It was perhaps a different time, but in that time a regular feature called Pub Watch was one of the most popular features in the Times & Star.

It started slowly.

Our young freelance reporter, Tom Kay, was asked to go out into the pubs and clubs on Friday nights and just get photos of people enjoying themselves.

At first, there was some reluctance but, after a few weeks, Tom would be stopped in the street to find out which pub he would be going to that particular week.

“When I walked into a pub the DJ would often announce that I was there and I was inundated with people wanting their photos taken.”

Pub Watch, as a feature, stopped in the early 2000s but Tom is still often hailed with “Hey! Pub Watch!”

The feature began in the 1990s at a time when Workington was a recognised centre of nightlife.

People would travel from as far away as Newcastle to visit the town’s purpose-built nightclub, Fusion.

It was not always plain sailing and a laugh a minute, however. Sometimes, in fact, joyful nights really did mean sorrowful mornings.

We did have our share of calls to the editor asking us to withhold photos of people photographed with people they should not have been with!

There was also once a very distressed call from a young woman. Her friends had convinced her that she had exposed herself in a photo. This was not true and a perfectly decent photo of a lovely young lady eventually appeared in the paper.

This week’s offering is from Yankees.

It was a large pub and always buzzing, as Tom recalled.

It is not the same now. Many of the pubs have gone, including Fusion. Pubs across the country suffered after the smoking ban and then in competition with cheap supermarket booze.

It was fun while it lasted, though, and we have the photos to prove it.

We will try and bring you more photos from other pubs if we have enough of them!