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Thankyou everyone for the encouragement it does make things a little easier to know that someone else besides the family is thinking about me. I phoned my cousin in Australia this morning , he's been having a tough time.its a bit complicated but basically he has a sort of cancer around his heart.the medical explanation is a stiff heart. but after chemo its cleared and is normal. The last 4 days they have been collecting stem cells and they are quite pleased with the result. It was really a relief to speak to him as we hadn't heard how in was in the last few months. He sounded great, him and hi

I'll freely admit to having a lump in my throat as I watch the D Day veterans going back to the beaches in commemoration of those that did not survive. I then get angry at the politicians in Westminster who have sought to frustrate the will of the peoples vote on Brexit, a freedom that over the years many have given their lives for. Come election time the voters of the UK should remember these unrepresentative swill just as we should always remember those that made the ultimates sacrifice for our freedom.

My first flight was in 1961 on a Derby Airways Dakota flight to Guernsey for our family holiday. Trent bus from Huntingdon Street to the airport - check in the luggage in a wooden hut then wait in the concrete ‘terminal’ before embarking. Bumpy grass runway. When we came back it was dark and the grass landing strip was illuminated by burning oil rags in inverted dustbin lids! My my dad used to take my brother and I there - you could wander into the hangars and the engineers would take you up to the flight deck of the Dakotas and DC4s. I remember them telling us very sternly not to

Nottingham Forest FC is now the oldest football league club after Notts County FC's relegation.

There were/are some claims that it was Stoke City but these have been refuted. Imagine that, Nottingham had the two oldest league teams last year and I hope it will next year. It certainly kills off the old trivia question, "which to EFL club grounds are the closest?" Apparently it is now Liverpool and Everton whose grounds are 1400 yards apart In Scotland it is Dundee and Dundee United whose grounds are only 350 yards apart?

I don't think I'm gerrin owd, I reckon I probably am old. I have photos of me as a kid with various of my grandparents. I'm now older than my grandparents were in those photos. That's when you know you're old.

Soon after starting school at William Crane a trip was arranged to take a pleasure flight in a Dakota operated by Derby Aviation. It was only to Skegness and back but it was our first flying experience and I’ve just found a report I wrote for the school magazine. It was dated 7th April 1960 and the aircraft reg. was G-AMSW. I just researched this aircraft on the internet and was astonished to learn the same aircraft crashed on a mountain at Canigou, France on 7th October 1961 killing all 34 on board. In this 75th DDay anniversary year I discovered the same aircraft was produced

Had a lovely conversation in Bulwell this morning with a D day veteran,all started with a casual comment as we passed in the Car park behind Argos,turned out he'd been over to France for the recent celebrations,he regailed me with some of his experience's of the event,as he talked i began to think i know this bloke,cut a long story short i did 40 years ago,he was a salesman for 'Cussons' and used to sell their products to Farrands,AB Gibsons and the Coop at the times i was employed there,...............His name was Aubrey and he was 91 years old and sharp as a button,.......as he drove off he

Groan, you all say, another bloody train thread, fair enough. For us keen types, and there are several on here, it was a way of life during this period, quite innocent and promoted by kids programmes such as 'Raiway Roundabout', cut outs in the Eagle Comic and a very enthusiastic dad. Nottingham was great for watching the trains go by, we were lucky, probably one of the best places in the country, but the real glamour high speed expresses were on the ECML at Grantham or Newark. The latter was a pain as you had to walk across the town from Newark Castle Station, Grantham was the business, onc

Why indeed Deepdene Boy. They should have been prosecuted at least for neglect possibly for desertion.Had it been Factory Worker Joe Bloggs and his wife,their feet would not have touched on the way to jail.

Another great day, I thought Windies would win it but threw it away. One chap got thrown out for throwing sandpaper on the pitch.

We’re watching it, c’mon West Indies

Just settling down in front of the box with some shiraz at hand ready to watch free to air Australia vs the West Indies at our Trent Bridge. Looks a reasonable day, slightly overcast with patches of blue sky. Windies have won the toss and put Australia in to bat. 5 wides from the first ball

Nice thought Phil but I doubt it. You'r confusing things which make my skin itch, with things that make it crawl....

