alisoncc

Clifton Bridge was opened in 1958. Before that the most straightforward route to the Clifton Estate would have been over the 'apeny Bridge. I remember seeing barricades across the bridge in the late '50's, but that might have been to make sure that users paid the toll. I am fairly certain I crossed it in 1963 on a motorbike. I had rels living in Ruddington whom I used to visit when on leave from the RAF. Hugs Alison

I think there were chiropractors and masseuses, but not known as such. There was an episode of "Born and Bred" on the box a while back that showed the village doctor competing (professionally) with a "Bone Cracker" known to the local miners. He was an older guy who was called in when someone had a "crook" back. ('scuse the Australianism). Hugs Alison

Hi Caz, I was always under the impression that Pancake day is held on Shrove Tuesday which is tied to Lent and Easter, and as such is a movable feast. Wiki states "The reason that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent is that the 40 days of Lent form a period of liturgical fasting, during which only the plainest foodstuffs may be eaten. Therefore, rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, and sugar are disposed of immediately prior to the commencement of the fast. Pancakes and doughnuts were therefore an efficient way of using up these perishable goods, besides providing a minor cel

Hi Andrew, we had a bit of a chat going about folk music on the Nottstalgia Music Chat (General) pages - "Ist Record Bought" thread. Hugs Alison

Hi Andrew, welcome to the funny farm. It never occurred to me that you didn't know about this place. Hugs Alison

Was that the Library at the junction of Wilford Cres and Wilford Grove? I was a member from '55 to '60. Used to call in most days walking home (Summers St.) from school at Mundella. Alison

Hi Rog, I think I prefer Zacsmum's spelling - faireholme brook. It sounds much more olde worlde, a bit like my vintage. Hey Zacsmum, that was a fabulous spot. Sandy banks and shallow enough for kids to be able to paddle. Before the bridge it was so quiet and peaceful. I could just imagine a Turner painting of a picnic there a hundred years before. Whereabouts in the Meadows did you walk from luv ? Hugs Alison

Hi Robt P, that was absolutely fantastic. My speakers didn't capture the deep throated Vulcan roar that I loved so much. Always preferred them in the earlier white livery though. One of our big birds had ripples in it's wings after doing similar vertical climbs after a touch and go. The Phantom video was okay, but the people were still standing after it flew over them. <grin> The glitz and the glamour is all very well, but doesn't come close to sitting on top of an armed nuke to fix the HF radio in the roof of the bomb bay when they were sitting on the QRA pans (Quick Release Alert) a

How about this for pure Nottingham - Meadows. I've had more bloody ........ than you've had 'ot dinners. Hugs Alison

Nah, don't think so luv. Actually the place I am thinking of was between Station Street and the Canal on Carrington Street, on the right heading into town. I think it might have been called The Belvoir Hotel or similar. It had one of those mock tudor frontages. Hugs Alison

Don't know about pictures luv, but used to walk there before they built the bridge in '58. Crossed 'ape'ny bridge then right through a churchyard (???), there used to be an apple orchard along there where if you were clever you could doing some scrumping wi'out getting caught. And a small stream with sandy banks that flowed into the Trent. You could sit and eat your apples there. <grin> Mind you the Estate was a fraction of the size it is now. I had an Uncle who lived on Ridgemont Walk. If you crossed a vegetation strip there was the main road to Gotham (Farnborough Road I think), and

Baz, Arkwright finished at the canal, then it was Carrington up to Listergate then slab square. After the canal you had the Army and Navy Stores and then Redmayne and Todds on the corner with Canal Street. There was a pub on the right of Carrington with a georgian facade. They used to have a good Saturday night sing-along. Me Mam and Dad used to go there in the late fifties. Hugs Alison

Hi Zacsmum, we had a green plastic, cloth-backed, tablecover. With six kids you needed something that could be wiped clean easy. Our front room and kitchen had a hot-water tank on one side of the coal fire and an oven on the other. The whole thing was done up with kitchen black when we had visitors. Me Mam had these big thin aluminium pans, one of which would just fit in the fireside oven. She would pop in an onion, carrots, taters, swede, a bit of turnip and a rabbit into the pan. Stick it in the oven, and a few hours later add a bit of cornflower and gravy browning and that was dinner fo

