Jill Sparrow

You can go off people, you know. @Beekay

The little girl, fourth from the right on the back row, is Edna Foster, born in 1908. She lived all her life in the area and her grandson has posted some fascinating photos on a Nottingham-related Facebook site, all in pristine condition. If only more people treated their family photos with such care.

A Colin Cade was based there in the 1960s. His daughters, Carolyn and Andreana both attended the same ballet classes as myself. They came into Nottingham on the train from Lowdham. Their father was transferred to Glen Parva and they had to find a new ballet teacher!

I also watched it again over several evenings on YouTube. I watched it when it was first broadcast and hadn't a clue what it was about. Usually, if I saw a tv adaptation of something like that, I'd go and find a copy of the book and read it to see whether it made any sense of the televised version. In that case, I didn't. Sounds as though I wouldn't have been any the wiser for the effort. Alan Garner seems to have written quite a number of books. I've never read any. Certainly never read any at school.

Starlings seem to be making a comeback. I remember watching them when I was a child but haven't seen too many in the intervening years. I now see far more rooks than anything else. Highly intelligent birds and fun to watch.

Antibiotic flavour mini rolls?

@plantfitSuch willpower!

My parents held their wedding reception there in June 1949, so it has family history connotations for me. Only two people are still with us who attended that wedding. Both were very young babies and neither can remember it!

Suspicious looking tear in the packaging there, Rog. I'll bet you've scoffed them all.

My father caught Dengue fever during WW2 and, like Ian's father, had occasional recurrences throughout his life.

I remember a very strange tv serial from 1969/70 called The Owl Service. Based on the book of the same name by Alan Garner. I remember watching it when first broadcast and didn't understand it at all. I've recently watched it again on YouTube and haven't revised my opinion. The acting is wooden, to say the least. The book is aimed at teenagers but I don't think they'd be allowed to screen it now. 25 year olds playing adolescents and the female lead often very skimpily clad. I was 11 when I first saw it. One of the most peculiar children's programmes ever made, I should think.

My sister smokes. Filthy and unhealthy addiction but she doesn't want to stop and, therefore, won't. She, too, is frequently requested to log her BP on a chart for a week. More recently, she's been diagnosed with pernicious anaemia and has injections of B12 several times per year. I'm sure the smoking addiction doesn't help. I have never smoked and don't understand the attraction. It's filthy, unhealthy and very, very expensive.

My father was a great Billy Bunter fanatic and I still have some of the old annuals that were his. As a child, he learned to read long before he went to school by utilising the picture stories in Magnet and Gem papers for boys. Walter Hayes in Beeston had a shop which allowed youngsters to swap two papers they had read for a new one. I don't think he ever watched the TV version, though. I don't imagine Billy Bunter is very politically correct today. Ram Jam Singh included.

I shall have a word with your better half, young Trogg!

Older sister has been on Amlodipine 10mg since her pre op for cataract surgery last year when they discovered her BP was elevated. Mine is usually too low.

And what modern day eyesore stands on the site of that building now, I wonder?

I think Bunty James joined later on. There were only the three males when I used to watch it. It was Jack Hargreaves' brainchild. He felt that educational programmes could be presented in an entertainment format. Beats the hell out of Teletubbies!

Jack Hargreaves was one of the three presenters of How! which I liked to watch as a child. Fred Dineage and another chap whose name I forget although I can see his face. **. One of them reportedly blew himself up in his shed after an experiment at home went wrong. ** Jon Miller

Oh, I replied immediately, Rog. Told them I'd rather stick pins in my eyes!

I'd turn to out watch people racing each other with a horse on their backs. Doesn't seem to be a very popular idea. Wonder why?

Whenever I visited Garden Street as a child, uncle George always had the racing on in the afternoons. I have no interest in horse racing but if ever I catch a glimpse of any on the news. I always think of him.

much preferred this.

Weeeeeeeed! Just didn't appeal, Ben. I think I was about 45 when I was born. Always preferred to be with adults rather than children which is probably the reason why I didn't like school. It was full of children! Most annoying.

Someone on the dreaded Facebook Nottinghamshire Lost School Friends site has invited me to a Manning reunion in April. I'm hiding under the bed and I shan't come out until May at the very earliest.

I'm a bit too young to remember Muffin but my older sister loved it. Generally, I preferred the children's radio programmes to tv fare but I did like Picture Book as there were always demonstrations of how to make things and the dachshund puppet appealed to me. As for The Flower Pot Men, etc, I found it very silly and childish. Radio remains my preferred medium and I dispensed with the tv years ago.