Happily retired

Hi Kerry, Thanks for the photos. They seem to be very rare. No one seems to have captured the school from a historical perspective which is very sad. We are organising a school reunion scheduled for next month. The uptake from the class of 67-74 has been astonishing and attendees are now closing on 80! We are in contact with many of our teachers from that time. They include: Mike Robinson Mike Higginbottom John Kendrick and his wife Ruth Mr Mahoney Andy Burnham Toby Jackson Maggie Gotheridge Hugh Nicklin Cyril Jacobs Bill

Hi Lainie, Great to be in contact with you. Both Alan and I would love to attend the October reunion. We need to exchange email addresses so that we can share relevant information. That needs to be done via the private messaging system, if I can work out how to use it! At present, we are expecting 80-90 attendees at our reunion in August and we can disseminate details of your reunion at our event. Kathy

Cont....... The reunion promises to be a major event with an emphasis on friendship and nostalgia. If this applies to you please post a message and I will then contact you with details via the private messaging facility.

I am currently organising a reunion of the year group1967-1974. The date will be August 17th at a venue in Nottingham. if you fall into this year group please get in contact. The contacts developed so far number around 50. Several staff members are also involved. The reunion promises

An interesting documentary about the John Player factory in the 1960s. My education was vital to me since I didn't want to end up in a factory like this. The motivation to get a good education was driven by the need to escape this kind of life. It was interesting to see references to Player's Angels. The women who worked in the cigarette making factory were given this nickname because they worked such punishingly long hours, There was never any time for mischief and they basically had no life outside work. Women were treated badly on the factory floor and if they did anything wrong, they wou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BknhUMWEdgM Interesting video on the history of the Bilborough Estate: Good old propaganda!

Have you seen these? Tissues required for the second one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66OimWfAcD0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TgCkKCwufY Your comment about snobbery is very interesting. My husband remarked that he always felt inferior to the Wollaton lot, even though he actually passed for the High School. Of course his place was rescinded when his parents were interviewed. Too working class I suspect. I certainly felt as if the Wollaton crew perceived themselves to be real cut above us Bilboroughites. Hubby feels that t

Sorry, we are pretty useless on the year below us. It shows just how insular we were, in our year groups. I suppose we would recognise them by sight but would not necessarily have retained their names. Went for a drive this evening to have a look at our old stomping grounds. It was great to see the old places and so many memories came flooding back. A few observations from a whirlwind visit: The housing stock was in far better condition than it was 10 years ago. It took a real nosedive then and many windows were boarded up and there were too many car wrecks on front gardens. Today

Jon Ivins: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jonivins Barbara Fisher became a Primary school head. When we met him last, Trevor Jones was working in London in some musical capacity.( 25 years ago. ) Alan Bird trained as a primary school teacher but went on to set up and run his own company, for 25 years and is now retired. Paul Eustace married Joanne Taylor and was working in the insurance business when we met him last. https://uk.linkedin.com/in/paul-eustace-aa574310

OK Here goes. This refers to the photo with Mrs Anderson. Top row, left to right: Head master Mr. Woodward, Graham Gough, Steven Lees, Neville Clifford, David Bramley, Paul Keely, Paul Eustace, Michael Shepherd, Robert Allen, Jonathan Ivans, Richard Garton, Alan Bird, Mrs Anderson. Middle row: Robert Fell, Julie Knowles, Barbara Fisher, Jane Dunne, Denise Grayson, Celia hunter, Julie Mckinley, Elaine Harrison, Lorna Shaw, ???????,Trevor Jones. Bottom row: Steven Rogers, Janice Giles, Jane Bonser, Michelle Dodwell, Su

Same children different teacher. Miss Bailey. 1965

Yes, I thought we were right.

