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I'm not sure when the old 'GUILD' system disappeared from most trades; but in the case of my gg grandfather, when he finished his apprenticeship as a watch-maker, he had to produce and present a piece of his own work before a Guild committee, where he was questioned and his work inspected. Then...

I went to see the skating on Dartmouth Park pool at that time; there was a young woman doing fancy turns and whathaveyous, I was entranced and immediately fell in love with her!

An interesting mystery! Perhaps Katherine had been married to a Boer War soldier who was wrongly recorded as Killed in Action? Do please let us know what you discover.

Anyone know the dates of these tombs/church/cemetery?

Fascinating, I've never heard of this place, let alone seen it! It's like a semi-amphitheatre of the dead!

I think it may well be, as you say ''in our blood'' - even the Roman's complained about the 'binge-drinking' habits of the Brits....it didn't much change with the coming of the Saxons, if anything, it became worse! There are many references from 'abroad' as to the excessive drinking of the...

Post-script: I had a pronounced sense of guilt at the destruction of my Grandad's top-hat; or rather, following-on from my father's discovery of the foul deed....so, when many, many years later, and after the death of my father, I met an elderly gentleman who, it turned out, had been a 'hatter'...

Christmas mooching.....a little story! Once upon a time, just before Christmas, a small grubby boy (no prizes for guessing who!) decided to have a 'mooch' in the top shelf of his parent's wardrobe: The wardrobe was so high that I had to balance a small foot-stool upon a chair to reach the top...

I take your point Bernard, but if we stopped everything that people abused, we wouldn't have much of anything. My only regret is that I can't find a decent 'pint' near to where I live. :(

Somewhat off-topic but, an old colleague of mine once showed me an ancient newspaper report of the death of her great grandfather.....he was a renowned 'tippler'. He was eventually convinced by his doctor to give up the booze and live a more abstemious life, if he was to survive. However, the...

Ian, you've just won a pint of beer for me! :) Ta!

Does anyone know what happened to all the exhibits from the Science Museum? I wasn't aware the place had closed until just a few months ago....how was this ever allowed to happen? Birmingham being the 'workshop of Britain and, Britain being the 'workshop of the world'! Are there plans...

Thanks David! It says it may be much older than the English Civil War...up to a millenium even! How're you doin'?

I was watching some lambs playing in the field today...they were jumping onto a hay bale, and pushing each other off it. It reminded me of playing 'King of the Castle' : ''I'm the King of the castle and you're a dirty rascal: a thief, a vagabond and a traitor prepare to meet thy maker!'' Does...

The 'Factory' down Gas Street Basin, was the cooooooolest place ever for modern jazz!

Hello....is there anyone out there?????

Ed, try this link: https://www.macearchive.org/Media.html?Title=4890# There was another site, which appears to have disappeared, to be replaced by our own discussion...it's a mystery to me how these things work! I recall that the Black Country Bugle once did a full article on the event.

There were two explosions, both in West Bromwich; one during the late 1950's at a tube-works (?) when its boiler blew-up and another, during January of 1962, at Friar Park, when a lorry carrying chemicals (as mentioned above) exploded and caused much devastation. I heard both explosions, and was...

Re' 'plate cameras' - back in the 'Dark Ages' when I was at a college of photography, we trained on 'Gandolphi' large format cameras: quarter, half and full-plates. They were beautifully made in wood and brass and were indeed beautiful pieces of 'furniture' in their own right. We not only had to...

Do what I do : go to your local pub and allow yourself to be bored into oblivion for a couple of hours by some nerd. Then, after buying him/her several drinks ask if he/she would condescend do it it for you.....of course, you have already prepared for this and have everything required in a...