[Did you go to Peveril ?]

I remember the name Miss Mantfield, but I think it was because she was spoken of, and wasn't there by the time I went 'up' in Sept 58. If she was still there, I never had her in any of my lessons. I guess there were other teachers there that I never came across, there were a lot of girls there and those few teachers I mentioned couldn't have taken them all for lessons. There were 4 streams in each year. Towards my latter time there a man joined the staff. I can remember the whispers that went round when we heard about him coming. With all female teachers and all girl pupils, he was definitely outnumbered. His name was Mr Lemon and he taught shorthand and typing.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

Did she teach in the junior school? Her name rang a bell as soon as I saw it.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

I thought I'd recall a few memories of my years at Crane School. I started there Dec '51 the day after my 5th birthday. I sat next to Sheila Cook, who lived round Amesbury Circus from me, and already an old friend. She was exactly a week older than me, so a week ahead of me at school. I think my first teacher was either Miss Ward, or Miss Maltby, either way, one was my first, the other my 2nd yr. Miss Stoker was another teacher there, not very nice either, she really slapped my legs once because I'd dropped a pencil when she wanted silence. Hope she got her come-uppance later in life! I remember parties there, mum taking trifle, everyone bringing a plate, knife fork and spoon with your name written on plaster on the utensils. Once we did the Pied Piper of Hamlin, I was a rat with a brown paper bag on my head. I think Miss Yardley was headmistress. I remember the coronation in '53, we all had photos taken, and all sat on the ground inthe playground for a display of some kind.

I don't remember much of the juniors, Miss Starling was head, and the only teachers I really remember are Miss Baines and Miss Ellis. I remember playground games more than anything, and playing on the top playground up some steps. I had my first school trip in the 4th yr here, we went to Birmingham to see a dancing display in a huge theatre/hall. I remember more than anything, passing the kilns of the potteries along the way.

Seniors I remember more of. It must have been Sept '58 I moved up to here. Miss Hilditch was head, Miss Cantrell was deputy head, and also taught science and maths. My first year I had Mrs McGowan in an annexe classroom by the clinic. She also taught needlework. 2nd yr I had Miss Spencer, who also taught English, handwriting, spelling etc. She taught us the Marian Richardson style of writing, and would put us in for handwriting competitions. 3rd yr was Mrs Portwood, also a history teacher. I had her for my 4th yr too, which only lasted one term, as I left the Dec I turned 15. Other teachers were Miss Bilton, Miss Bodkin and Mrs Pavier, all taught PE/Games. Miss Bilton also taught art. Mrs Nannery taught Geography, Mrs Evans taught music appreciation. We listened to old 78's of classical music on a record player and learned all about the composers. Miss Flint taught choir, which we had in the canteen. Mrs Henstock taught domestic science in the hauser hut. Miss Smedley played piano every morning at assembly and for Miss Flint's choir classes. Mrs Ridler taught French and RE, she was the wife of the vicar of St Margarets on Aspley Lane. We went there for any special services. Also we traipsed down to the tennis courts on Aspley Lane in the summer. Swimming was at Noel Street baths by bus [Nole 'Ole] We used the big field in the middle of the schools for hockey, rounders and track and field, we had a netball court on the playground, a gym where we pulled the equipment out of the walls [assembly was in there too] and the canteen. I loved school dinners, it cost a shilling a day and we had plenty to eat. No chips, or fancy stuff of nowadays, just plain, filling meat and 2 veg, and a rib sticker of a pudding afterwards.

I remember going to school one Monday morning in November, around 1959/60 to be told Miss Cantrell had died suddenly over the weekend. We were stunned. At that age you don't come up against death much.

I hated leaving school, especially as most of my friends were there until the following Easter and Summer. But that's life. They really were the best years of our lives, but we didnt' know it at the time.

[Avro Vulcan prototype]

I remember the Vulcan coming over our house all the time, as a kid. I lived on Amesbury Circus, obviously in the flight path of this plane and many others. I also remembering it crashing, and going out with my dad and eldest brother to look at the site. Brother worked for Rolls Royce, Hucknall for almost 40 years before taking early retirement, so he and my dad went to every airshow going, me too most of the time. We often went to the American airbases for their shows. Brother has written books, articles for magazines, and often gives talks, all on Rolls Royce, its planes and engines. He did a 6 yr apprenticeship as a coppersmith there in his youth. I remember hearing the test beds from our house.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

Wow Caz, that must have been excrutiating, boiling water fown your back. I know what a slight burn or scald feels like. You were very lucky not to have scarring. I'm sure if that had happened to me, my mum would have slathered butter all over me, it was the answer to everything! Not so nowadays.

