. We also had some great parties in the cafe itself, of which the bits I can remember I will never forget.

My only hope is that the cafe remains exactly as it is... to change at all will be denying future generations the sweet memories we all have !

RIP.

In reply to Al Evans: Are you talking about Frank, the old geezer from many, many years back??

A very sad day. Too many memories over 23 years of on and off visiting the Grindleford cafe from the black tie don't try to cure yourself Christmas party, helping Phil screw up the toilet plumbing, being reprimanded by Phil for franternising with the kitchen girls (his slaves), knocking together the first notice board with 4x2 to earn a full breakfast and helping him hammer an aluminium scaffold pole into the hillside to speed up the tapping of the 'spa water' (road runoff).

Grindleford Cafe will never be the same but let's hope that it does not go up market and some of the unique character is maintained. Frank (the skull) was the old guy lurking in the shadows.

Condolences to all of Phil's family and friends, he will be missed in his own unique way and the Peak outdoor community is a sadder place without him.

In reply to stoney joe:

I was quite shocked to hear the news - however the last time I visited the cafe Phil told me that he'd had a couple of strokes in the last year or so but was still planning his 35year anniversary party - sadly not now to be. I have visited the cafe for the last thirty years or so - in the eighties it was the legendary venue for Durham Universities 'alternative dinner meets'- the cafe was ours from closing until about 3am - Phil used to dance then as well!! We kipped on the floor of the cafe to be woken by the first customers next day - brilliant - there was nowhere else like it - and probably never will be again - sad.

I heard recently about the sad loss off Phil. My memories go back 20 years to when I was a young arogant climber. I first met Phil when I called service..! at the counter. Phil came out and shouted 'I bloody hate that...' We became good friends and in the winter climbing months me and friends would often huddle around the fire and get the last chips for free. When in the Sheffield Poly Mountaineering club, our do at the cafe became legendry..Too much drink and great food and sleepn on the caf floor. I miss the freedom and madness of those great days... If anyone else knows what I mean, they were indeed Happy days.
My thoughts go to Phils family.
Jim Nicholson