Jill Sparrow

As promised, the rest of my ghostly tale. The 'flat' above the nursery consisted of four rooms. Originally, these would have been bedrooms, although the original Schoolmaster's house had been extended in the late 1890s, to provide an additional room on both floors. When I arrived, the 'flat' (as it was termed) had not been occupied for some years and was utilised mainly for storage (one room was crammed with old Victorian desks!), although there was a reasonably modern bathroom and toilet, together with a room which staff sometimes used at lunchtimes. Overall, the entire place was filthy an

I've been watching this discussion with interest and would like to add some of my experiences to the debate. Some years ago, I taught in a small, independent school which was housed in what was the original St Edmund's Primary School (later rebuilt and relocated) on Welbeck Road in Mansfield Woodhouse. Ths site consisted of two separate buildings: the original, early Victorian schoolroom and schoolmaster's house, which had been added to several times later during Victoria's reign (this housed the day nursery/office and kitchens) and a separate, single-storey construction of four classrooms,

PeverilPeril Certainly sounds like the same chap. I will contact him and ask him to have a look at Nottstalgia. Trevor came from a large family, brothers, John, Barry and younger brother Andrew. Sisters Christine and Marilyn. His mother, Doris, was a lovely lady who I knew from childhood and a great friend of my mother. Trevor lived for a while in Franklin Gardens and now at Bramcote. Writes to me every Christmas. He became a teacher himself. I am sure he would love to renew his acquaintance with you. Watch this space!!

PeverilPeril, I enjoyed reading your post.You mention some of your classmates, including a Trevor Davies. Would that be Trevor Davys who lived in Grundy Street? He would be around your age and I knew the various members of his large family quite well. He also attended St Stephen's Church and sang in the choir. I played the organ there in the early 1980s and am still occasionally in touch with Trevor. I must try to persuade him to contribute to Nottstalgia as I know he'd have some good memories to share. Not sure whether Trevor went to Peveril but I think he did. Keep posting!

I remember this lady. She wore a blue overall, had dark hair and a swarthy complexion. A lady of very few words, rather serious looking. She always told me what beautiful curly hair I had (well you can see from the photo what it was like). I hated my hair (even more so when my mother stuck a large silky bow in it) but she thought it was something to be proud of. Wonder if she'd have been so proud the day I stuck my head in a box of sawdust...no, don't ask why! I must have thought it was a good idea at the time. My poor mother went bananas and gave me a lot of misery with a fine-toothed c

Christopher Riley, no less! Hello Christopher. I certainly remember you. I also remember your Mum. The last time I saw her was in Littlewoods in Nottingham many years ago. She told me you were then a DJ in Leicester, I believe? You dad was in the army, I think? I certainly remember you keeping us all entertained at Berridge. All my school photos are on Friends Reunited now and I think you are on most of them.I am still in touch with Jane Humphreys and we often discuss Berridge Days.Let's have some of your Berridge Memories, I'd love to read them.

I am reminded of the old tin-plate toys I used to play with (most of which had belonged to my older sister who had grown out of playing with them). One was a spinning top which was mesmerising. My father (who had certainly been a bit of a b*gg*r in his youth) told me about a toy he once had, consisting of a circle of tin, marked with the colours of the spectrum. A string ran through the middle of this and the idea was to create tension in the string which was then pulled tight to release the energy it contained, making the disc spin and merging all the colours into "white". I recall creatin

Ooooh, Stephen Ford! You've just ruined my day! You mentioned the Irish maths teacher. "Are ye tryin' to be funny?" (as she frequently demanded of me on the odd occasions when I did answer one of her questions). I'm glad you recall the wooden blocks. My favourite activity was putting them together with my eyes closed to see whether I ever actually got a complete picture. More often, it was a peculiar admixture of parts of the six different images but occasionally, (very occasionally) I'd end up with a whole correct image. Now, I called this "fun" but if you want to read more into it, I c

