50 years ago

[loppylugs 8,429]

This is a great topic. Maybe we should do 40 or 30 years ago as well for the Youngsters among us. Helps to keep Alzheimers away and brings back some great memories. Maybe include some old photos if we still have any.

[Bazza 123 34]

Trevor S,I don't think we were on the same plane,I travelled with Qaintarse on friday 13th march 1964 via the U.S. and Hawaii.A charlesworth yes I've had y fair share of lifes experiences some I would care to share some I would.Ive travelled quite a lot had numerous jobs been held hostage in a post office robbery,travelled around Australia twice,been beaten up by a group of Teddy Boys over a girl, to name a few

[... 1,411]

Bazza I was a victim of robbery back in 1969 ,and its continued all my life and will continue into my retirement,bloody tax .at least you have had adventures even if it did not seem so at the time.

[siddha 825]

50 yrs ago I had left school because that's what you did. Worked for a year in 3 factories and decided that I might like to do other things and was enquiring about Further Education. In the September of that year I started at Clarendon College and began a chequered career moving between manual work and the academic world. Wouldn't have done it different!

[Cliff Ton 10,468]

50 years ago I was sitting on the floor at Greencroft Junior School, Clifton.

I think most of us are in a school photo where everyone looks like this.

[poohbear 1,360]

42 kids?...Shocking! No individual tuition...None of them will be able to read or write with so many in a class.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

At the end of August/beginning of September in 1964 my mother and I went for a short holiday in Great Yarmouth. On the day we returned home she commented that it was 25 years to the day since she and my father had been returning from a holiday in Yarmouth at the time World War 2 started.

Now that seemed like ancient history to me, but the point of the story is that 25 years ago from NOW - i.e. 1989 - seems like only yesterday. It brings home the fact that to the parents of our generation the war was so recent to them.

[siddha 825]

42 kids?...Shocking! No individual tuition...None of them will be able to read or write with so many in a class.

Its funny how most of us did OK with reading and writing.

I was in a class of 48 in my primary school in 1953.

[Mess 618]

August 4th 1964 was my 14th birthday and for a present my sister took me to The Odeon to see A Hard Day's Night. I've always loved the sound of George Harrison's Rickenbacker 360/12

My mum also took me into Jack Brentnall's to buy an electric guitar. It was a relatively cheap (as guitars went) Japanese import and cost 14 Gns. Most musical instruments were priced in guineas around that time. Nearly every teenage lad wanted to play guitar in the early 60s. It took me 6 months to learn how to play mine but I eventually got there. I couldn't afford an amp. so initially tried to play it through my dad's Grundig radio but it wasn't loud enough. Finally got it to work through our Walter tape recorder which kicked out 4 watts and served me well until I acquired a Linear Conchord 50 which didn't impress the neighbours on Russell Road. I later picked up an old 60 watt Carlsbro which would have seriously hacked them off if I could have got it working. Happy days.

[firbeck 859]

Let's think, end of July 1964 and we would have been breaking up for the school holidays. That would have been the end of my stint in the second year at BGS which was a strange year for me. I ended the first term in disgrace having been 'put on report' for a lack of effort, which caused a lot of grief all round. Amazingly I got myself round and finished up being 'commended', I still can't figure out how I managed to do it, I think that some of the teachers genuinely felt sorry for me and subtley willed me to do better, I can only think of one teacher who was a complete and utter b#st#rd who couldn't give a sh#t, I'm sure Bilbraborn can remember who that cricket playing, vile, woman? maths teacher was, even some of the other teachers admitted to me they were scared of her.

It was the end of the second year that we had to make decisions as to which subjects we were going to drop and which one's to concentrate on for our 'O' Levels, 9 in total as I was 'requested' to do Additional Maths, which I did as the old bag that taught us was leaving, thank God, I dropped out of History ( never forgiven myself ), German and Biology.

