Arundel

Thats not quite right. As I remember it a bull week was the week you worked as much extra time, overtime, or double shifts as possible because as you were paid a week in arears, the pay for that week would be given to you on a holiday week. I don't remember getting any bonus pay. You had to work for every penny. I still have my first pay packet as a ladle lad at English Steel. £2.15.0 (Old money) FOR A WEEK !! Mind you, we got free clogs and sweat rags.

To all - Geeoer willtha!

I must have known the Royle family but have racked my brain and nothings come up. Sorry. What lovely old and typically Sheffieldish names they had - Maureen, Barbara, Alice, and Joe. A few months ago I was in Sheffield and went up Daffodil Road to where it joins with Clematis Road, my childhood playground. All the houses had gone except two which seemed to be privately owned. It was a very sad sight, especially to see the patches of burnt tarmac where cars had been torched. I hope that whoever desecrated my birthplace got his due deserts. Merry Christmas Arundel

Hi Cynthia, If you are my age we might well have been in the same class. I was at Shiregreen School from about 1934 to 1939 when I went on the High Storrs Grammar School. There was a Cynthia at the Shiregreen School - but really too far back for me to remember except that she was very pretty. I recall having a teacher called Mr. Pashley, and the headmistress was Miss Leonard. Other things I recall were the school concert when our class did "Sing a song of sixpence" - I was the King counting out his money, - and the Clinic where we used to get free Malt Extract. Happy days. Merry Xmas and a happy new year to you. Eric.

I was born in 1929 on Clematis Road, 78 years ago, and lived there until we were bombed out on 12th December 1940. For those who saw or were in anyway concerned with the demise of the Flower Estate because of the crime and unsocial behavior supposedly associated with it, let me say that in my childhood days the residents of the Flower estate, particularly Clematis, Daffodil, Honeysuckle, and Bluebell roads, were really nice, gentle, law abiding, hard working, and in many cases intelectual people. There was little or no crime, and I had the happiest possible childhood with the whole of Wincobank Hill and Concord Park to roam in without fear of any of the evil kids might encounter today. Hitler split us up, and killed about 14 , when his airforce dropped an aerial mine on Daffodil Road. But we went on from those very humble beginnings into successful positions if life, one of my family becoming the General Manager of a very large international oil company, whilst I eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the Services. I saw the estate mostly bulldozed, and I am told it was Sheffield Corporation's way of eradicating the social problem it had become. It was not the Estate which was bad, but the people successive incumbents of the Town Hall had put up there out of the way. There are lessons to be learnt.

It's good to hear from several old folks about their recollections on touch burners. Warms the heart! Thanks. I liked the bit about blowing down the hole to get the wood burning. That really took me back. I just wonder if any kids today know how to make them, although I suppose that in todays nanny culture they would be discouraged. In my first post on this this topic I mentioned that I had found our clay patch on Wincobank Hill and made one, which is now displayed in my cabinet for the grand children to see, and perhaps use 'under supervision'. Thmile, as Gloops would say. Arundel.

Who remembers "Touch Burners?" Going back quite a while, to the 1930s, I lived on Clematis Road when the Flower Estate was a respectable and gentile place. The kids used to play on Wincobank Hill (Old Man Martin was the Park Keeper and had a little shed just off Daffodil Road.) One activity we involved ourselves in was making touchburners. These were hollow baked clay pots we used to make from a patch of wet clay that existed just down from the allotments. It was lovely soft natural clay which we kids moulded into round or square shapes and hollowed out, then poked holes in the sides, and put bits of touchwood in them. When set alight the wood sent up smoke and our game was to run around holding them up in the air with the smoke streaming out from behind us. After a while the touchburner would be baked hard like pot. Grown-ups would never bother us and we would have great fun with this simple game. The name comes from Touchwood Burner -touchwood being that soft white rotten wood you get when an old tree has lain rotting for some years. I took a nostalgic walk on the Flower Estate a couple of years ago and was dismayed to find my birthplace had been bulldozed but that same patch of wet clay was there so I scooped up a couple of handsful and took it home in a handkerchief. I have not lost the skill of making a touchburner. Does any of this ring a bell after 70 odd years?. Don't tell me! More recently kids did something similar but used stolen cars.

I did quite well with my rifle range shooting. Finished up with my crossed rifles arm badge for "Marksman" Don't think it brought me in any extra money.. When in Germany later with the Airborne Artillery I was part of the 6 pounder anti-tank gun team and had a great time knocking the turrets of old german tanks on the ranges. All in all, I seemed to enjoy my National Service - it taught me a lot.

Fancy that, Floridablade! Mine was 21033341. Hello again. Like you I don't remember any names. Went to Barnard Castle to do a Regimental Signaller's course, then to Aldershop, Bulford, and Germany with the Airborne Artillery - Rensburg, Flensburg, Fallingbostal, etc. The Berlin Airlift was on and we were almost permanently on Stand-to. Wonder what happened to the five squaddies with numbers between yours and mine? I bet there are some interesting tales to tell. Back to names, the only one I recall, not from Pontefract Barracks, but from when I was doing my Signaller's course at Barnard Castle. One instructor made us learn his name in Morse Code and to this very day I have not forgotten it. It goes -"diddley dit-dit-ditda-da-diddley dit" which, for any of you Morse geniouses out there, means HEATH. Thmile!

Going back to the 1930's, my recollection is of sledging down Wincobank Hill from the very top. I was born on the Flower Estate where I lived until we were bombed out, and experienced most of the sledging round that area. Weren't we lucky. Last time I was up that way everywhere seemed to have been bulldozed. And Wincobank hill is completely overgrown so there won't be much sledging done there. Happy days!! In my childhood days we could go all the way from the searchlight stand right down as far as Sammies Gutter. Any relation Samsmum?

I went to Pontefract Barracks on 22nd August, 1947, to do my Initial Training. Good grief ! Thats 60 YEARS ago. Maybe I remember it so well because the first thing that happened was we all had to jump in a bath of LYSOL to get rid of the bugs someone had brought with them. Our first lesson in army dicipline was that when the Sergeant yelled "Stick your head under lad" you did it or got pushed under and held there for a while. But we did it with a thmile.

I don't know what the connection is between Gloops and Barney Goodman but mention of him reminds me that I bought my wedding suit from upt mooer, brown birdseye with 26 inch bottoms, My wife must have liked it (the suit) because we're still together nearly sixty years on. Our stamping grounds for dances used to be City Hall, Cutlers Hall, and Deys at Pitsmoor. Thmile !!

Did you know that Gloops was what we used to call 'short tongued' - talked with a lisp. He would say "thmile" instead of "smile" and instantly everyone did so. His one objective in life was to make people smile.