Jill Sparrow

Looks interesting and potentially very supportive...but can we trust him?

Ann, Annie, Amy, Alison and Andrea .....nah...he could find at least 20 for each letter...Alyssa, Abigail, Annabelle, Annette, Anthea, Althea, Audrey, Agnes, Ashley, Agneta, Adelaide, Anita, Aileen, Alicia and Athene? That's only the first 20 minutes at Marsden's on a Monday morning! Still awake?

When I can't sleep at night, I play mental alphabet games. For instance, I have to find 5 authors, composers or artists whose surnames begin with each letter of the alphabet. Just thinking that, when Ben can't sleep at night, he could find 5 females he's dated for each letter of the alphabet...on every road in Nottingham...and further afield! Knocks Moggiedon into a cocked hat! . Zzzzzzzz

Who's Maggie? Does Donna know?

My first lot of wisdom teeth were removed in June 1974. I was still at school and due to participate in the Speech & Drama Competition which preceded the end of term. This was an event I had won for my house virtually every year I'd been at Manning. After Acton extracted the wisdom teeth, under the guidance of an anaesthetist who had to be present due to the procedure needing more gas than a dentist was permitted to give, I was unable to speak properly for several weeks. This being the case, I didnt participate in the competition and my house lost the trophy! I'd never been permitted to

Hope there isn't a Saracen's Ladies' Angling Group!

Would Ben qualify as an honorary member, do you suppose? Cheeky!

Ey up our Ben...you've got serious competition there!

Wear it for the Berridge visit. Warmer than lycra!

Eek! It's a young Ben! Yer little divil! Started early, honing his charm with the ladies! Nowt's changed, has it?

I suppose it was powdered aspirin. It was the neatly folded paper that fascinated me! In our pantry was Indian Brandee. Tasted really peculiar! Raspberry leaf tea. Absolutely vile! Both recommended for the relief of period pains. Didn't work, I can tell you!

I certainly wouldn't recommend it!

I was wondering recently, do they still make Beecham's Powders? My father always had a box of those when he caught a cold. I was fascinated by them. Only tried one once. Tipped the powder into my mouth, like he did, and almost choked! Awful taste.

No, just very fortunate!

This isn't likely to be the Chris Chambers you mean, GD. I was at school with his older sister who was born in August 1958, so he couldn't have been at Mellish during the dates you gave. There was another Chambers Butchers in Bulwell. Frank Chambers, I believe, much nearer the Market Place. I think they were related and from my recollection there was a lot of not terribly good natured rivalry between them. The Chris or the Mick you seek may be related to them.

The Boots I remember was further up on the same side but much smaller. I also remember Henry's Department Store which must have been on the site of The Oriental Cafe. Henry's opened in the mid 60s but wasn't there very long.

Ronald Acton removed one set of wisdom teeth when I was 16. That's rather early for wisdom teeth to erupt but then I've always been rather wise...just not wise enough to avoid Ronald Acton!

I had two sets of wisdom teeth which, I was told, is very unusual. My mother didn't have any, so I must have had hers in addition to my own. They caused problems because my mouth, contrary to popular belief, wasn't large enough to accommodate them all!

Ronald Acton was a Union Dentist...one out, all out. Why that man ever took up dentistry is beyond me!

My cousin, John Newton, did a lot of cycling in his younger days, born 1941, and belonged to a club although I don't know which one. He took it very seriously. His family lived at Paignton Close, Cinderhill. As to cyclists being a nuisance, I've driven behind a few idiots recently who suddenly jump onto their rear wheel and remove their hands from the handlebars! No helmet or protective clothing, of course! When they are knocked off, they'll complain bitterly and their inept parents will widen their eyes at the prospect of compensation for their brainless offspring's injuries!

Oooh, there's a sale on at Stead & Simpson! Brought back memories of hoovering up size 3s for very little because they didn't fit most people. I've still got piles of shoe boxes in my wardrobe but never wear what's in them. My feet were slow growing. Half way through The Manning, I still took size 12 children's fitting!

I have several fold up shopping bags. They're all covered in cats! Bet that comes as a surprise!

Our art teacher at The Manning was implacably opposed to carrying her shopping in any bag which bore the name of the shop where she purchased it. She regarded this as using the customer to obtain free advertising and always took either a plain cardboard box or shopping bags into which she placed her shopping. This was in the 1960s. Quite how she would have reacted to the practice of wearing items of clothing which display the maker's name doesn't bear thinking about. Apoplectic fit at the very least, I'd imagine. We groaned during her lectures on these subjects at the time but I,

He certainly is and thank goodness someone is doing it. I've spent half my life extracting memories from my elders. I'm thinking of persuading Ben to write a book but I suspect it would put Lady Chatterley in the shade. Make DH Lawrrence look like a boy scout!

Ey up! You're not related to Benjamin1945 are you? . Been sitting at the feet of the master?