South Yorkshire Times August 27, 1966
Conisbrough Man shares in a Cabaret Club in Tangier
Film stars Stuart Grainger, Paul Newman and Diana Dors, playwright Rita Tushingham and top “pop” group The Swinging Blue Jeans have been amongst recent guests at “El piano” – a cabaret club opened in Tangier by Mr Sid Ward, son of Mr and Mrs CH Ward, of 15 Otley close, Conisbrough and by Sheffield partner, Mr Dennis Dewsnap.
Opened Recently
Mr Wood, formerly a departmental manager with the B and Co-operative Society in Sheffield, went to Tangier nearly 3 years ago, and with Mr Dewsnap of Adlington Crescent, Sheffield took over a small bar named “Maximes.”
Their new enterprise, on a much larger scale, opened recently and is now one of the top nightspots in the city, which is rapidly developing as a tourist centre.
Planning a Visit
Mr Wood’s mother, Mrs Marie Wood, and his father who is the manager of a Conisbrough betting office, plan to visit their son in October. Mrs Wood will be paying a third visit Tangier, She told the “South Yorkshire Times” on Monday, “The boys have done remarkably well and Syd tells us in his letters that ‘El Piano’is doing fabulous trade. He does say, however, that they could be hit by the financial squeeze.”
The cabaret club is such a success in fact, that the partners are finding the job of running two nightspots excessive and they may give up “Maxime’s”
Plenty of hard work
“They sank every penny they had in the scheme when they first went over there,” added Mrs Wood, “Now, the work involved in keeping them both going is proving too much and they may give up the bar. “The cabaret club is going so well that they hope soon to book top international stars there. It is already very well known and they recently had Paul Newman, Rita Tushingham and Stuart Grainger there on the same night.
With fabulous beaches, unlimited sunshine and temperatures soaring to almost 100 F., Tangier is a place to dream. But Syd and Dennis pay for the luxury of living there by sheer hard work – 18 hours a day week in week out.
More and more English people are visiting Tangier, amongst them recently Mr Tommy Ashley, Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough, who is the partner of Mr Wood’s senior in a Langold bingo hall. Mr Ashley was in Tangier for the opening of ‘El Piano’.