Scriv

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Everything posted by Scriv

  1. Merthyr Imp; As mentioned above, Morrisons sell Dickens & Morris pies, and sometimes have a Melton pie available on the deli counter not to be confused with their "Vale of Mowbray" range of own-brand budget pies which are OK but nowt special. Well, they do in Carmarthen anyway. And you'll find decent pork pies and faggots in the indoor market.
  2. I asked me Dad about this years ago. His explanation was that it is a corruption of "My Duke". Suspect Trevor S might be closer though.
  3. Can't 'elp thinking the bloke who wrote the familypedia article obviously weren't a cricket fan..... Trent Bridge don't even get a bloody mention.
  4. Used to cycle to Woodborough quite regular in the mid-70's, to the model railway place...... was it "Millom Models", and IIRC was in the old school?
  5. Aye Rog, I remember seeing those Invacars at some grounds in the days when football was on the FREE telly, parked up by the touchline! Wonder what Elf and Safety would make of that now?
  6. The very same. Owned by a bloke called Roger Radford, who lived in Burton Joyce; he used to drink at the Red Lion in Thurgarton, his wife and my mum were friends. Roger was also big pals with Dave Watts, of the eponymous plant firm on Wells Road. I don't know if they're still going..... and (to take the thread back to the OP) that's the Long and the Short of it!
  7. Am i correct in recalling that there was a permanent "blacklist" in the Horse of songs which, if played, resulted in the witholding of the band's fee? ISTR "Johnny B. Goode" was at the top of said list!
  8. Anyone remember the company that went by the name of "Spook Erections"? Used to do market stalls, sure I saw one of their vans round Nottingham regularly.... and it looks like they're still in business! http://www.spookerection.com/index.php Check out the logo! I've also remembered the long-established company on Vernon Road in Basford called "Flashing Services", which is owned by a Mr. Balls.... honest! He was a regular customer when I worked for GT Cars, very nice bloke who used to throw my rather straight-laced manager into total confusion by announcing himself as "Balls, Flashing Serv
  9. Our paths may have crossed then; you'll no doubt remember the biker nights at Gedling Miners Welfare? And later, of course, the Grey Goose. Crosslands eventually took over Dawsons' shop, as well as having the shop on the precinct. I've no doubt many will remember my old mate "Bollocky" Bill Smith who worked there. Nice guy, if a little mixed up. I knew Dennis Rodgers a bit as well. He kept that Morgan going till shortly before his death, I think his son still has it.
  10. Me mam was born on Chandos Street Pixie, number 24 I think. Her maiden name was Sills, but she moved to live with her grandmother at Burton Joyce when she was quite young.
  11. Used to see a lot of these being propelled up and down the prom at Mablethorpe by residents of the convalescent home. One of the old boys was quite badly disfigured, I'd guess a war veteran, and I remember a a small child being quite scared of him.
  12. They did sell larger bikes but ISTR only second-hand, at least in the late 70's/early 80's when I was regularly round that area. Pal of mine in Oxford owns a Puch VZ50 which originated from Clarke's, still has the dealer sticker on it. In later years, they either closed or sub-let the showroom facing onto Carlton Road and traded from another place round the back; I can't remember if it was in fact part of the original building or a different premises. Did they not move to (or from) Hyson Green? Whilst we're on the subject of bike shops in that particular area, Nottingham Custom Cycles was s
  13. Scriv

    'Serry'

    Carmarthen mate; been here nine years. Lived in Narberth, Pembs for a few months in the early 1990's whilst working for Nightfreight; that gave me the taste for the area and I came down here for good after I sold me Dad's place in 2003.
  14. Needham's it was. Others that come to mind are Rex Robinson, t'other side of Carlton Hill, who sold Puch mopeds as well as bicycles; there was another motorbike shop on the city side, on the left before you got to TMS. Was it Clarkes'? And this thread would not be complete without mention Dennis Rogers and his bike breakers yard at the top of Carlton Hill; Lowater Street Motors IIRC, where you could get anything for just about anything. Fox's on Woodborough Road, or perhaps it was Mapperley Top, were Kawasaki dealers; Extons in Bulwell I think still exist but I stand to be corrected there, i
  15. I remeber Kingstons' having an old Rudge on display in the window, can't for the life of me remember which particular model but I'm sure it had a "Brooklands can" fishtail exhaust so I'd guess at 1930's. The cafe mentioned earlier was, I'm sure, "Taff's Caff"; I spent many an hour in there and could tell a tale or two.....
  16. Scriv