Wilford Road was alright though. From '54 to '57 I delivered papers for the Newsagents that used to be next to the canal on the right heading up towards Castle Boulevard. We had these incredibly heavy red bikes with paniers on the back. Weekends, when every paper weighed a ton, the newsagent would drive around refilling our bags because we couldn't manage them all in one go. We used to collect the money on Saturdays. Tips weren't bad on my round up the Park. There was one lady on Peveril Drive who always gave me mincepies and choccies at Christmas. Hugs Alison

Hi Rog, you could be right. My paper-round, doing the Park Estate, used to end on the North side of the Castle. Three of us used to meet at a cafe fairly close to there, where, in Winter, the newsagent would buy us all a greasy Joe on Saturday mornings. I used to be up and out by 5.30am - no breakfast not even a cup of tea. Pushing me bike through the snow in Winter to earn a few bob. Charles Dickens had nothing on growing up in the Meadows in those days. Gave us the ability to cope with anything that life throws at us though. Which is pretty good. If anything I feel sorry for the kids nowad

Having acquired a sizable horse chestnut was the easy bit. Then there were all sorts of secret recipes to make them super tough. From soaking them in vinegar to partially baking them in the oven. If you put brown shoe polish on them before baking it stopped them drying out and cracking. Hugs Alison

It wasn't eightpenny bridge neither luv. T'was apen'y bridge as in half penny. An apen'y was two farthings. It seems a world away from when you could buy a "pennyworth of gobstoppers, please Mister". Alison

I don't reckon the "Rigonda Bolshoi" would have been half as good as my crystal set which used the steel frame of my bed as an aerial. I could listen to Radio Luxemburg all night. Hugs Alison

Stan, in the letter you quoted about Castlegate. As kids we used to go to Sunday School at Castlegate Congregational Church. We were supposed to walk up Carrington Street, along Listergate and then turn into Castlegate. But there was shortcut through "bomb buildings", which went from the top of Carrington Street to the centre of Castlegate. The Arms Houses at the top of Carrington Street were all fenced off. They had been bombed too. Hugs Alison

There used to be a rhyme that went with Hopscotch. Something like: One potato, two potato, three potato, four. Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more. Can't remember the rest. If anyone can add to it, they get to forego their Altzheimers medication for the day. <grin> Hugs Alison

A week in a caravan at Skeggy - that must have been at Ingoldmills. EEEEK!!! They used to have these funny ditches separating areas, and they always smelt very peculiar. Someone told me that was because people used to wee in them at night to save the long walk to the "ablutions" block. Food most reminiscent of Nottingham - chip butties with the bread cut into doorstops, and a Greasy Joe from the Robin Hood Cafe. This being a sandwich of two or three rashes of bacon, and the bread fried in the bacon fat. The whole thing hot and the fat running down your hands. Fabulous in Winter. I don't kno

The Shadows, now that brings back memories. Who can remember "Apache"?? How many thousands of kids played "air guitar" to that piece ? Hugs Alison

We had our own copper tub, and it was copper to. We had a length of rubber gas hose and a gas ring that went under the tub. Me mam would light it and then slide it underneath. The there was the dolly-peg, for moving everthing around once the water was hot, and a mangle for squeezing out the water before hanging out. My sister still holds it against me for putting her arm through the mangle once. I remember Portland Baths though, vile place. Nearly drowned there after our PT teacher decided it was time we all learnt how to swim, which consisted of throwing us in the deepend one at a time. Th

PS. I was also at RAF Syerston in 1957 when the prototype Vulcan broke up. Luckily not to close. 230 OCU at Finningley used to assemble Vulcan crews and train them. Part of the flying familiarisation was flying "asymetrics", with the engines out on one side and full rudder to compensate whilst attempting to fly in a straight line 20 foot above the runway. We were putting up crowd barriers for a Battle of Britain display alongside the runway when a crew were doing asymetrics on one occasion. The pilot lost it and the aircraft started drifting down and off course straight towards us. The

This seems like a good place to be. 1963 to 1965 230 OCU RAF Finningley - just north of Bawtry as Air Radio Fitter, on the Vulcan B2 squadron. Fantastic aeroplane. If we were feeling a little bit pissed off, for whatever reason, we would run the ECM gear (Electronic Counter Measures) and jam all TV and radio reception for a twenty mile radius. The B2 Vulcan had the same engines as the early Concords - Roll Royce 501's. 1967 to 1968 60 MU RAF Leconfield - just north of Beverley above 'Ull. Lightning maintenance unit. It wasn't really an aeroplane - just two big engines and somewhere for the