Thinking of things you could buy at Mrs Green's shop on Alfreton Road, my favourite (when I was very young) was the "cube puzzle". Nine wooden cubes with part of a picture pasted to each face which could then be used to create 6 different images, usually of nursery rhymes or fairy stories- eg Red Riding Hood.. The cubes were contained within a wooden box which fastened with a brass hook and clasp fastener. They retailed for something like 2/- (2 shillings, a florin or, for those who aren't old enough to remember what that was...the equivalent of 10p, I think!). I loved them, although no o

Ah yes...politeness. To go back to my Berridge years for a moment, Mr G O Chandler (about whom I have written previously) was mustard when it came to this subject. "Politeness costs nothing" and "Manners maketh the man" being two of his maxims. Headteacher, Mr J W Baugh was, likewise, very hot on manners. A "Good Morning, Sir", should you encounter him in the corridors, was expected. Mr Chandler seemed to be forever espousing the merits of "self-discipline" and "self-respect" when I was ten years old and one of his pupils. I recall the stinging rebuke a number of children received as a res

Very reassuring to read of so many people who also remember "whips and tops". The "Library" on Alfreton Road (alias Mrs Green's shop) sold a great many wooden toys. I also had a "diabolo"- a diabolical thing you had to balance on a rope. Now, that I couldn't get on with. She also sold tins of "bubbles" which came with a circular "wand". I enjoyed those when I was very small. I suppose it was only washing up liquid but I don't think we had washing up liquid in those days, did we? I don't really know whether I am old enough to remember packets of "Rinso" or whether I just remember my parent

Someone reminded me only the other day of the annual event of being treated to a "whip and top" at Shrovetide. I remember my mother buying these for me from Mrs Green's shop (more usually referred to in our household as "The Library") on Alfreton Road. The "tops" were usually green and we spent hours playing with them. The person who reminded me of this (who is slightly older than I am) wondered what today's children would make of this once-a-year treat. She thought they would probably not be able to divert their attention from their i-phones, tablets and I-pods for long enough to notice!

Just remembered "Parisienne" which retailed rather "posh" ladies' wear. My older sister bought a dress and a bikini from there in 1969 prior to going on holiday abroad for the first time. I found a photo of her wearing the dress the other day- she's a pensioner now! I too remember the Co-op where I often went shopping for my mother- with the divi number! Anyone remember Norman Hirstfield's grocery shop and the Sunshine Cafe on the other side of the road? They did very well at lunchtime as many of Players' employees ate there. Mrs Hirstfield (Norman's mother) was a very kind lady and once

Does anyone remember Mrs Green who ran "The Library" as it was known (actually it was a stationery and fancy goods shop near to Mr Searcy's electrical shop, just up from the Stork Club. This would be in the 1950s and early 60s. She ran a private lending library (hence the name) and also sold toys, Post Office Sets (ah, yes....I loved those!) and other treasured childhood toys. She had a daughter named Wendy, after whom I was almost named. I believe Mrs Green may have had Parkinson's disease as she had a severe tremor which I noticed even though I was only a small child. There was also Mr

Well well, someone else who remembers all those names so familiar to me when I was at Berridge. Yes, I remember Martin Jewers and Ian Munro and Jayne Topham. If it's true that she is no longer with us, that's a tragedy. I'll make some enquiries of friends I am still in touch with. I think an awful lot of the area (apart from the school itself) has been razed. I prefer to remember it (in my mind's eye) as it was during a very happy childhood. Nice to read your post. Must admit, I haven't had time to visit the site for quite a while. I'll keep my eye on it now!

Thanks everyone for all the information relating to Barbers. Ruth and her father Dr Robert David seem to defy all effort to link them to the Lamb Close Barbers, yet she always said they were related. The chap whose name I couldn't think of (Manager of Barber-Walker's) and who resided at the Grange in Eastwood was John William Fryar- a brilliant mining engineer who was way ahead of his time and who died tragically young. Ruth recalled spending Christmas and New Year with John William Fryar at Eastwood Hall in 1913/14 when she was 14 years old. I shall keep a close eye on future posts on thi