At this point I didn't really know Bilbraborn very well, I was in 2W or Welbeck House ( green ), the equivalent of Griffindor, I think he was in 2C or Clumber House ( light blue ) the equivalent of Slytherin, am I right Mel? It was during the following Autumn Term that we were all streamed according to subject and ability, despite my hatred for the now departed maths teacher, I astonishingly found myself in the top maths group as well as the top French group. Bilbraborn and I got together in Mr Yarnells physics class, sitting at the back and constantly in stitches at his peculiar vocal mannerisms, I don't know how we ever learnt anything. I think it must have been into the Autumn term that we went off on our first expedition together, which I think was to go and watch 'Flying Scotsman pass south through Radford, the next I think was our epic trek along the abandoned GNR Leen Valley line starting at Daybrook Station.

At the beginning of August 1964 we went on holiday, staying at Mrs Rice's boarding house, Heywoods Road, next to Teignmouth Station, I've just looked on Google Earth and it's still there, unchanged.

We travelled down from Midland Station on a Paignton bound summer special, hauled by a grimy Black 5, which missed out Temple Meads and parked outside Bristol St Philips Marsh loco shed to have the train taken over by a 'Hymek' diesel hydraulic. We'd been to the same place over the previous two summers, this year the lack of steam was very evident, especially ex GWR wise. While Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbott only had a few steam locos in the sheds, Exeter Exmouth Junction was still packed with Bullied pacifics. Mind you, there were still a few freights and 'Halls' acted as pilots to the Warships over the Devon banks coming out of Plymouth, as happened to us on a day trip there. The most powerful locos about were the County Class 4-6-0's, still with their nameplates and kept very clean by the shed staff. During a trip to Exeter, one came in on a Paignton train, County of Chester, 1011, destined to be the last of the class and withdrawn a month later. I suggested that it could well be the last time we travelled on the GWR pulled by a GW loco in real BR service. I hung out the front carriage door window all the way back to Teignmouth getting covered in soot, I was right, we never saw any GWR locos in service again after that holiday.

[Smiffy49 590]

#30 Thanks for posting this. Do have any names for the people in your great photograph?

I seem to recognise some of the faces?? I remember your face Cliff Ton, what year was this?

A few guesses, but probably wrong.......

1st row on your left (Cliff Ton) - Linda Cheinka?

2nd row, first person on the left - Susan Bishop? 2nd row, fifth from left - Lindsay Morris?

3rd row back, fourth from left - Janet Emmerson?

Back row, second from the left Michael Schuman?

Smiffy

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Thanks for that Pete. She was my form teacher in 1c. Oh my god! I'm going to have a nightmare. I think it was her that put me off school.

I met Mr Yarnell later when my son was at Bilborough College and I went up there for an open day. I kept out of his way in case he still held it against me for laughing at his funny way of speaking. (Actually? Incidentally?) Remember the times he kept spilling Mercury everywhere Pete? Happy days.

[albert smith 803]

Carefull Mudgie49 you've probably already found out that once past the big five-oh birthdays get closer together, a few more years and you can join Julie A ndrews

of course if the cap fits you may be singing it already

Me? been there, dunnit and I was at the meet up last week

[dgbrit 258]

Passed my test & I'm off, No more push bike up Ilkeston rd.

The world has opened up, Now all that remains is to get enough petrol.

Honda 50 in the week big bike weekends actually ran out of petrol more on the Honda as never used to check it

Jacks Café. Sheds, White hart, Robins café , Middle gates, Matlock.

Did my Ton down the bully which was pretty hard to do as the bikes didn't do much more than that anyway.

Never was a drinker so the pub was for darts but got into too many fights so stopped going totally

when I moved to Nuthall I would go to the Log Cabin think it was in Kimberley if I remember right

Funny how you can go somewhere & not even know the name of the rd it was on , I could still drive to the sheds or the other places but don't know any of the road names.

Ten years later started planning my escape it took 5 years to get my papers for the USA & when received you get 30 days to show up at your point of entry, That means you have to get rid of everything you have in 30 days like House, cars, business etc

My port of entry was Chicago so my first job was there BUT I hate snow so loaded up the Mustang & it was go west young man 2300 miles later I'm in a cow town just north of San Francisco its funny but there were only 5000 people that lived here at that time including Charlie Manson who was a resident at the local Medical facility (Prison for the real crazy's)

You couldn't get lost there was only 2 streets now there are 57000 people & we have lived here longer than most.

