jonab

Spot on! And that was the staff

Back to the High Street shops. One that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is Arthur Saxton TV and electrical shop. The also did model aircraft and electric trains. It was across the twitchell from the Central Garage (Yorkshire Bank now) and is now called The Fruit Corner. Next door was a pet shop (now Birds). I don't remember the others on that block The Post Office is as it was and then Wakefields Chemist, now Boots. Are there really two Boots Pharmacies so close to each other? Then there's Stallard's now Bibliana Lounge. On the other side of the High Street - approximating to t

Mary1947, I also remember the park pond. I think there was a fountain and it had railings around it. Anyway, a small child was playing with a beach ball and a gust of wind blew the ball into the water. Up comes a park keeper to the rescue, he strides the railings and goes into the water. He didn't sink!! This was amazing. Somebody who could walk on water just like Jesus. I was about 4 or 5 at the time. It wasn't until several years later that I found out the water was only about a half inch deep

The Dafts were a quite well known 'Ucknall family. I think they were Methodists and went to the Wesleyan Chapel at the bottom of Watnall Road. I remember one of the Daft children being insulted by one of the teachers at Beardall Street Infants school and it's something that's stuck in my mind for nearly 70 years. The poor kid (poor in all respects) had the misfortune to have ringworm and dicks (see elsewhere on this site if you need a definition) and tended to be picked on by all and sundry. I would have expected better from a teacher but the kid gave a wrong answer to a question from the

My memory is failing me! I'll have to have a sleep on it. I've no reason to doubt you, it's just that your memory doesn't quite fit with mine. It is nearly 50 years ago and you're closer to the action than I am!

Thanks, denshaw. Another excellent Chinese was the Shing Fat (very unprepossessing name) on Chapel Bar more or less opposite to (I think) the ABC cinema or was it further up nearer to Parliament Street?

Assuming the pic was taken from a height at (what was) People's College, the road in the foreground must be the bottom of Maid Marion Way. I attended that college in 1960 to do my "O" levels. The two rows of parked cars, centre, left are on a road that housed Watmough's sweetie factory. They made boiled sweets in all sorts of flavours and the smell of the hot sweets would waft across into the college. It was really nauseating some days, depending on what flavour they were making. Early autumn was the worst when they were making cough sweets - not only nauseating but choking as well.

No, I don't think so. I don't remember aThree Horse Shoes nearby. I'm rusty on the locations but it was definitely just around the corner from the Albert Hall next door (almost) to Clements Pianos and the ships chandlers opened quite a long time later but still while the SoF was there

That's not the Sign of Four which I new. The one near the Albert Hall was a small, pokey place painted red. Well before 1980 (I had long gone by then). Perhaps they moved when their original site was redeveloped (which I understand it has been). I made an error in naming the music shop - it was Clement Pianos at that location. Kent & Cooper were near the top of Market Street.

Thanks, Cliff. You are an absolute mine of information!

There was a demonstration theatre upstairs in the gas showrooms where they did cookery demonstrations to show off new gas cookers. As the punters went in (it was free) they were given a raffle ticket and at the end of the demo. there was a raffle draw to win whatever had been demonstrated in the cooking. I won the raffle once and received a dish of gammon and pineapple. I was warned when it was given to me that they hadn't time to cook it thoroughly and to cook it properly when I got home. Something else I remember about that occasion was that I sat in a glob of chewing gum left on

Indeed a sad day. I used the station hundreds and hundreds of time when I lived in Nottm.

Very interesting social comment there. I've always thought it strange to put coal in the bath but the term seemed quite widespread when I was around Nottm. It never occurred to me about tin baths and them being stored outside. Now the penny has dropped, seems quite obvious and reasonable. Many thanks!

FLY2/Cliff Thanks for that. A slightly different emphasis between the two. I'll be interested in reading them both.

I heard that Nottingham people kept coal in the bath.

Another topic resurrection: 'Ucknall's half-day closing was Wednesday. Some inspired genius thought that Ucknall could emulate Sheffield and form a football team made up of shopworkers and call it "Hucknall Wednesday". I think there were about two volunteers. Most of the shop workers were well past their footballing days at that time. It didn't progress. This was in the early '60's.

Margie, the spill chucker on my machine insisted that Hucknall (Ucknall) in my first post to the site should be Chuckwalla. It seems to think my moniker is OK though. loppylugs, I'm surprised that this thread went dormant so quickly. I glean from skipping through the pages that there are a number of expats here. I'm sure most if not all have genuine and legitimate reasons for leaving Nottm.

Money (lack of) and lack of prospects were the primary reasons for me leaving Nottingham! I was working at Gerard's as a formulation chemist under George Whalley and Arthur Allen (gentleman Arthur) when it was decided by Head Office (Cussons in Kersal Vale, Manchester) that Gerard's was to be a manufacturing unit only. All other work was to be transferred to M'chester. I was promised by Whalley promised that as soon as he (and Mrs Whalley - Bert) became settled up there they would arrange for me to move. In the meantime, I was put in charge of QC. Quality Control

This is becoming unpleasantly off-topic. Please calm down and moderate your comments.

I don't drink much beer these days. Where I live, the stuff sold as beer is what we termed gnat waz in my youth. I do enjoy a good pint, though, and Speckled Hen is particularly good. I also like Bishop's Finger and a number the beers from mini and micro breweries. (Is waz spelled with one "z" or two?)

Do you mean me? I'm a bloke. The surgery is done under a local anaesthetic. If your need is great enough it's amazing what you will allow to be done to you. I was all but blind before my operation.

It used to be Home Ales when I was there. Does that brewery still exist? I know Shippo's was taken over by Scottish & Newcastle.

I had new lenses implanted into my eyes a couple of years ago. Unbelievable difference in my eyesight and I only need weak (+2.25) glasses for reading - and I'm in my 70's. It's a quick operation in which an incision is made on the edge of the cornea, a probe inserted and the existing lens is "emulsified" by ultrasonics and removed. A new plastic lens is inserted, a dressing and patch put over the eye and off you go. You can take the dressing off the next day and possibly not see much of a difference in vision but over three or four days you will see it was all worth it.

I am genuinely shocked. When I lived there I could count amongst my neighbours a cardiac surgeon, a consultant dentist, a relative/descendant of William Booth, theatre director Richard Eyre preceded by John Neville (both directors of the Playhouse), Brian Clough was there for a short time. What happened? Was it the aftermath of the events in 1982? What about 291 Mansfield Road (next door to the Grosvenor)? Has that area gone down the same sewer?

Worse than I thought then. Glad I didn't buy into 2nd Avenue now!