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Capacitorkid

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About Capacitorkid

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  1. I don't know. I'm neither a surveyor nor an architect. Neither am I connected with the aviation industry or airport planning. But I do know that there's a time-honoured tradition of moving objects out of way to enable construction to be realised. I know it's on a smaller scale and was for a different use, but consider this: there were some very big slag heaps where the Parkway Industrial Estate now is; they were moved to enable the building of the estate and the widening of the parkway. This was almost 40 years ago. We've made much progress with machinery since then. I refuse to believe the building of an airport for Sheffield is not possible. Putting aside the potential environmental concerns for a moment were left with two words I mentioned previously - determination and finance. At the very least I think Sheffield should have a maintained landing strip of sufficient size and surface quality for a 10-12 seater jet. But what have we got? Yes, go on folks, laugh...
  2. The plain fact of the matter is that if anyone had been determined, and if powers had had foresight, there would have been a proper Sheffield airport many years ago. No matter the topography, the geography, nothing is insurmountable. Which leaves one sticky point - finance. Meanwhile, Sheffield is the laughing stock of Europe: whoever heard of a city and a conurbation this size without an airport?
  3. If you've let them onto your machine this is but a fraction of what they know about you. get Firefox and all the add-ons to keep the bees away!
  4. I was there Oct '66 to Dec '68. First in J3Y with Mrs Harwood as the teacher, then on to J4Y where we had Mr 'Piggy' Porter. Can remember some of the children's names but wouldn't post them out of respect for privacy. Were you one of the select 5 in Mr Porters class who were part of the "laughing gas" crew? Fond memories!
  5. I remember Fixer. For part of '78, my mate Mick used to drum for them. I was supposedly their engineer. Rehearsal room was somewhere just off Bramall lane. Fella called Jim on bass and vocals, and yes, Steve on lead guitar. 'Bright and Rosy' was their most commercial offering, closely followed by 'Elephants' - anyone remember that? Was a heavy, but commercial number. 'Bright and Rosy' featured slide; was the only time I saw Steve play a Strat. Very much a Les Paul user.
  6. I was at TG, but it was earlier than the time most of you refer to. I was there Jan '69 to April/May '71, and was aged 10 and a half to almost thirteen during my residence. The only names of children I remember who are mentioned here are Bonnie, her sister Rose, and I'm sure they had a brother called Michael. Staff wise, If the "Christine" writing a lot of the messages is the one I recall, you had blonde hair, were approx 20 years old when you started work there late '69/early'70 and were originally from Warwickshire. I remember a Linda...not sure if her surname was Blunt, but she had short dark hair. Joyce Parrat I don't recall as being an "ogre" (as someone described). Ken Hodgson - the Principal, I remember very well; he had 3 children named Sarah, Elspeth and Peter. His wife was from Wales - not the nearby village, but the country. Speaking of which, I also remember Rhona, and Ivor Bell - a very tall fella. Harry Bower used to be an electrician in the RAF Regiment before working at Todwick; his brother Colin was my best friend for quite some time whilst there! Other staff who come to mind are Mick Dunning, Don Fluitt and his wife Margaret, Ken Terry, John Hudson, Ken Roach, Mary - her surname escapes me - who was in charge of the 'wooden wing' in early '71. There was also a Scot named Andrew, a Canadian called Mac, a Geordie - maybe called Frank? Many of the children's names come to me quite easily too: Lloyd J, David H, Mick M, Mick R, Jimmy W, Raymond M, Paul K, Martin G, Cyril W, Eddie O, Brian F. Some of the girls - I can't remember many of their surnames: Gail, she was 14/15 in 1970 and had a sister 2 or 3 years younger; a blonde-haired girl called Lyn (I remember her from the summer of '69 - which I'm sure Bryan Adams will appreciate!); Pamela ?, Theresa B and her brother Paul; I seem to recall a girl who was around 10 or 11 at the time called Beverley? And of course, Bonnie and Rose. To be honest, there weren't many girls there at the time I was. So who am I? Well, if anyone remembers me that's a different matter, but I wont give my name because I'm rather a retiring creature. Does anyone remember 'Dougall', named after the Magic Roundabout character? That's me. If Colin Bower should read this, I know he will, he was the one who gave me the name. Teachers: John Driskell, Norman Elliot, David Arbor, Mrs Hanson (the Headteacher in the early days), Joan Callaghan, Roy Greaves, Mary? Cooper - I had a double-act there because her husband Ray, was my Social Worker. There was another female teacher who's name escapes me but she had dark curly hair to her shoulders and wore specs. There was also (in 1970) a female teacher from Saskatchewan, Canada, whom I'm pretty sure went on to become Head. 'Support' staff, for want of a better name: Charlie Burgin (Caretaker - used to live in the front Lodge), my mind's eye also sees the caretaker who used to live at the back Lodge and had blonde curly hair, Terry (Chef), Peter, Dennis and Hedley (Gardeners), Mrs Spence (overnight care worker), Lilly (school cleaner). Holidays I remember from there are at Bets-y-Coed farmhouse in '69, and in '70 we had 2 weeks in caravans at Newquay, Cornwall. Whilst at the Grange I developed a small interest in birdwatching. It didn't go far at the time, but around 8 years after leaving there I became hooked on Wildlife (birds in particular), Nature and the Environment. Anyone who knows the place will understand how regretful I am that the interests didn't develop fully whilst there. Anyone who doesn't should look at a satellite picture, then you'll understand. What a place, what a missed opportunity. Though very sad and sorry for the children there through the troubled times I believe led to its closure, I must say that overall, my time at Todwick was a very happy one. Some people might have difficulty comprehending how time in the care of the Local Authority can be spoken of in that way; when home life is as disadvantaged as mine was, and the family is fragmented largely through poverty and the resultant problems of it, to find yourself in an environment where your guardians are as kind, caring, and as fair with discipline as they were at TG in the time I was there, gives a stabilising influence and fairly solid foundation for later years. Yes, TG and the staff helped shape my life in a positive way.
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