It gets very hot but can always cool off in San Fran or go play in the snow up in the mountains or jump in the local lake.

[darkazana 1,736]

The Log cabin was at the back of the Royal Oak in Watnall. One of my old stomping grounds.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

I also went to the Log Cabin years ago. Only a small place but a good atmosphere and live music.

[Compo 10,328]

I got engaged about then in 'The County Hotel' and we went to see 'A Hard Days Night' afterwards. Nothing prophetic about this!

I never saw 'A hard Day's Night' but I am currently watching it, bit by bit, on the DVD machine - I recorded it from telly last week.

[firbeck 859]

Thanks for that Pete. She was my form teacher in 1c. Oh my god! I'm going to have a nightmare. I think it was her that put me off school.

I met Mr Yarnell later when my son was at Bilborough College and I went up there for an open day. I kept out of his way in case he still held it against me for laughing at his funny way of speaking. (Actually? Incidentally?)

Remember the times he kept spilling Mercury everywhere Pete? Happy days.

ACKKK-CHOOOO-ELLEEEEE, INSEEEE-DENT-ELLEEEE. Remember our school rough books complete with school badge on the front, they were so cheaply made, even the nasty cheapo recycled paper that you get now looks like Harrods finest quality notepaper in comparison. At the beginning of a lesson he would say 'Rough Books Out' and all we did was record the number of actually's and incidentally's that he said in the lesson, comparing them to the number of times he said it in the lesson before and working out which word he used the most. How I got through Physics 'O' Level, I'll never know, got a good grade too. When I was clearing out my mothers loft a few years ago I came across a dusty suitcase full of some of my old school books, it's now in my garage, I'll have a look to see if that rough books in there, you never know!

Mr Yarnell was a creature of habit, quite strict ( I remember a few detentions you and I shared together), no sense of humour at all, I can't recall him ever smiling. Having said that, he was a bloody good teacher and despite our p#ss taking, I did respect him for that and bore him no malice whatsoever, unlike that vile creature that I'd forgotten had been your form teacher, she must have been a bundle of laughs first thing in the morning. Another thing I remember about Mr Yarnell was that he was a Karate Black Belt, Mr Robinson our PE teacher once told me he could smash through roofing tiles with his hands, well, he was always fiddling with the side of his hands which were very caloused, I used to get worried that one day he might try the move out on us.

[firbeck 859]

The Log cabin was at the back of the Royal Oak in Watnall. One of my old stomping grounds.

It must have been 50 years ago that Bilbraborn and I attempted to buy our first pint in the public bar at the Royal Oak, I hid down the corridor leading to the toilets while he marched up to the bar as he looked older than me, or so we thought. The next thing was that he came marching back accompanied by the landlord who threw us both out, I never went back until I was 17 and probably still didn't look much older, though I used to get served, no ID in those times, it was up to the discretion of the landlord.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Mr Yarnell did award me a prize in a photo competition with the school Railway Society for a photo of the Saltash bridge that I took from the Cornishman.

I remember the Royal Oak. "Your not effing (expletive deleted) about with my licence. OUT!!' I tried it again with Gerald Roberts with the same result. We fared better at the Admiral Rodney at Wollaton.

[FLY2 10,108]

The Rodney was always good off an underage pint. I mostly knocked around with older and bigger lads, so the barman must have thought we were all the same age. The Priory was one of the worst. My mate and I were asked our ages at 23 and I laughed at the landlord saying I'd been coming in for four years. He then refused to serve us on the subject of our long hair.

What a fat old to55er.

[mgread1200 141]

First time we made out we were older than we were would have been in 64, three lads and three girls all went out to "The Cherry Tree" at Calverton because one of the group said they served underage drinkers. We were so obviously under age but it turned out to be true the lads had two pints of best and came back rolling.

[dgbrit 258]

who looks the oldest....................L/R

One of us used to get kicked out all the time.

[carni 10,094]

Left?

[mudgie49 401]

I remember going into the Admiral Rodney back in 1964,if the landlord kicked out the underage drinkers,the pub would have been empty.

We went up that way to a youth club,opposite the 'Rodney',don't remember the name of the place,maybe Chrissie can remember.