    'Serry'

    Old character in Thurgarton, Albert Holmes the greengrocer, always addressed men as "Serry"...... I've always assumed it to be a corrution of "Sirrah" which of course is an archaic way of saying "sir". It sometimes came out closer to "Surry" or even "Sorry". My dad used it occasionally with locals but not with "outsiders" as it was of course prone to cause confusion. It was not unusual either to be greeted with "Ow yer doin' Mester". All died out now of course. Round Ashfield/Mansfield area and the Derbyshire borders, "yowth" was quite common, used to hear a lot of that up at Butterley. As a
  17. I clearly remember the "Tamworth Mail"; it passed Thurgarton at 20.40 and on summer evenings when I was young it was the cue for me to come inside and get ready for bed. I could see the line between Thurgarton and Bleasby from my bedroom window, though it was too far away to discern much more than the number of carriages (normally four with a GUV sometimes) and to be able to tell if it was a "bonnetted" loco (usually a 37 but the odd 45 did appear) or a "flat-front" i.e. 25 or 31. Apart from the passenger traffic, there was coal to Staythorpe, fly-ash from same and probably the other Trent Va
  18. 'Ere y'are Rog; http://www.whr.co.uk/ Not my pic mate, just found it on t'web.
  19. And if, like my old man, you worked for the company you had one of these.... Dad actually did a lot of work at Holme Pierrepont, building the conveyors. Incidentally, those amongst us who are railway enthusiasts will be pleased to know that one of the locos from Holme Pierrepont quarry has been preserved, on the Welsh Highland.
  20. That belonged to a chap called Roger Hibbert.... well known in railway preservation circles.
  21. Back in the early 1980's I used to do a fair bit of relief driving for Fords through the Mayday agency; the warehouse was on Heathcoat Street in those days, as Littlebro says they went up to Bilborough later. IIRC the business was owned by the Pink family, Barry Pink (known as Mr. Barry) being one of the directors. The shops covered a large area of the East Midlands; apart from the ones mentioned there were stores in Shirebrook, Derby, Newark and Mansfield; my mum was a devoted fan of the Netherfield store, taking great delight in finding bargain dresses for 50 pence or a quid! Nice firm to
  22. Yawn. Funny how everything that went wrong with this country happened since 1979. Some people have very selective memories; you're all happy to forget that Labour closed more pits than the Tories ever did. The coal industry wasn't murdered, it committed suicide. Ask yourselves how many coal mines Mr. Blair re-opened after 1997.
  23. Great Central at Loughborough used to capitalise on this in its earlier days. They had a buffet car which stocked draught beer, both keg and real ale, and we had a regular hard-core of people who used to buy a yearly membership in order to sit and drink on a Saturday afternoon. Mostly older men, respectable types; there were a couple who could occasionally be a nuisance but whilst steady drinking was tolerated drunkenness wasn't and anyone who started to go for it was gently reeled in by the others. Once licensing hours were relaxed, they didn't come back, but the revenue was handy while it la
  24. Definitely "Memory Lane" for me Stu. I was educated at the (now demolished) Southwell Minster Grammar School on Church Street, then some years later (1987-91) came back to Southwell, working for Rainbows Nightfreight whose premises are behind the old workhouse on the Burgage. At that time I lived in a flat above the Co-op shop on King Street; that too has now gone, replaced by the new library. One of my regular visitors of an evening was a local bobby, good friend of mine and a passionate motorcyclist; he used to pop up to my flat and drink his cuppa whilst sitting looking out of the bay windo