Went on a few of these for Northern gig's. A White Mini Bus.. about 10 occupants, SRV in Manchester, the days when the customer came a close second. Great service..

Hope all goes well Nonna

Looking again at that last picture posted, I'm wondering if I have the wrong side of the street. To the left of the picture I was thinking the ABC .. I wonder if Arcade records started in the West End Arcade then Chapel bar only to return. Any idea on the date of the pic, think Arcade was in the Arcade in '81.

Hi! Jackson, I thought I would like to reply with my similar fine memories of Aspley Library. With its green rubberised flooring and immaculate shelves of books to get lost in. I started in the junior section then moved on to the senior section. My earlier recollections of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn kept me happily absorbed for hours. I do remember a young girl librarian about the time you might have been in attendance and I would have liked to have the courage to have asked her out but, being of a shy disposition I regret now that I didn't have the necessary level of co

I'm increasingly having that problem with a lot of demolition sites around Nottingham. Broad Marsh bus station and car park have recently gone. Not only can I remember them being built, but I can remember what was there before they were built.

A member on here has received two days suspension for inappropriate posting. To ALL members, do not post offensive or abusive posts, future missuse will lead to moderation or removal of membership.

I remember Derby Airways back in the early 60's. They operated Dakotas out of a grass airfield at Burnaston. My father sometimes used to send me there (I had just passed my driving test) to put parcels on the plane to Dublin. I could park right next to the aeroplane, weight the parcels on a scale and pass them up to the pilot. Couldn't do that now!

I've never had the urge or inclination to leave, as there's always been so much to interest me in Nottingham throughout my life.

I used to train spot at Carrington Station from about 1960 to 1965. The gate by the shop (old station house) was invariably open so you could just walk in. We generally stayed on the higher ground behind the signal box and out of view of the signalman - so never got into trouble! My regret is I never took a camera - all the B1s, V2s, Jubilees, Royal Scots, Black 5s, O4s, 8Fs, Austerities and 9Fs....

Ive been reading a lot of the posts about the Medders and particularily the 5 streets, Moreland, Brand, Grainger, Holme, Freeth oh maybe 6 Meadow grove. I can remember all of the things being remembered, great memories of great streets and people.

Hi Michael thanks for the pic of Brand street. I lived by the last lamppost on the left number 61. Your name rings a bell, I think you said you lived in Grainger street, next one on from Brand Street. Can you remember Graham love at all ? he lived at the bottom end nearer Freeth Street, carnt remember the number. also Paul and pete cumberpatch, Billy and Kenny Watts from home Street, Stuart Miles oh Maureen Swinn from Grainger Street and many many others. I lived on Brand Street from 1952 until 1971.

Hi again to all the Bilboroughites on here. I haven't posted on this thread for a little while but now I've retired I have a bit more time. To recap, I was born and brought up on Elstree Drive from 1950 until 1961 when the family moved to Forest Fields so I could be closer to my new secondary school. I went to Beechdale Primary School (now long gone) and regularly played around the old canal, the tin bridge on Woodyard Lane and the railway line. I also used to play football and cricket on the grassed area in front of Ambergate Rd shops. The kids on Elstree Drive used to attend BPS or

Yes, indeed. Revolver is one of the few independent record stores that I remember. If you left Broadmarsh up into Listergate, Revolver was on the right (where the refurbished (by Westfield) set of shops are now, including Thorntons and Holland Barrett; opposite what is now WHSmith), and immediately opposite was HMV (now WHSmith), so if you were walking down Listergate then Revolver was on the left just before entering Broadmarsh. I still have quite a few vinyl with the Revolver price sticker on them. Does anyone else remember this record store? It must have been open still

Great picture Cliff. Exactly as I remember it. Most record departments were like this. In fact, at places like Rediffusion - even though it was tiny, people used to start dancing. Boots was a big record retailer, as was Woolies (primarily the Top 20). Lots of furniture shops also used to stock records because record players in cabinets were regarded as objet d'art, so it seemed logical that if you were going to buy a piece of Hi-Fi in a nice walnut cabinet, then you'd probably also want a few records to go with it. My Dad seemed to have an uncanny knack in the 60's of finding places that