Tut, you were right with the copper stick, I'd forgotton about that. That was wood, so were the props for the washing lines. I used to put 2 props up against next doors hedge in the back garden, throw a sheet over and viola, a tent to play in.

Robt, thanks for showing the photo of Broxtowe Lane. I had forgotten about the fence that ran down the left side. In my minds eye, I can see 3 rows of shops, with stone walls running in between, and no gaps. What was behind that fence, do you remember?

Had to laugh about Hazel Nutt throwing the man off the bus. She was feisty, and you didn't cross her. She was different in that she wore trousers with her jacket, most women on the buses wore a skirt below the knee. Trousers on women in the 50's was very unusual. I bet when she popped her clogs, the makeup people laid off one of the lipstick workers!

I now remember the name of the woodyard, Bramley's. Everything comes to me eventually if I can wait long enough! You could walk up a path between the woodyard and Napoleon Sq up to Wendover Drive on the Aspley est.

Top shops: I remember it was Gee's butchers now you say, but wasn't the cooked meat shop another name? Wasn't the Co-op, Farrands, before being a Co-op? I would take my mum's list in there, and you'd tell them one thing at a time, and they went hither and thither fetching stuff. They must have walked miles in a day. I remembered the name Horsleys once you said it.

Bottom shops. I always thought the grocers at the very bottom of Broxtowe Lane was Marsdens, but you say it was the top shop in the 3rd section? Sorry to hear how your dad died, what a shock. A lot of folks cycled to and from work in those days, usually because the work wasn't on a bus route, or took several buses.

I remember the post office next to the grocers, it was in the front of a house if I remember rightly, that stood alone. Then it was a shop I can't remember, then the chemists. My mum had a regular prescription every month, and I would have to go and wait in the doctors surgery in Lime Tree Ave, to renew her prescription. No receptionist in those days, you counted how many were in front of you, then counted them in to see the doctor, then it was your turn. I'd then go and get the tablets from the chemist. Once he didnt' have the tablets and told me to go to Stansby on Nuthall Rd. I only had the penny return fare, so had to walk to Stansbys, then I could bus it home. I'm sure they wouldnt' give prescriptions or tablets to kids nowadays. Patricks the mens hairdressers was up some steps at the side of the railway bridge.

Did you ever go along Percy Street? There was a shop there on the left, tiny little place, sold everything under the sun. You reminded me of this when you mentioned the Alladins cave of a shop on Broxtowe Lane. This shop had stuff piled on the counters right up to the ceiling, and piled all over the floor in front of the counters. Heaven knows how they found anything.

You mentioned a man named Salt who had a fruit and veg horse and cart. Was this Hector, or should I say 'ector and 'is 'oss. We didnt' buy from him but a neighbour across the road did, and she'd always give Hector a cup of tea, so on with the nose bag on the horse to keep it entertained while he was gone. The horse was known to take off every now and again, most likely through boredom. If you are talking about Hector, he was a very stout men always wore a leather waistcoat, and boots. You're right about all the housewives covetting the horse manure, and running out with a bucket and shovel. It either went on roses or rhubarb, the latter I prefer custard on, myself.

Other tradesmen on the Circus were Tom Bridges, he drove a green open sided lorry and sold fruit, veg and dry goods. Later a converted red single decker bus came round as a mobile supermarket. Buxton's had this. There was of course the Co-op milkman, a bread van, dry cleaner van, Davenports beer, Redgate and Redfearns pop, ice cream vans, rag and bone man, Taylor's butcher van, the odd knife sharpener, insurance men, men who collected your never-never payments for the Co-op and Raughton's on Derby rd [both kitted me out] the paper lad, it was never ending. You really didn't have to go to the shops for much at all if you didn't want to.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

I don't remember a family with the name Jones in Aspley. I don't think I ever had a Jones girl in my class all the way through school. As for the butchers named Norrish, that doesn't ring any bells either, sorry.

I loved living on Amesbury Circus as a kid. It was so 'normal' compared to nowadays, although we didnt' think anything of it at that time. All the dads worked, all the mum's stayed home. All the houses were the same, all with privet hedges that were kept clipped, and gardens that were looked after. The only difference in the houses were the front doors were painted by the blocks, green, red, yellow and blue. Before that though, all were 'corporation' green. They were cold houses in winter, the only heat was the coal fire inthe living room. I remember ice on the inside of my bedroom window all the 21 winters I lived there. We used the fire for lots of things, but the best thing was toast made on the end of a toasting fork. Chestnuts went in there too for roasting, and I dried my hair in front of it. Mum would put her curling iron in the fire till it was hot, then try it out on newspaper at first so it didn't singe her hair. She's usually spit on it to test the heat. The original fireplace had a high mantlepiece with a stretchy wire [used for net curtains] stretched under the mantlepiece and you could air clothes on it. Although this sounds old fashioned, it was quite modern compared to both my grandmas's terrace house fireplaces, which was blackleaded. Fire grate inthe middle, hot water boiler on one side, and oven on the other.

