ValuerJim

Derek & Clive ran them close

Lilian Thompson

Just watched the Flying Scotsman programme on BBC4. Magnificent, and all hand-brush painted.

Highbury Vale, bottom of Saxondale Drive - Westwoods newsagents, Cook's chippy, Beecroft greengrocers, Clarkes jewellers (of Kenneth Clarke MP), Dainty's barbers, Raithby's butchers, Co-op, and one or two I can't remember, including the chemist on the corner of Highbury Avenue. Also under the bridge, on Vernon Road, Stirlands post office, Lees and Palmers chippies, and a bike shop further down.

That lower photograph is a classic, Bubblewrap, looking down on the south end of Newcastle Central. The top one's not bad either. Thanks

What was the make of the car? It looks like something out of a 1950s NYPD movie?

How about putting the concrete base panel on top of the wooden fence panel. That should make it secure!

Could be that suits are a form of disguise? I'm a self-employed professional man and have not worn a working suit for years. It's chinos, either a polo or open-neck shirt, and depending on the weather, a sweater and occasionally a jacket. Smart casual, but not in an Alan Partridge way.

Never tried Butlins, Carni. Was it just like Hi de Hi?

At HP school, the bikes of choice in the 50s were the Palm Beach Tourer, which I think was a 'Triumph' make, and the Trent Tourer, which was the Raleigh equivalent. I suspect that that both were made by Raleigh. It reminds me of the time I spent in the summer holidays at Players in the 60s. The main lines were the Embassy and Number 6. The tobacco for each was exactly the same, the only difference being that the Number 6 line took the tobacco sweepings off the floors!

As a relative newbie, I haven't trawled through all of the topics on this site, but I am surprised there is no mention of Butlins on this thread. I landed a summer job at Skeggy around 1964, but was held to ransom by my girlfriend - the song of the moment was 'It might as well rain until September' - who suspected, quite rightly, that I might go on the pull. I turned the job down, and married her four years later, and we are still going strong. But I still occasionally look back and wonder......

They say everyone knows where they were and what they were doing the day Kennedy was assassinated. For me it was Eddie Cochran.

Till I kissed you - Everly Brothers - from the radio/tv shop on Vernon Road in Basford, followed closely by Oh Carol and Only the Lonely.

I recall the field alongside the line, just south of the low level station, but only because there was a greasy spoon cafe, from which I nicked a metal ashtray. It was red, with Players Please embossed around the rim, and my mum gave me a right old bollocking when I got home. I never took to the LMR locos, which were far too nobbly for my tastes. Cries of 'semi', 'pate'. prinny' etc were a foreign language.

My wife worked in the office at Denholm Underwear Manufacturing Co on Goose Gate Hockley in the 60s. The Company was owned by a guy named Bacon, and his factory manager was named Prime, ho ho, and what I don't know about kite gussets isn't worth knowing.

Just a little cautionary tale - or it could be that I'm particularly dim. I recently registered a Flickr account, and mistakenly uploaded all my photographs, RAW and jpegs. I thought it was taking a long time - started around 9pm and was still going strong when I went to bed at midnight - and then received warning emails from my ISP that I had exceeded my monthly limit and would be charged. When I realised what I had done I checked the file size and found that it was 53GB!

Not seen photo 29 before. What a great shot!

There was a very interesting article in one of the modern railway mags recently. A guy wanted to travel from Nottingham to Holyhead, and discovered that by splitting at Llanfairfechan he could save £50.00 or so. The train only stops at Llanfairfechan by request.

I bought my NSU Prinz - or rather my gran bought it for me - for £200.00 from a place just down from the Bowling Alley. I had it for two years; took me on my honeymoon to Devon, and around Ireland as a guest with the Morris 8 Touring Club, then sold it for scrap and bought a Melanie LP with the proceeds.

We had a single through ticket, because we were delayed on a journey last New Year - 2014/15 - and claimed our refund. Normally I spend an hour or two investigating split-ticketing. It's great fun, and there are substantial savings to be had.

Just watching a tv programme on BBC4 about the steamers which used to sail from the holiday spots around the British Isles. Reminded me of the Pride of the Yare. There was a short section of the north bank somewhere near the Colwick Cheese factory which was fenced off and folks used to treat it as a beach and swim in the river. Can't remember what it was called?

Went in once, maybe 1965, with my dad. Before that had sat on the wall outside with a glass of pop and a bag of crisps on a walk back from the 'forest', as we called Bulwell Common. Occasionally called into Osbornes to buy some bits of fishing tackle.

Was this the Standard on Park Lane, just the other side of Dobby Bridge?

Recently changed trains at Birmingham New Street, en route from Manchester to Melton Mowbray. To change platforms requires the ticket to be inserted into the automatic barriers on exit, which has the effect of cancelling the ticket, so it will not open the gate to the next departure platform! They have to have staff at the gates to let you through; how stupid is that?

Born at the Firs in Woodthorpe, then 'home', new born, to digs near the Metropole cinema, then to grans on Highbury Vale, then to our own Saxondale Drive house in 1947. I think dad's side came from Sheffield and Lincoln, and mum's from Derby. Like Stu and Benjamin, I wish I had taken a greater interest.