philmayfield

I have discovered that they lived at the Old Farm House which is still there but the 10 acres they farmed is now built on. They only stayed for a few years and then returned to Sneinton. I know how they must have felt having lived in this backwater since 1962!

Nothing here. It's too scary for them to climb over the gate and come up our dark drive!

Ah, William Booth territory. He used to live in my village when he was a lad but our paths never crossed! There’s no known evidence of his family’s house or a blue plaque anywhere. Perhaps our local history society has some details but I don’t go to the meetings with a bunch of old f***s.

The Mint was one of our office pubs the other being The Hearty Good Fellow nearby.

Was it called the Mint Bar? I do remember it being totally separated from the Albany hotel. I was working on the top floor of nearby Newland House around that time fo a company that handled the finance for the giant Phillips Electrical Group and my region was Scotland

Didn’t they depart for Ripley from Queen St. by the main post office?

If he does find a will it will have to go to probate to prove the validity. He wouldn’t be able to claim it all for himself. You may even have a ‘mention’ for your kindnesses. If there is no will then the rules of intestacy will kick in to ensure an equitable distribution amongst the next of kin.

Two proper butcher's shops in nearby Southwell. Hockerton, Gonalston and Farndon farm shops have them and there's one to die for at Pennell's garden centre at Hykeham. Well worth the trip out.

As someone who's addicted to gadgets I must confess a water pick is something I've never had. I think I'll give that one a miss now!

We live a hundred yards from the lane in the corner of a field. It’s all very tranquil. There’s sometimes the odd whoosh of a passing glider from Syerston and we’re on a direct line from the QMC to RAF Waddington so we’re disturbed by the air ambulance returning to base. Otherwise it’s just the occasional sound of agricultural machinery and birdsong. Quite idyllic really!

EU directive on noise regulations so we won’t be disturbed by early morning bin collections. Don’t you just love the EU?

My own father was an aircraft instrument technician in the Royal Air Force during the war. When he was demobbed he took up watch repairs as a sideline to his main employment and there was a continual stream of callers with watches to be repaired. He used to go to Woods on Clumber St. for the parts. He also kept chickens in the back garden and there were always regular customers for eggs. He never wore a watch but could always tell you the time within five minutes. He was a fairly frugal sort of chap but he did like a Jaguar or a Mercedes as his means of transport as he rose up the management l

When I was a company accountant I used to organise my banking at the Nat West to be around 12 noon so that I could pop Into the men only bar at the Thurland and have a swift half and a slice of pork pie. That was back in the days when you could easily find a parking spot right outside the door.

No, sorry, I don’t receive visitors!

Like I said, I never go anywhere so it’s not a decision I need to make!

I only have one tie and just two pairs of shoes. I never go anywhere.

I quite like Col’s ‘horrible’ G Shock but I haven't been an ‘action man’ for many years so it wouldn’t go with my image of decrepitude!

My posh watch is a pre owned Omega which I bought for £900 about fifteen years ago. It would cost £3200 to replace now but I would never spend that much money on a new watch.

I think a watch is a personal thing. It’s usually discretely hidden under your cuff and not something you wave around to say ‘I’ve got a gold Rolex’. To my knowledge most of those are cheap copies from the Far East anyway. Thieves are quite happy to hack your wrist off to steal your expensive watch so it’s not worth taking the risk. The British Horological Association at Upton near Southwell is open every Friday and it’s interesting to have a look round their watch and clock museum.

I feel undressed without a watch. My ‘daily’ is a Citizen Eco -Drive WR200 which is powered by light and picks up a time signal from Germany making it perfectly accurate. It updates the hour twice a year. I’ve had it for around 10 years and will only bin it when it stops. I do have a few others kicking around which I bought on a whim. My ‘posh’ watch for weddings and funerals is an Omega Speedmaster, certified by NASA for spaceflight. It was the first watch to be worn on the Moon (not mine, of course). Being mechanical it does require a service every five or so so years at a cost of around £50

As a 'retired person' I have an extra hour in bed every day. Today I had two!

Looking forward to an extra hour in bed tomorrow!

The miserable season is upon us made even worse by the prospect of Christmas on the horizon. Roll on Spring!

Well he’s still flying his drone. He had to rescue it from his neighbour’s garden last week!

The police now say the kangaroo could have been a deer or a large dog.