I slept in the 'tank room' it had the airing cupboard and hot water tank in it. The front bedroom had a 'bogey hole' over the stairs for storage, we also had one under the stairs where the mangle was kept. We were a middle house so the coal hole was a trip outside to get coal. End houses had their coal put through a small door to the under stairs part. The scullery [we weren't posh enough for a kitchen] had a copper under the draining board, which was dragged out on Monday's, filled with cold water, and then the gas was lit underneath it. The draining board was ribbed wood, and a deep stone sink. The washing machine was a Hotpoint Empress, which was dragged out of the bathroom on Mondays. [which was off the kitchen]. It was filled with hot water from the copper, and the same water did the week's wash, light's first getting darker as the loads went in. The water looked like gravy by the end of the day! It took all day to boil up the whites, wash the washing, rinse in the sink, mangle the water out, peg it all out. God help us if it was a wet day, washing was everywhere in the house. The scullery also had a pantry, to the left was a window and shelves, to the right a meat safe and shelves. Of course everything was bought or delivered daily, which was good as we didnt' have a fridge.

My mum was still in the same house at her death in '98, and boy, had the area gone down hill by then. Speed bumps all around to slow down the racers, the windows and doors were a jumble of styles and colours, front gardens paved over for the car, and an air of neglect everywhere. My brother likened it to the Bronx! I haven't been up there since, have no desire to really, I like my memories best.

Will write more later.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

Hi Rob

I am not familiar with the names you told me, except perhaps Terry Hurt. If he was the one living in Wareham Close, then I was in the same class as his sister June. There was a Foster family living next to our friends the Uftons. These Uftons were 4 boys, I think there was a Les, and definitely an Alan, Michael and Peter. Michael was my age. There was also a Hufton family around number 184, maybe they had the girls? I have a polling list from 1958 of Amesbury Circus/Wareham Close/Ainsdale Cres and it's wonderful to look at the family names in each house. Everyone over 21 is listed. You must have been just about all the way around as it only went up to 231 on the odd side [no offense!] and 190 on the even. This last house was Annie Birch, same name as my grandma on my dad's side. She had a son who played cricket for Notts County I do believe [or was it a grandson] She lived next to little park. I didn't realise it was only opened in '51, it always seemed to be there. I remember Mr Cooper, [or Parkie as we called him] he carried me home once when I came a cropper off the swings.

Fancy you knowing Malc Taylor. I used to have a crush on him, but he never looked my way, aaaaah. His dad Joe, had slicked down hair, smallish man. I remember the name Gribby. Didn't they have a hut at one time for selling stuff?

I used to skate down Bells Lane on tin roller skates [shook the teeth out of your head] for 3 pennorth of chips, plenty of fish bits, from Bacon's. I remember Walbrook Close being built between the 2 sets of 2 shops. Just past these shops were the crossing gates, then on the left was a grassy bank, a fence and a field behind it. Weren't there cows in this field? Oh the freedom of those days, to go off all day long with not a care in the world, so long as you were back at a reasonable hour, nobody worried.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

OK back again. You'll all be sick of me by the time I've finished reminiscing.

Someone mentioned the Unwins, I was at school with Susan, the youngest, until we were 10 or 11. They moved away from Munford Circus after that. Susan is also in Australia, I used to email her. There were 7 kids in the family, she was the youngest.

We lived across the road from the number 22 bus terminus. As a little kid I used to visit the bus conductors/drivers when they were parked for a while. I knew several of them well. One man and wife were a team, her name was Hazel Nutt, I'll never forget that name, he drove the bus, she was the conductoress. Had lipstick in a cupid's bow, bigger than her lips.

Our house backed onto the playing fields, so we used to hop over the 6ft fence as kids and play on there. There was a sandpit further round, behind Sheila Cook's house. [number 78?] We'd play in the nursery grounds too, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. I'd have a fit if my kids had done that! Used to go hedge hopping in the little park, there were 2 squares of grass with a hedge round them. Used to make dens in the bushes too, and catch tons of butterflies on those bushes. Put them in a jar with a hole in the lid, and bingo, they were dead within a short time. The sticklebacks from Fowlers pond didn't fare much better either.