Interesting stuff for anyone who lived in the new housing stock, on the Bilborough estate. I also found out that the concrete houses had an asbestos element to their construction. They were probably safe enough if the fabric of the building was not disturbed but it is not comforting news. https://www.reallymoving.com/surveyors/faq/what-is-a-prc-prefabricated-reinforced-concrete https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy2i0cZJ9QY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47a15MYYFos

This is my hubby's class. I can't find my photos. Hubby is on the top row next to the teacher, Mrs Anderson. Mr. Woodward the head, is on the other side. Hubby and I have identified almost every child by name so I can list them if anyone is interested. Just found out an interesting fact. The Bilborough estate was a Labour initiative to put up lots of houses very quickly, after the war. The school with its fin like design was built from aluminium by an aeroplane manufacturing company. All the surrounding pre-fabricated houses are from the same stable.

Photo Portland Junior 1966

Hahahaha

Ahhhh................ Illya Nickovich Kuryakin. Good choice! I liked him for his superior brain and the 'spy' thing was attractive. I thought Davy Jones and David Cassidy were rather cute. If you are talking older guys; I loved the charismatic Saint /Roger Moore and his sidekick the delectable Tony Curtis. About a year before he died I found myself sitting next to Roger Moore in a bistro in Cirencester. It was really surreal being in such close proximity to such an icon but sadly he looked very frail. My goodness he drank a lot of wine!

Glad you enjoyed them. I know what you mean about Daktari but at the time I was besotted by animals, so it became regular viewing. I loved the concept that you might be able to tame wild animals and the myth was strengthened by such films as Born Free. In the intervening years, I have developed a much more cynical attitude toward the behaviour of wild animals. There have been far too many mauled zoo keepers recently. We were exposed to lots of puppet entertainment weren’t we? Stuff like Stingray,Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. I have confession to make.........I actu

As the nights draw in, I think back to my days at Portland. By mid December, it was almost dark by the time the school day ended and it was time to make the journey home. No one ever came to meet me, even on those nights when the dreaded smog closed in........I blame the steam trains for that! I always felt safe on the short walk home and looked forward to snuggling up against the open fire at home. We had one of those very large 'cage like' fireguards which was very comfortable to perch oneself on; in order to warm the derriere. My mum was always there to welcome me home, the house pristine

Here we are.........it's karaoke time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQFBdZy74dg

Feeling a bit sad this afternoon. Nostalgia is all very well but it brings with it, a tinge of sadness when you recall shadows of the past. It does hurt that most of our teachers will have passed on and it is disconcerting that those giants of the past are mortal, just as we all are. This melancholy frame of mind made me think back to the music introduced to me during primary education. It mainly took the form of church music and hymns and reached a crescendo around Christmas time when I was an eager member of the school choir. I can still hear echoes of 'The Holly and the Ivy' and the descant

Thanks for confirming that those jugs were multi coloured! My husband and I had a minor disagreement about them being coloured. Victory for me......

Random Memories. There were 2 classes for each year group eg. 4S and 4N. I am assuming that stood for north and south?? Boys and girls had separate toilets and cloakrooms but were fully mixed in class. I have just been reminded that the nearby Glenbrook school had complete segregation of boys and girls. It must have been a bit of a shock when they went on to mixed classes for their secondary education! On a table just outside Mrs Bowker’s class, at the top of the main corridor, was a large brass handbell that was used to signal playtimes and lunch breaks etc. If you were very go

The School Play: In my final year our play was Ali baba and The Forty Thieves. It was great fun and introduced us to team work and the performing arts. Having access to the stage with its wine red velvet curtains and the rabbit warren of back stage rooms was very exciting. I remember being a harem girl and was eager to dress up but ran into problems with Mrs Bowker because my mum wasn’t able to make me a costume. I think that it was very harsh to suffer resentment from my teacher for something that I couldn’t control. It definitely spilled over into the classroom. Very naughty real

Sounds plausible. I think I remember that Mr Anderson was an aspiring teacher. Maybe he taught us the electrical stuff as a part of his training. I left Portland in 1967 so the dates look promising. I have a vague recollection that they had one son but don’t quote me on that one.