philmayfield

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Posts posted by philmayfield

  2. where have they gone

    in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !

    Posted

    I remember the patriotic songs we had to sing at primary school - as well as those you've mentioned there was one called 'Hearts of Oak' I think, which had the phrase 'we'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.' I can still remember the words to 'The British Grenadiers' as well!

    Those songs belong in this thread I think as I am pretty sure they don't still get sung in schools nowadays.

    In country dancing, the boys were on one side of the hall and the girls on the other, and the boys had to walk over and choose a girl to be their partner. That was horrible as the girl was supposed to just accept whichever boy came over to her. Some of the really pretty girls often had several boys rushing over to them (and I wasn't one of those!!!)

    I expect there's no time for country dancing in schools nowadays - too busy practising for SATS etc

    A pretty dark haired girl as I remember.

  4. where have they gone

    in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !

    Posted

    Margaret - we've just got a village maypole. The children were dancing around it last Monday in the pouring rain. My wife went to watch but I stayed indoors. I remember maypole dancing at Arno Vale. The country dancing was quite good fun in a boisterous sort of way. Stripping the willow and all that! I also enjoyed the singing with Mr Turner at the piano. The Ash Grove, British Grenadiers, Kitty of Colleraine etc. It's all flooding back!

  8. where have they gone

    in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !

    Posted

    We used to have a baker that delivered daily. A van with ironmongery and hardware came once a week. The railway station had magnificent displays of flowers in Summer. There was a coal fire in the waiting room in winter. After 11pm you had to ring a bell at the railway crossing for the gates to opened and a grumpy person in a nightshirt would come down and open them. The vicar used to visit regularly and drink your whiskey. There was a village policeman who did the rounds on a bike. The milkman never asked for money, you used to have to chase him to pay him. The pub closed at 10.30pm on the dot and kept Sunday hours. We had a village shop. The school used to be closed on polling day. The farmers used to drive normal sized tractors that didn't wreck the verges. The church choir used to come to the door and sing carols. People used to acknowledge you. There was an annual fete on the vicarage lawns. You could get a same day appointment at the doctors. The doctor would make home visits. I used to drive a 1947 MG TC sports. I used to be a Young Conservative. I used to be young!

    • Upvote 6

  13. Nottingham Bands in the 60s

    in 60's Nottingham

    Posted

    I will have met him. Bill lives in the next field to me - well, we don't actually live in fields but our houses are there! They've played a few gigs in Bill's field some years ago. The Beatmen actually all originated at Mellish and back in he 60's they played on the same bills as many of the big groups. They also spent some time in Hamburg just like the Beatles.

  14. Nottingham Bands in the 60s

    in 60's Nottingham

    Posted

    Bill Brazier of The Beatmen lives in my village. We were at Mellish at the same time but he was 3 years ahead of me. He became respectable businessman after his showbiz career and now drives steam engines on The Great Central Railway as a hobby. He still has the original Gibson guitar.

    • Upvote 2

  17. Vanished shops

    in General Chat about Nottingham

    Posted

    The vicar/ curate at the the time was the Rev. John Congdon. (You can guess what we called him!) I was inveigled by my rather religious girlfriend at the time to attend his confirmation class. I went once and decided that the religious life was not for me! We went our separate ways.

    • Upvote 1

  20. Vanished shops

    in General Chat about Nottingham

    Posted

    I know we went to Primary School together, Phil, but did you also go to the same Sunday School as me then? Because you were christened there, you would have been on their 'Cradle Roll'.

    I presume you meant you were christened in the church, not the basement ....

    No idea. I was too young to notice! I think my first Sunday School was held at Arno Vale School but this ultimately moved to the new church hall between Arno Vale Road and Wensley Road (behind the butcher's shop.) I remember this being built and seeing the Bishop of Southwell turning the first sod. I think it's now a library.