sovrappeso

He had two top 10 hits in 1961; both have been named in this thread. I suppose his croaky voice led to his nickname "frogman".

Record Power Tools still exists & is based at Barlborough near Chesterfield.

Was slippered twice by Mr Boul of Brincliffe Grammar School for not keeping my physics notes up to date. Happened on 17th March 1961. I did deserve it to be honest!

Their shop was on the left hand side going towards the town hall. It closed in the late 1950s, I think, and the premises were briefly used by an auctioneer.

Pleased to be of help.

In the 1950s there was a shop on Fargate called Hagenbachs that sold that cakes etc.

In 1962-3 the first stage of the National Transmission Network was completed. The pipe was laid between Canvey Island and Leeds via Sheffield & other cities. The pipe carried high pressure methane which was made from liquefied natural gas which was imported from Algeria. The system was enlarged in later years. The gas was used to enrich Towns gas that had been produced by a different process to the usual one. Also it was used for large scale industrial processes.

In 1963 there were major gas pipelines being laid at the head of the Burbage Valley and along Flask Edge on the moors above Totley. Given that North Sea gas was not discovered in quantities until September 1965, it seems that plans were under way to construct a national gas supply network in any event.

I think it was 1972 in the Greenhill area. Natural gas is heavier than air but Towns gas was about 50% hydrogen and could be used to fill balloons via a football bladder.

Hello Michael My name is Roger Wells and I also left in 1963. I then transferred to ABGS as did you if I remember rightly. Others who transferred were: Robert Ellsworth, Richard Egan, Stuart Gregory, David McLeavy, Peter Memmott & Mick Lee. I am still in touch with Robert Ellsworth via email. Several years ago I was in touch with Mick Lee via FriendsReunited. At the time I think he told me that he was living in Dronfield & that Peter Memmott was living in Worksop. Mick & Peter had also kept in touch with David McLeavy & Richard Egan, who was living in South Africa. I'm afraid I have no contact details for them. Hope this helps a bit. Best Wishes Roger Wells

I passed in 1958 as did the other 49 pupils in class 4A at Carfield Juniors. I don't remember being coached to pass the exams; I do remember being panic-stricken when I saw the questions on the aptitude paper as I had never seen anything like them before.

I remember going on 2 trips during my time at Carfield Juniors. In 1957 Class 3A went to New Brighton by coach. The trip included crossing the Mersey by Ferry. The second trip, in 1958, was to Chester Zoo & included a boat trip on the River Dee & a look round the Roodee racecourse. My only memory of the zoo was of a very agitated-looking polar bear.

In Chesterfield they go om but in Sheffield they go oo-am. In Chesterfield things get bost but in Sheffield they get brok.

It was Eli Furness or Furniss.

It definitely did snow in June 1975, but after a couple of hours it was gone.

Does anybody remember groups of children going round houses singing the new year in (and hopefully being given a bob or two). I only remember a few words of the song: "the log was burning brightly, 'twas a night that should banish all sin, for the bells were ringing the old year out, and the new year in. The last I heard the song was in the mid 1950s.

The road sign for Briarfield Avenue, Gleadless, had "Borough of Chesterfield " written on it in red Gothic script. I think the road sign was changed in the 1970s. I believe the nearby former Norton Air Base is still in Derbyshire. By the look of the houses on Briarfield Avenue, the road probably dates from the 1930s.

Pest-Stop Sure-Set plastic mouse traps work very well. I used a non-crumbly cheese eg Red Leicester securely wedged into the bait receptacle. Had no success with peanut butter or chocolate.

Beer-off on the corner of John Street & Baron Street 1957 to 1959. We moved houses several times but the shop was the most memorable. I don't know what this spoiler nonsense is about.

According to the HonestJohn website, the factor that affects cam belt life the most is the number of cold starts. Apparently it is much more important than mileage.

I have never been able to make a neat job using silicone sealant but I have successfully sealed a couple shower trays using Soudal sealing strip & Sticks Like Sh*t adhesive. I used a blob of adhesive to seal the grout lines & any other vulnerable areas.

There was a mass exodus of the younger teachers in 1963 i.e. ones under 40. Those last couple of years must have been a bit dispiriting with the dwindling pupil numbers & the uninterested teaching staff. I have remembered a bit about Mrs Potter's previous history. Mrs Potter, as you may know, was the wife of Professor Potter of the Sheffield University history department. Before Mrs P. started at Brincliffe , she and the professor spent 2 years in Bonn, West Germany where the professor was some sort of cultural envoy or attache to the government there. So you can see that teaching at a small provincial grammar school like Brincliffe was a bit of a come-down after that. Still, she really didn't have to have that attitude to teaching us. As one of my fellow ex-Brincliffians once said she was, "A dreadful woman & an even worse teacher". Yes, it would be nice to see a few new names on here but there weren't that many of us to start with.

Nobody was safe from Mrs Potter's scorn including pupils in the A-stream. She also gave the impression that she thought that subjects with a large factual contact eg science could be successfully studied by "any idiot". She did not get on at all well with Mr Boul as I remember. I got the impression that Mr Howson thought she was a bit ridiculous.

Correction to previous post: I left Brincliffe in 1963 & Abbeydale in 1965.

As I remember it, Mr Whittaker alias Hiram Holliday had been working in South Africa & was an expert in explosives prior to his arrival at Brincliffe in September 1961. So I surmise that he had no teaching experience. I don't remember our class being badly behaved during his lessons. The sad thing is he became very seriously ill shortly after starting at Brincliffe & combined with the lack of respect shown by some pupils must have made his life hard to bear. Mr Boul was, I think, a disappointed & bitter man after missing out on a post at Abbeydale Grammar. He seemed to be in a permanent bad temper & was very quick to vent his frustration on whoever annoyed him. I once made the mistake of failing to keep my notes up to date & suffered 2 very painful whacks with the slipper. Mr Kirk was not a typical teacher in my opinion. He seemed more worldly & had a natural authority which made for interesting & well ordered lessons. He did come out with some strange things occasionally eg "Hands up all of you think that black magic is possible". I left Brincliffe in 1965 & moved to Abbeydale Grammar to do A-levels. It was a real culture shock after Brincliffe . What with the high work load & the absence of girls to lighten the mood, I hated the place. By the way, what was your opinion of Mrs Potter?