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How many of you guys and gals hung out on summer Sunday afternoons on the big grassy slope?,some folks refered to it as 'Highfields'.The Dunkirk entrance,as you came into the park,the grassy slope was right ahead of you.there was grey building with a big veranda overlooking the lake,to the right was a cafe/ice cream stand.

I am talking pre Beatles days,all the transistor radios tuned into the same station.The hit-parade was dominated by the Americans such as - Roy Orbison,Gene Pitney,Del Shannon,and Elvis,we replied with - Billy Fury,Marty wilde,Cliff and the Shadows, early 60s,loads of young people, never recall any violence.

The motor-bike crowd took off around 6 - 30pm,Savoy cinema,and we sat thru' those corny Hammer horror movies.

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Knew it wouldn't be long before someone remembered "Highfields", Same era prior to "Mods & Rockers" we all listened to the same stuff then. Used to walk it from Clifton down Lenton Lane, days at the Lido which was always bloody cold, the boating lake! we never used to take the boats back and of course the lads and girls.

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Hi mgread1200,if you kept the boat out past the time on the ticket,out came the heavy dude in the 'Maid Marian'. That lido,never ,ever,did get bloody warm,on the plus side,some hot looking gals.

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There are loads of mentions of Highfields on here Muggie, the following list is just a few !!

For some reason my link isn't working !!

Just enter Highfields in the search engine at the top right of the forums page, it comes up with a 'few' !

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Hi Mudgie, if you we one of us who went to the Savoy on Sundays, you must have gone down Jack's cafe afterwards. What did you ride? Were you in the Aces, or maybe the Dragons? I preferred the yank 'B' movies to the Hammer films, they were so funny.

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HI OLDACE, rode pillion a few times with Jeff or Slim Graham,rode a 'tiger cub' for a couple of months,passed my test and bought an old 56 Triumph 6T pre unit,from Kingstons.Back then I lived in Beeston,I don't recall Jack's cafe being open Sunday nights,but if it was I would have been there.My uncle owned the billiard hall,almost opposite Jack's,so I hung out in both places most nights. After coming from the 'sheds'.

I had a 'do',with Mick Cranson at the 'sheds' one night'about his 'Iron cross', 'seig heil',and stupid facist salute.(my old mum was Jewish).Walked away,never joined,never got to paint an ace on my leather jacket. Turned mod in 65.

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Hi Mudgie, I remember Slim,later he ran the tropical fish ship on Chilwell High Road.

One night he pulled into the middle gates far too fast, everybody scattered and he finally ran into my new Enfield Continental, which was on loan while the shop put yet another set of big ends in my 650cc Ajay. He also had 2pt bottle of beer stuffed inside his jacket. It would have been quite messy if he had pranged.

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Morning ACE, Slim and Jeff,inherited money and a big house on Hall croft,in Beeston,Slim bought the hardware shop and turned it into his tropical fish shop,spent hours round there. He bought a maroon mark 10 Jag',at least half a dozen would pile in, and once on the M1,he would gun that Jag' down to the sevices,at Leicester forest east.

I never remember Slim not having a bottle of something abought his person,remember that big toothy grin?.Sambo seemed to be accident prone,pulling up at middlegates with his left leg in plaster,stopping with the help of everybody jumping on him and his bike,a Matchless comes to mind.

Did you get the message about the A.C.W. books

?

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slim and jeff still around although not seen slim for a couple of years now jeff wass at the white hart a couple of times last summer,slim not got the shop anymore but a big angler and we used to see him regular at notts fed meetting as he was his club rep and piggy was his club rep ,i used to sit downstairs and have a drink while they had there meetings.

because i lived on the other side of town did not go go down highfields much before my rocker days , but remember my brothers mate george taking me to middle gates were we would feed the carp with bread boy were they big devils in them days used to think it was miles out of town we went then when i went for a walk with dave and some of the local guys and gels in the summer of 68 i knew i had been there before as soon as we got to the middle gates.when we lived in lenton we wouldoften take our two sons for a walk round there and have a picknic and an icecream a cheap fun dayout did not have a car untill the youngest started school and then we started going further afield. but happy memories of highfields . daves mum worked at the lido,and all the others in nottingham before she retierd

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FURTHER TO THIS POST JUST BEEN WATCHING BBC LOCAL NEWSTONIGH ARTICLE ABOUT A CAR GOING INTO APPLEBYS TOY SHOP WINDO IN BEESTON SHOCK TO SEE TWO OLD BIKERS BEING INTERVIEWED FIRST A GUY WE ALWAYS CALLED CW BECAUSE EVERY ONE SAID HE LOOKED LIKE CW FROM THE BONNIE AND CLIDE FILM THE NEXT ONE TO BE INTERVIWED WAS JEFF GRAHAM DONT KNOW IF YOU CAN GET ON COMPUTER NEWS REVIWES MUDGIE BUT IF YOU CAN YOU WILL SEE JEFF AS HE IS KNOW BABS.

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Hi Mudgie, I remember Slims shop well, used go there often,I remember him and Jeff coming into money. Jeff bought an E-Type which he duly wrote

off IIRC. I was once in Slim's Mark 10 early hours, we were racing Fitzy in his Cresta at a ton+, Dunkirk Island to Nottingham Night Island. Thing was Slim was on the wrong carriageway. We went round the top Island anti clockwise, and it was only the frantic shouts of the passengers that stopped him repeating the antic back to Dunkirk.

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just read evening post tonights jeff actually owns applebey toy shop photo of him on 3rd page

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK..small world time again.

You can see a picture of Jeff outside his shop in this article.

Jeff is my wife's Dad and Dave(Slim to you lot!) is her uncle.

Applebees has been in the family for over 90 years and Jeff has had it since the late 80s. My wife ran it with him up until 4 years ago.

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