The island at Cinderhill was tiny compared to the size of it now, the 41 trolley bus [or trackless we called it] turned round there. As well as Fowlers Pond over the wall, there was a pool of some kind with concrete steps either side, like the ones at Trent Bridge. I don't know what this was for originally, but we caught fish in there too. Who remembers the pit houses at the island, Holden Square was it? Also Napoleon Sq behind the Barleycorn pub, and the woodyard nr there too.

I know Whitemoor, only because when I visited my grandma in Marlow Ave and aunty round the corner at the top of Bailey St, we got off the bus at the Newcastle Arms and walked through to Basford. Aunty lived a few doors from the beer off opposite the Duke of Newcastle pub, granny was round the corner. I used to go to this beer off as a kid with a jug for her Guinness, and if I was lucky, I could have a Babycham. Yuk, it's 'orrible stuff now, so sweet. Granny would have a poker in the fire ready for my return, and she'd stick the poker in the beer to warm it up. Yum yum, that sounds delicious! NOT.

My cousins went to Whitemoor school, last name Watson if anyone remembers them. Gill, Robert and Freda.

The shops at the top of Broxtowe Lane had a grocers at the end. It was something else before turning into a Co-op [divi number 107353, never forgot it] Next door was Wardles hardware shop, always smelled of parafin. There was a newsagents, a butchers, a pork shop, and Lucy Briggs, haberdashery on the end. We got polony fromthe pork shop. Anyone remember that? It was in a red skin, they cut a piece off a long polony and sold it by the ounce. My mum called it donkey's plonker. I didnt' know this was rude until I went in the shop as a kid and asked for just that! Gave the assistants a laugh if nothing else.

Ok, someone else's turn, more next time.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

No Robert, I think I'd remember if you took me into Broxtowe Woods! I did go in there with the lads on our street, Terry Ashton, Geoff Cousins, Gordon Beresford, to play cowbugs and injuns. Bang bang you're dead [count to ten then you were 'alive' again] I can picture the woods so clearly. The stream alongside the left hands side, which we jumped over to get into the woods. Building dens in the bushes, a natural spring for a drink. At the end of the path were the railway lines, over them and you were in a meadow with masses of wildflowers to pick, and the odd bull to chase you. All built on now. Turn left at the end of the track, and my dad and I would go nutting for hazlenuts, there was also a cycle race track along there, lots of races. I guess the railway lines went to Broxtowe pit to the left, over Bells lane to the right. My aunt lives at no 143 Amesbury Circus until 1954, and the tracks were at the bottom of her garden. I remember the Ufton lads at number 90, their mam Beat was my mam's friend, and their dad was in the army with my dad.

More memories later.

[Did you go to Peveril ?]

Hello everyone. I just found this website by accident, and have loved reading everyone's memories of William Crane, Amesbury Circus, Melbourne Rd etc. I was born on Amesbury Circus, Dec '46 next door but one to the old nursery school. I lived there till I got married in '68. My parents lived in the same house all their married lives from '38 onwards. I remember all the old neighbours around me and quite a few further round the Circus, plus the roads that radiated off of it. I went to Crane throughout my school years, and loved every minute. I remember lots of girls in my class and just about all the teachers names. I am still in touch with one teacher, Mrs Portwood, who taught history. I played on the 2 parks, big park and little park, big park had a park keeper in the pavilion who kept his eye on us all. I fished in Fowlers Pond for sticklebacks, and remember the railway crossings on Bells Lane, and Melbourne Rd.

There were 4 shops at the bottom of Bells Lane, Pinketts news and sweets [also one by the Commodore] Bacon's fish and chips, Joe Taylor the butcher [his son Malc delivered our meat] and a fruit and veg shop where we got vinegar from a barrel, bring your own bottle. These were the 'bottom' shops, top shops were on the upper part of Broxtowe Lane. The bottom half of Broxtowe Lane had 3 sets of shops, Ford's being one [sold clothing]

I remember the bike shop someone mentioned on Nuthall Rd, I got my bike from there, a Raleigh Palm Beach. I went to work for Raleigh on leaving school, in the gradual payments dept, and dealt with all the paperwork of folks who had their bike on the never-never, just like mine was. There was also a sweet shop along from there, Bennetts had it. Stansby the chemist too, and the Co-op, and a big electrical shop almost opposite the Newcastle Arms.

My mum and family went to Percy St school, Ike Marshall coal merchant lived next to the school, he was our coalman. Mum went to Guildford school from there. She lives just off Percy St, then the Stockhill Est before she married.

I went to dancing lessons on sat mornings at the Commodore, and borrowed books from Aspley library opposite.

I could go on and on, but had better quit waffling. Hope I've rung some bells with you all.