Cliff Ton 10,467 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 This link to Streetview covers several topics in one go. Gray & Bull....the photographic shop.....and what used to be the fur shop. https://goo.gl/maps/EyT9KrGC5KvjeR3TA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 Cliff Ton, Gray & Bull looks just the same as I remember it - over thirty years ago. What is the old Boots shop (opposite) used for now? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,510 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 The old Boots premises has been a Zara for many years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,140 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 I bought a slide rule in the basement of that very Boots shop. It served me well for many years until Clive Sinclair brought out the pocket calculator. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,467 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 The basement of that Boots store also used to have a very good record department. I spent a lot of money there in the 70s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,140 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 Didn’t Boots have their own lending library down there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,467 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 I don't remember a library, but I think it's been mentioned here before somewhere so it must've existed ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,140 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 Just checked on Wikipedia and there were ‘Boots Book Lovers Libraries’ in stores throughout the country. They closed them in 1966. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brew 5,419 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 Boots library loaned books for threepence (old money), a week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 I recall a library in that shop. Weren't they started by Jesse Boots' wife to enable poorer people to read literary works? I remember the pens department (where most likely Phil Mayfield obtained his slide rule). I was bought my Parker 51 fountain pen there for my fifteenth birthday. I still have that pen and it works after sixty or so years. I still use it for signing important documents (of which there are a lot here!) With the Sinclair calculator, that came out after I had finished most of my education but I did build one from a kit that he brought out. Very simple in its functions but it worked and I trusted it a lot more than I ever did the slide rule. It also taught me precision soldering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,140 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 At least you didn't have to guess where the decimal point went! I still have the slide rule sitting on top of the old laboratory chemical balance in my study. The Sinclair calculator is long gone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,510 Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 My maternal grandfather, a Boots employee for over 50 years, had to jump into the Pelham Street side doorway of Boots one day in the 1930s during the demolition of Narrow Marsh ....... hundreds, maybe thousands, of rats raced round the bottom corner, led by the King Rat, heading up Pelham Street and presumably then down Hockley. My Mum remembered him getting home from work that day and telling the unbelievable story. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HSR 286 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 On 11/26/2019 at 10:37 AM, Cliff Ton said: Was that the same place as this, which is now Tilt Bar, at 10 Pelham Street ? A door in the wall, next to the bank. https://www.tiltbar.co.uk/ Yes, that's it! Apologies for the number gaff, obviously should be odd.. number 9 apparently! Overall this area Looking good..glad to see that lovely window & presumably sill are still there. Fireplace? The website more focused on food than decor..enough to call call me back for a visit early next year! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,467 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Also a bit further up Pelham Street, a large article on the BBC website about the Bodega and its earlier versions. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-50261837?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts&link_location=live-reporting-story Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 The Bodega is a place that had completely gone from my memory. Of course I remember it now, having seen the pictures but, I am unable to think how my memory is so lacking in regard to the place. I did go there occasionally - in those days (1970s) it was a sort of early wine bar tending towards selling cheap Spanish (mainly) wines (it was the days of Hirondelle and similar party essentials). I preferred the Thurland, just down the street (but only marginally preferred!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benjamin1945 16,160 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Loved the Bodega'in the 60s,,,,met Trina in there one sunday night,,....back then it was different to anywhere else i'd been in town. Think it was just an upstairs bar,,,seemed a bit seedy (which i liked) never very busy on Sunday nights,,,just a few courting couples and a few singles like myself and mate Keith.............Unusual for the 60s in that a Pub allowed dancing,,,,it had a juke box and small cleared area perfect for slow romantic dancing. Been asking about the place recently and it is still there,,,upstairs for live music and a bar downstairs,,one of my sons went there recently on a date and reckons i'd still enjoy the atmosphere,,,............So intend taking Mrs Ben one sunday night soon,,,upstairs bar of course for some slow dances,,, Wonder if Trina still goes there ?......... 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,307 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 So, she's finally let you out has she, our Ben, this mysterious woman who's been holding you captive for the last couple of weeks! You've been missed 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benjamin1945 16,160 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Thanks Jill,,,,yes,,i sang''' please release me '''' lol............to be honest gave the site a rest,,,think you can have too much of a good thing sometimes,,,so i gave you all a break, ,,at the end of the day you can also have enough of Gears manual or Automatic,,,,yes ive been 'Lurking'................... 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Can't have too many of your posts, Ben. They brighten the day. We were beginning to think Maude finally caught up with you. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,307 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 I thought he was probably putting some shelves up or plumbing in a new shower, Loppy! Never thought he might be getting mauled by Maude. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oztalgian 3,296 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 On 11/28/2019 at 1:13 AM, philmayfield said: At least you didn't have to guess where the decimal point went! Using a slide rule helped you get an idea of the order of magnitude of a calculation. I remember once whist mentoring some young engineers I asked one to do some stress calculations to help design a test rig. When he came back to me with the result from his scientific calculator I immediately told him something was not right, not the actual numbers in the answer but the magnitude of the number and asked him to go and check what he had done. He came back later and rather sheepishly said he had got the decimal place wrong in one of the inputs. Still have my Thornton Comprehensive slide rule somewhere and if I thought really hard I could probably do a simple multiplication. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,467 Posted September 7, 2022 Report Share Posted September 7, 2022 I walked down Pelham Street this morning, first time for a while, and noticed that Gray & Bull appear to have closed down. One of the few remaining old-school shops. I was never a customer but they were the first opticians I was ever aware of; my grandparents used them and I remember seeing the name inside my grandma's glasses case. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,307 Posted September 7, 2022 Report Share Posted September 7, 2022 They had all sorts of interesting optical equipment in their window. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beekay 5,150 Posted September 7, 2022 Report Share Posted September 7, 2022 Is Thurland Street where the Co-op arts theatre is/was? Been a while since in that area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,140 Posted September 7, 2022 Report Share Posted September 7, 2022 Co-Op Arts Theatre is on George St. Nat.West Bank used to be on Thurland St./Pelham St. as did Nonna and Alex's restaurant La Bucca. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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