My partner, Richard, was brought up by his grandmother (born Ruth BARBER 1899-1995). Ruth was the daughter of Dr Robert David Barber of Eastwood and his wife Alice Georgiana Strelley (her second marriage). After much research, we still can't work out how Dr Robert David Barber (son of Samuel Barber) is related to the Barber family of Moorgreen, colliery owners. There is also Canon Barber (Hucknall) who, in old age, bore an uncanny likeness to Ruth in old age...but that's another story. What I would like to ask Nottstalgians is this: does anyone have any images of a house named The Grange, w

I have been looking through some old scrap books and found some programmes from the Youth Drama Festivals for the late 60s and early 70s- held by the City of Nottingham Education Committee at the Co-Op Arts Theatre. Thought some readers may be interested to note who was taking part: Aspley Boys' Club Glenbrook Junior Girls' Club Nottingham Theatre Club (Max and Joyce Bromley) Meadows Boys' Club- in 1969 they performed an extract from Dylan Thomas's "Return Journey" directed by John Shooter St Leonard's Youth Group Bilborough Baptist Drama Group Clifton YMCA Hyson Green Boys' Club and

That's tragic, Stan, but they were pretty ubiquitous (oh, bless my soul...another long word...) in the 50s and 60s (Ascot water-heaters, that is). Yes, I was educated at Berridge from the age 4- 11 years. My reminisences of those halls of learning are on here, under 'First Day at School'. Su and my sister (being several years older) had moved on to Peveril by the time I arrived at Berridge, but they were educated there too. I remember Su calling for my sister, en route for the bus to Peveril, each morning. Su was always immaculately dressed in school uniform and a beige trench-coat. Her

Stan, I think a large part of Su's idiosyncratic (whoaaa...that's a big word for a Friday!) speech is due to the fact that she's a Nottingham lass- and PROUD of it! After all, whenever she appears on TV, everyone knows she's from Nottingham. Actually, I saved her life when I was a child. Her parents lived in Prospect Terrace (the houses are long since demolished) and had a caravan at Skeggy or Mablethorpe (I forget which) where they'd go every weekend. When Su and my sister were around 17, four of us slept at the Prospect Terrace house one night: Su, her sister Jean, my sister Julie and me

Ah, that's where you're wrong, Stan. People who only see Su on TV have no idea of the talent she really has. She's a brilliant serious actress: I remember seeing her play the lead in Federico Garcia Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba" at the Co-Op Arts in 1969. She's also a brilliant singer: I saw her in The Student Prince, also in the 60s at the Co-Op Arts. The problem is (and she bemoans this herself) that, once you've been typecast on TV (as a dotty chalet maid) that's all you'll ever do. Very very difficult to break out of the mould. A crying shame because there is so much more to S

From the age of around 10 years old, I was a member of the Co-Operative Arts Theatre's Junior Group. What a fantastic facility that was for young people. My sister (and her best school friend Su Pollard- she was known as Susan Pollard in those days and sported long, straight blonde hair!) were members of the Senior Group. We were taught by a lady named Phyllis Blackwell, who covered the areas of elocution, stagecraft, correct breathing and all kinds of useful know-how tips for speaking in public and in performances. Anyone else remember the Junior Group?

Welcome nlightnd9 who is obviously one of our Berridge alumni. I am sure I must have known you at Berridge, since you will be around the same age as me but of course, I can't identify you from your Nottstalgia name. I knew several boys who went to High Pavement: Ian Munro and Philip Walker among them. Not sure who 'Jill M' is. Just thought that, if you are slightly older than me, the 'Jill M' could be Jill Maddern who was in the year above. I have put all my Berridge Photos on Friends Reunited, so if you want to look, you may find your mug shot on one of them...didn't we all look innocen

You've heard of the American Dream....it's only a dream, because you have to be asleep to see it. This is going into my personal book of quotes...I love it! Thanks Dave!

I've avoided, thus far, Manning School's take on the teaching of history. The past is my favourite subject- always has been. My Daddy used to say I emerged from the womb asking awkward questions about my forebears and I've been doing it ever since. I intend to go on doing it: I like it, so why should I stop? History at primary school (Berridge Road) was well taught: outings to Nottingham Castle and the caves: tales of Isabella and Roger de Mortimer. Museum expeditions, where you could almost smell the past. It became tangible and real, inspiring you to find out more...ask questions, read