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Welcome to the Guestbook
Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).

It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to.

Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.

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Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

Any more criminals out there?

Much later in life when my parents were living in one of the (council) pensioners houses right at the end of Lizard Lane Thomson's Quarry was my favourite venue for exercising our dogs on our occasional visits to SS.

Mon 30-Jun-2025 16:54 - ruskington lincolnshie

Alan Whittaker(1953-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Neale,Alex and Bruce.I don't know about you Bruce but I had no idea we had an ex-arsonist on the Sutton Estate!Could it be that leaving the country to live abroad was more than work related?
I also used to take a box of matches into Thompson's Quarry! Years ago Norman Hannah who owned the Riding School on Lizard Lane used to graze horses overnight in the Quarry. We would climb over the fence and rattle a box of matches at the horses and they would approach us thinking we were offering corn. We would grab a mane and swing up onto the horses back and gallop it,bareback, around the Quarry!

Looking back it was quite a dangerous act,the follies of youth!

Mon 30-Jun-2025 11:06 - Langford Budville, Somerset

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Neale,
You should have never confessed to that crime, "playing with matches" indeed. The only thing you can do with matches is to strike them and apply them to something flammable. I think you and Liz had better go into hiding, because the South Shields Police Force operates a 'cold case' squad that is known world wide for its tenacity. Now they have a confession!!
However, given your advanced age, they may go easy on you for your advanced age.
Cheers from a sunny and very comfortable North York,
Alex

Sun 29-Jun-2025 21:47 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Neale Backhouse | neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Mike,
Alan's Photo of Marsden (received via g mail) shows a grassy hill in front of the new (and in progress) estate. That brings back a vivid memory. As kids from Sutton Estate, we were playing with matches on the estate side of that hill. It was a warm and sunny day and before we realised what was goimg on a grass fire had erupted and began roaring up the hill. We all took off home along the farm path as fast as we could go. Fearing the consequences and like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime, I jumped on my bike and road back to the burned hillside, By this time workers from the building site had left their jobs and were standing around the edge of the burn beating out the remaining hot spots. The whole of the hillside was now a blackened mess. Not wishing to be finger pointed, I hastily fled the scene. Luckily for us there were no repurcusions and we were able to hide our involvment (until today). But I must admit I always had a guilty feeling passing that hill until it had finally greened over again.
Today the old fence has gone, as has the former estate and Thompson's Quarry is now parkland.
Cheers from a warm and sunny Victoria.

Sun 29-Jun-2025 19:36 - Victoria BC

Alan Whittaker(1953-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Bruce(again), I tried to send you the Marsden photo to: bsgraham@btinternet.com but was unsuccessful have you changed your email address?
Alan

Sat 28-Jun-2025 16:21 - Langford Budville, Somerset

Alan Whittaker(1953-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Bruce, the lake adjacent to the farm path was called Farding Lake which was cleared to facilitate one end of the Lake Ave estate. Do you remember the large pump house near the lake? There was another lake(pond) on the other side of Prince Edward Rd which didn't merit a formal name as far as I know,we used to call it The Lily Pond, this also had an adjacent large pump house.

Sat 28-Jun-2025 13:37 - Langford Budville, Somerset

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

Delighted to see the response from Alan. Just goes to show that the GB is being read!!

Thomson's quarry! Out of bounds during the unfortunate events of 1939-45 but a source of great adventure later.

When we see the photograph it may show the wheat fields extending across to the Marsden Inn before all of the houses were completed. What was the name of the pond?

Fri 27-Jun-2025 17:26 - ruskington lincolnshie

Alan Whittaker(1953-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Alex, I've sent the Marsden photo to Mike. Let's hope he can do something with it.
Alan

Thu 26-Jun-2025 13:37

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Alan,
I think you have to send it directly to Mike at his email address then he can enter it into the guest book. Good to see you back in the GB.
Regards,
Alex (from a stot and hickey North York,it's still 38C as I write this at 9:00 PM)

Thu 26-Jun-2025 01:59 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Alan Whittaker(1953-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Everyone, Ref post-war housing development, I have a photo taken by my father around 1948 of the Marsden area which he took from the cliff in Thompson's Quarry.The photo is a bit faded but you can see the development of the Lake Avenue area,and, in the distance the Marsden Inn is visible. I was unable to forward the photo to our website .Any suggestions?

Wed 25-Jun-2025 12:08

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