....

I'd always wondered where that word 'Shonki' or Shonky' came from. Probably no connection but I remember when I was a kid there was a fellah that played for Arnold St. Mary's football team in the old Midland league with the name Peter 'Shonkey' Burton. He was never known as anything else but Shonkey.

I wasn't exactly sure in which forum to stick this one but all the same I thought maybe any walkers out there might be interested. It's a little site I put together in the hot, hot, summer of 2006 cronicling a walk along the Grantham Canal from Nottingham to Grantham. The walk was split into six stages, one stage per week, each of around 5-7 miles so it's very attainable. As you'd imagine it's flat walk too making it quite relaxing. What's more it's a really interesting thing to do and there's quite a lot of history to learn about along the way. The camera came along and there are plenty of i

Does anybody remember this tale that was related to The Sherwood Park Zoo? During the mid 1970s' I seem to remember reports in the Evening Post about sightings of a possibly escaped lion in Nottinghamshire. Cananyone else remember this story? There was a theory that it may have come from Sherwood Park Zoo. A funny tale was of a work colleague at that time who lived at Hucknall. Spotting a large light brown coloured object at the far end of a field backing onto his home he called the police, suspecting a sighting of the said beast. The police duly attended and and found a large brown paper bag

Nice stories about the pit ponies. My grandfather who died before I was born was a hostler at one of the Hucknall pits. He passed on tales of how well the ponies were regarded and looked after by the lads down the pit and how they were brought up to the surface once a year with their blinkers on. Seems the pitmen were very affectionate towards the ponies.

I used to pass the lido every day on the way to work. On a decent day it was always snided with swimmers. It was very sad to see it's gradual demise, laying unused with long grass growing around it. I heard a reason that it had been originally closed was because the manpower needed to staff it didn't pay for it. One tends to think that it was an excuse to sell the land for more housing. Agree with the sentiments above. Bulwell and the like has problems enough without contributing to more disaffected youth.

Is that an aqua Saddam Hussein? ;-) I do see the point of making it more practical. I'm sure with events up and running in the square it will look much different. Without it looks like an empty canvas. Apart from the aforementioned and absolutely agreed practical purpose of it, can I ask with respect what's 'superb' about it mate? I really don't see that. This was part of the original question I guess, does anyone find it attractive? I personally find it dull and underwhelming. Respect your opinion though.

Apologies if this has been discussed before but I was just interested to hear people's opinions about our new 'Slab Square'. It's easy to see the practical advantages, the biggest one being that the former Processional Way curtailed many of it's possibilites as a venue. I was happy to hear that in a few weeks time an articial ice rink is to be constucted for a few winter weeks. They do this very well in places like Edinburgh and York to name two. That's a very personalised view though as I'm a skater and yet I do think it will provide some amount of carnage as it as such things tend to in thi

I look after all the air conditioning and chillers Big changes going off there eh? Unfortunately I got the short straw studying mainly at York House and to a lesser extent Chaucer. Of course it does have it's compensations - there can't be too may work places as near to the Poacher... Got to love that asbestos at York House!

Ah, good to hear Frank. I tend to go in whenever I'm passing. (I tend to find difficulty passing!) Often early doors during the week and sometimes on a Friday evening. Rarely on a Saturday it has to be said. Wondered what you do at NTU? I'm actually a mature student there just completing an MSc in Psychology. My partner lectures at NTU in the Business School too. Not a bitter drinker myself (I realise I could get thrown out of here for that admission!) but am always appreciative of the choice of drinks in the Poacher and the way there are served. I'm partial to a pint of Stowford Press myse

A pretty good interview with the man here by Mike Atkinson of the 'Troubled Diva' blog site. Kevin Ayers

Great credit to The Zimmers and good luck to them. They make an important point for older folk in a fun (and ironic!) way. I was a massive Who fan going back a bit. I was lucky enough to see them three times when they were arguably at their best. Firstly at Leicester Granby Halls in around '74/5, then their immense second concert at Charlton football stadium appearing with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, The Outlaws and Streetwalkers. I then saw them at Granby Halls again a couple of years later. The Who were the ultimate live band. It's pretty difficult to describe just how g

Just catching up with this long thread here and some of the expresions are taking me right back! In our house we had 'frizzled' cheese. I had thought this was just a name that my old mum made up and little did I know it was in common useage! We also lived next to a 'twichel'. It was never known as anything else. Up the road also was 'back twichel' or 'back track'. I'd never heard the word 'jitty' and when I did considered it somewhat effete.

Hi Frank Thanks for the welcome, the kind words and for deleting the dupe. I do indeed drink in the Poacher quite regularly. In fact I've been in there tonight! Why do you ask? Are you a customer of one of Nottingham's very finest hostelries too?

