Hackie

The T1 Ball was a semi-formal affair very popular with all employees. It was held, as you say, March/April, which was when the bonuses were distributed. As was usual for the time the senior staff (managers etc) were still ‘segregated’, seniors upstairs, lower echelons downstairs. Integration was not encouraged. But a good time was had by all as they say.

You are quite right. Just after the war and well into the 50's. the restaurant was called the Moulin Rouge. The family who ran it (I believe they were Indian) also had another place, called either, The Little John or The Robin Hood. It was somewhere in the area of the junction of Upper Parliament and Derby Road. We used to eat there regularly prior to a concert visit at the old Albert Hall.

I am not sure what a high starting torque is. But (and this might be the same thing) they had amazing acceleration from stop. I well remember that fully laden, including probably some 20 standing downstairs (and sometimes upstairs as well) they would take off like a rocket, from stationary whilst facing uphill on say Derby Road or Carlton Hill. Never failed to amaze me. No 'motor' bus could come anywhere close to that, - even empty.

Can anyone remember an old soldier - well known in the 30's and 40's, who was known and referred to as "The Old General" He had a chestful of shiny medals and always had a crowd around him. One of his favorite 'lines' was - "It took me 10 years to.......- polish these" He could tell tales all day.

I noticed a post on this forum about trolleybus poles coming off the overhead wires. That brought back many potent memories. Canning Circus was a ‘Spaghetti Junction’ of overhead wires criss-crossing in all directions and poles came off regularly. Some of the ‘points’ above were hand changed by the conductor, pulling down a handle on a nearby post. I think sometimes they forgot. Occasionally the loose, swinging, poles would get so tangled up with nearby wires that they would be impossible to unravel from the ground. This involved sending for the ‘tower truck’- a wooden lift arrangement, ope

In the 50's there were two restaurants owned by the same people. One was on Derby raod exactly opposite the top of Upper Parliament Street, and the other was on the top side of Trinity Square. One was the Robin Hood and the other was the Little John. Sorry I can't recall which was which. We used both often before going on to the 'Pics'.

Starfish” fire decoy system. Yes there was obviously a decoy there of some sort. First time I have heard its name,thanks. A friend of mine living in Redmile at the time, went out with his father the following morning and counted over 50 craters. That was 50 less for Nottingham. I presume they would be from the firet wave. Once the town was lit up with the incendaries there would be no mistaking it.

rob237 Sorry this is way off thread but I have just noticed an entry of yours way back in 2007 where you quote the start of the old school song - Una voce concinamus omnes Paviores. Any chance you have the rest of it? Would love to get hold of a copy for old times sake. I am no latin scholar so have no idea what the words mean, although I estimate I must have sung it some 2,000 times. I can hear the next line or so in my mind but there is no way i am going to make a d... fool of myself by trying to spell it out. Hope you can oblige. My years were 43 to 49.

That name brings back memories. I think there were a lot of Adelphies scattered about. Wasn't there one just over the Trent Bridge? A poky little place, down in a hollow. Probably the Adelphies were a 'chain'.

The News Theatre was on Upper Parliament Street. It had a rear entrance on Wollaton. Street. I remember seeing the first film taken at the Belson Concentration Camp (by the Americans I think), as a boy of thirteen, I had nightmares for weeks after.

The camp in Wollaton park, was between the bottom of the hill and Wollaton road. At various times during the war it was used for, - UK army, US army, (as lads we used to watch them playing baseball)(and argue with them about the superior values of cricket), German prisoners, and Italian prisoners. These latter were allowed to roam the city. A summers Sunday afternoon would see them on the Trent Embankment in their hundreds, - flirting with the girls. They wore green overalls.

Hi. Yes you are quite right. I was born 1932. Mum and dad were keen walkers.I would almost certainly have been taken on the old row boat that year. I probably stopped going there just prior to 1950, when I was called up for National service (RAF). So it looks as though the infill was done maybe 1948/9.

Many, many, thanks for the info, especially the pictures. That grass section is exactly the area I was refering to. If you can imagine it taken away you would be left with a wall some 15ft to 20ft high going straight down to the water level - which is exactly the way it used to be in my youth. The old man in the rowing boat must have made a living, but at 3d a trip I don't know how. The red brick building looks familiar, so unless the photo is fairly recent that would be the Girls School. I would love to know at what date (presumedly around 1960) that part of the river bank was reinstated, and