Nellie Well Oooh!

In the area of Manthrig Lane, there lived an elderly lady who everyone called “Nellie Well OOH”. The nickname came about because of her habit of exclaiming ‘Well OOH!’ continuously throughout her conversations. She made a precarious living selling shoes from her front room, often on credit, many a harassed mother was glad to take […]

Johnnie Bag O’ Wind

On leaving school, aged fourteen years, one of my first places of employment was with a village farmer whose farm buildings were situated opposite the school, adjoining the auction yards. His land, however, was down a lane at the junction of Severn Street and Chapel Street, this meant that the animals had to be driven […]

Jack The Clocky

At the end of the bridge, facing onto Severn Street, with a view right down Bridge Street, stood a galvanised building with a shop window in the front. This was the home of Old Jack the clock repairer. He could be seen sitting in the window, working away on his watches and clocks, almost every […]

Clog Makers

An article on television about the making of clogs on the banks of rivers, where the Alder trees grow brought back some pleasant memories of times past. In my school days and teenage years it was quite normal to see teams of two or three men working along the river banks in the spots where […]

Winds Remembered

Walking up the valley thinking of the past, the old man walked steadily on until he reached the Heather covered slopes, before stopping to rest and look around the timeless landscape. Remembering how years ago he had lived on these slopes for fourteen days, whilst on Army training, living off the land, with some hundred […]

To Bribe A Policeman

London was seething with excitement, crowds filled the pavements and open spaces, all determined to have an enjoyable time. Policemen, all on long spells of duty, laughed and joked with everyone, answering impossible questions, especially from the visitors from abroad. Accents of all nationalities seemed to flow past, just as if you were taking a […]

The Vintage Calvados

My host smiled as she handed me the bottle, ‘ Treat it with respect, use it as a medicine, not just for pleasure’, her words spoken in the strong earnest manner of the French farming community of the Calvados region of France. It transpired that this was one of the few remaining bottles, which her […]

The Tree Revisited

The last year or so of my schooldays slipped by so quickly. One or two episodes still remain as sharp as ever in my memory. Summer time lunch breaks, and a mad dash up past the station, into the fields to Carno Brook, a tributary to the River Severn. ‘Last one in is a sissy.’ […]

The Rock

Gibraltar was a completely new posting for a Guards Regiment. Our normal postings were London, Windsor, Aldershot, and the Middle East. Not being a ‘good sailor’ meant that the sea voyage became sheer hell. Seasickness from almost the first day confined me to either the ship’s rail or the heads. In a comparatively short time, […]

The Hidden Boy

School was enjoyed especially football and all sports. The one fly in the ointment was music lessons. Singing caused me more heartache than everything else combined. Totally tone deaf, unable even to harmonise, always the inevitable ‘You lad, you, you,. and you. I can do nothing for you, out into the yard, pick up all […]

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