I don't suppose this could be Steve Moran? former Trent DJ who became (and still is) the General Manager of the Nottingham Panthers. His son Paul played for the team.

It's nice to see you have fond memories of your roots, Eric. Papplewick Pumping Station is a nice visit if you've never been there. Bank holidays are the best time as they get those massive beam engines up in steam. I'm often past there as I and the missus sometimes eat up at The Fox and Hounds at Blidworth Bottoms just past there. Were you aware of what happened to the old Bestwood Pumping Station on the Mansfield Road just after Lea Pool roundabout? After many years of disuse it is now a restaurant and health club called 'Lakeside'. Very nice too and like Papplewick it's a great old buildi

Thanks for the welcome RR. I appreciate it. I've a pal or two that used to spend a bit of time at the Variety when your old fellah was there. Sounded absolutely hilarious. Is it right what I hear that it's finally hit the dust? Sorry to hear that if so. Thanks for the kind words about the site. The Hibs connection is a lifelong one. I was born and bred in Musselburgh near Edinburgh before my family came to Nottingham when I was a youngster. Dad and his dad were Hibs fans as I was as a kid. I just kept up the family tradition al these years and they're still my team. I write on all the unnofi

http://www.picturethepast.org.uk Stu Regarding posting Images here, you should use the IMG button and past the actual image link. Some sites dont like this 'hotlinking' but what actually happens is that google (who lives here most of the time) increases the search rating of the sites we link to, but always give a link below the picture to credit the site with linked images. OR create an account at www.photobucket.com to host your images Cheers Mick. I think that's what I did (scratches head!) Whilst I'm aware an image or two animates a post. I'm always aware that these things cost mon

Hi Den, yes, Cisco were an eight piece I think with a brass section. It was pretty much a crush getting them all on the stage at The Imperial as I remember. I do occasionally hear of them reforming for a reunion gig or two. Hi Mick. Yes definitely the Lacemarket, where exactly I can't remember (no surprise there) I remember it as a punk venue in the alte seventies with a few 'names' on there like Generation X etc. That Egytian theme you mention is nothing to do with that Egyptian restaurant that opened in Hockley is it?

You know I had thought your story was coincidentally close Eric! What brought you back to these parts for a visit, was it curiosity? It must seem quite different to what you remember? Just drop by when you're next around - I'll take a walk up to the Waggon!

Anybody remember the bands that would appear at The Imperial in the seventies? There was a distinct lack of venues in those days if my memory serves me, large or small. I was a regular at the Imperial on a Thursday night to see Gaffa who I was into at the time. Wayne Evans and his frog bass! Other names include Harry Stephenson, The Perfects (?) Cisco etc. I went to The Hearty Goodlfellow a time or two but I never thought it was very suitable as a venue due to the shape of the bar. What about the Sandpiper, anyone remember that?

I'll not paste any more images to save bandwidth, but if you visit here: http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php and type Redhill in the first field and Nottinghamshire on the drop down menu in the third it will give you five pages of images of old Redhill.

Well, well. Look what I found here... "It was a lorry that ran into the shop. It was coming down the hill on Mansfield road, towards Nottingham, and had brake failure. It was big news at the time because the driver was trapped in the cab for a number of hours before they could pull the lorry free. The shop was once owned by a Mr Percy Holmes who had previously had a shop on Front Street. The smaller shop to the left was Easom's Fish and Chip shop. A Mr Attwood told us that when he joined the ambulance service in Arnold in 1970 he was told of a road accident in which a vehicle went into this

You fell in Gadsby's pond and lived to tell the tale bud? :-) Here's a pic that will interst you. Mr. Holmes store and the chip shop. You'l have noticed on your visit that the road is much widened these days and that a bungalow now sits where the chip shop was. I used to go fishing at a pond up the road near Lea Pool Roundabout and call in at the chip shop for mum and dad on the way back. Mrs. Eassom would always enquire if I had anything feshly caught for them to batter! I remember well lusting over those bicuit tins...and swinging upside down on the railings outside after beating a has

Thanks for the kind words, Rob. I'm very glad I found this site. So much nostagia!

Oh ho! You're taking me back there Eric! Looks like you've moved around a bit since leaving the Kingdom of Redhill. I have a site somewhere with pics of the junction of Redhill Road and Mansfield Road and I'll post here when I find them. The chip shop you mention was Eassom's chip shop, a little single story building. Mr and Mrs Eassom used to live a few doors up Redhill Road on the same side. The shop on the corner you mention was Mr Holmes grocery store. My man memory was that Mr. Holmes was quite a gruff man (maybe my childlike memory) there were also those tins of loose biscuits around