Incidentally there is a thread on a military website about the first to actually set foot on France on D Day. It appears that two gilder pilots were thrown out of their cockpit on landing and arrived most probably not on their feet. (Attitude AoT) Both pilots lived long lives afterwards and it was almost a comedy act that the two did gentle natured bickering about who got to their feet first. Most agree that SSgt Wallwork was the first. The closest I can get to a Nottingham soldier arriving in Normandy is Cpl (later Sgt) William Bartle of Goodliffe St in Hyson Green. Arrived at 00:05 UK time

Back to the sacred ECML: Perhaps the most interesting Notts venue along the route was Retford... Main attraction was the famous south-end flat crossing where the Sheffield-Lincoln line went over the North-South route. 60mph restriction over the quite complex trackwork often disregarded by the express drivers...making a fine spectacle! Always regretted not visiting more often in the early 60's. Any pics Pete? Eventually replaced, in green diesel days, by an underpass which merited the building of a second station for the east-west passenger traffic. The other flat-crossing (which survive

similarly when you went to a football away night match you looked for the floodlights and headed for those, we did such at I think Rotherham, and finished up in the local marshalling yard!

Colwick coaling tower:- Toton was bigger and more refined, this was taken off the 'Hill' in 1962:- Another view from the track, it's to the right of this coal train, alarming how much this colour picture has faded; When you went to a town in search of a shed, you always looked out for the coaling tower, usually surrounded by smoke. Of all the many coaling towers that existed around the country in those days, only two have survived. Immingham stands isolated and although I believe it is listed, it's existance is under threat. Carnforth, the former Steamtown, has a full set including a

In general terms there were measurable improvements. Both Sir Nigel Gresley of the LNER and Sir William Stanier of the LMS based their 1930's designs, and concept, around a series of streamlined German locomotives which had been operational during the 20's. Certainly Gresley's A4's were subject to many tests, including Mallard's record run, which were measured by a specially built dynamometer car - containing numerous logging devices - which was attached directly behind the engine. The car is preserved in pristine condition at the NRM...perhaps less of a dunce than I might post a picture.

Just to reinforce our feelings, the true spirit of York shed; The thing was, go to York and you would meet the expected: Then swing the camera round and find something that was a bit of a surprise: In the last year of Yorks steam allocation, it still went on, the expected: Then something like this: Can you believe that locos such as this were still operating in the final years of steam in the UK.

Yes indeed, know exactly what you mean... Whenever I visit NRM, always consider it rather too 'spotless' for my liking. This feature also extends to preserved working loco's, all of which seem to be pristine and lacking in realism The GCR at Loughborough once allowed Butler-Henderson to become weathered, until a group of elderly female travellers wrote to the Leicester Mercury complaining that 'their' hauling engine was dirty and neglected! Some of the people all of the time and all of... etc. Cheers Robt P.

Pete, Further to my earlier comment on the ex-works test trip through Newark: Grantham shed employed a mechanical engineer named Roy Ingamells, who lived in Aslockton, and who was known as the best loco 'tuner' in the business. Apparently he could reset the valves on any poor running engine, using tools of his own design and construction, and have it running like a Swiss watch within 30 minutes. He was often summoned by phone to Barkston in order to cure a running problem found on an ex-works trial loco - before it was turned on the triangle for the return - that was beyond the Donny Plant

Great memories Pete...thanks for posting. Never confident enough to take my Box Brownie (complete with sticking plaster) to the ECML! Do you recall the Grantham Station-Master, who was built like a double wardrobe, Gilbert? Seemed very strict with the urchins at his platform ends but who, on reflection, was quite tolerant. Also enjoyed many trips to Newark Northgate, where the added bonus was the Donny ex-works trial trips to Barkston Jct, and back. Any pristine Pacific, running light, could turn up - usually on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons. Bachelor's Button or Carlisle Canal's rather m