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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only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).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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There are 500 messages in the guestbook
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Viewing messages 51 to 60

Alan Whittaker(53-59) | alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Everyone,Happy New Year.
Bruce's mention of Binns and T&G Allans got me thinking. I believe both stores closed in the mid 90s.
In 1959,whilst waiting for my entry into the RAF I had ajob in the hardware dept located in the basement of Binns.A 6 day week(Wed early closing) 9am to 6pm for which I was paid the princely sum of £3-1s-8d !!
Does anyone remember the Lamson Tube system which used compressed air to send money/bills cartridges to/from the various departments to the Accounts on the top floor?
The two customer lifts were also unusual in that they were lever operated by an Attendant who had to judge when to release the lever so that the lift stopped level with the outside floor!
How about the restaurant on the 2nd floor where genteel ladies of the town went to be seen enjoying afternoon tea and sandwiches?

Those were the days!

Tue 3-Jan-2023 11:45 - Langford Budville, Somerset

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

Hi Mike
Compliments of the season to you.
Alex and Bruce's enthusiasm has awakened me from my lethargy. Alex and Bruce can never leave this good Earth. They will ever be required to keep us well informed about what's going on in good old Shields.
Living on this Island causes everyone (well at least me)to become blase about the rest of the world.(shocking statement I know).I've become a "pass my book and slippers" kind of person.But not a pessimist thank goodness. Liz and our irrepressible grandchildren keep me well engaged.It's a new year so let's hope it brings something that we can all cheer about.
Best wishes, Neale.

Mon 2-Jan-2023 00:10 - Victoria BC

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

I join with Alex in wishing the compliments of the season to anyone who looks at this page.

He is much better informed than I am about the developments in our old home town. Re-developing King Street - I wonder if Binns is still there - probably not. And what about T&G Allens?

I was thinking recently about the amount of housing development that will be needed in the town. In the harsh years after the end of WW2 the money was somehow found to build huge new Council housing estates But the earlier developments - Sutton Trust Estate and the council housing at Horsley Hill and Cleadon and around our old school were all built in the 1930s. I know that there has been a lot of demolition and new building in the Prince Edward road area clos to the Nook but there is a lot more to do.

At least our alma mater has been successfully developed and even managed to retain the core of the 1936 building. I recall that the road leading from Centenary Avenue that formed part of the new Council House estate was called "School Approach.

Talking (as Alex was) of New Year celebrations I wonder if the tradition of "fist-footing" persist?

Take care all.

Sun 1-Jan-2023 16:11 - ruskington lincolnshie

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

Hello Mike and all your readers and contributors.
Let me be the first to wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year from North York, Canada. We've just switched off the TV after having watched the New Year arrive in Times Square, featuring Duran Duran!! God, they're old looking now.
We had our celebratory drink on the stroke of midnight along with a piece of Phillipino Christmas cake from our cleaning lady. It was absolutely delicious; she made it last Christmas and kept it wrapped for a year adding brandy every now and again.
We're lucky enough to have been celebrating the New Year for 70 years now and we still have the same traditions.
Mike, I hope that you're feeling much better now and that you've made your way through the medical minefield of 1000 A4 pages of findings. Take care of yourself in 2023.
It looks like South Shields is about to change dramatically down town (or Down Street as it once was called) with the demolition of the south (?) side of King Street and the potential new Marine School in its place, also the number of housing developments along the riverfront amazes me and the council houses in West Holborn are underway as we speak.
We haven't had too much input from the usual suspects viz. Eric, Bruce, Neale etc. Maybe they've been like me, too busy with other things. But at least I got the tree up in time for the holidays and sent off 72 cards, 50 of which were to "the rest of the world" as the Canadian Postal Service describes it. That means anywhere but Canada and the U.S. It adds up to $135 Canadian!! for Christmas cards!!?
Anyhow this is all to say that I was thinking about you all leading up to the Festive Season, and throughout the year and send my best wishes to everyone to enjoy a happy and, most importantly, healthy 2023.
Regards from a wet and warm +9C North York,
Alex

Sun 1-Jan-2023 07:14 - North York, Ontario, Canada

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

It being the 11th November, Remembrance Day, and having watched the impressive ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum on TV, I got to wondering how much the students of today are taught about that era. I know my own grandchildren regard those years as "history" but I recall an incident during the Korean War when "Pop" Lucas read out an announcement during morning assembly from the UN Secretary General. Trigve Lee, concerning the cease fire.

Those days are gone but I hope that, perhaps, members of today's enlightened generation are taught to remember.

Fri 11-Nov-2022 19:44 - ruskington lincolnshie

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Newcastle Utd. have lost only once this season & conceded fewest goals. Now Champions League contenders after victory versus Tottenham Hotspur. Some `Spurs´ fans with no cover suffered storm conditions with torrential rainfall causing them to abandon their seats. However, as per custom, Newcastle supporters stood `bare-topped´ `braving´ the elements as happy as `Magpies´ as if looking at the `Crown Jewels´.

`Sandancer´- `Geordieland´.

Mon 24-Oct-2022 11:31 - South Shields

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Crowds packed into St. James´ Park, (The Stadium of Dreams), for the Opening Ceremony of the Rugby League World Cup. England defeated Samoa 60 - 6 and scored an incredible 10 tries in an `amazing´ match. Celebrated with a pint of our Newcastle Brown Ale.

At Kingston Park, home of Premiership Rugby Union `Newcastle Falcons´,Scotland lost to Italy today.

`Sandancer´- `Geordieland´.

Sun 16-Oct-2022 16:44 - South Shields

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Before long it was winter & the snow began to fall. Then the winter sports began, skating, ski-ing, sledging, tobogganing. Ice-hockey plays a very prominent part & many people are keen supporters of the sport.
It snowed all Christmas Day & made it a `Christmas Carol´ picturesque scene. I vividly remember going to school with temperature 20 degrees below zero.
(The Atom, 1951). Not so bad at High School but enjoyed snowball `fights´!

The Maple Leaf was `adopted´ in an interesting `fashion´ during the war of 1812. Now on the Canadian flag due to the ` popularity´ of the trees and its representation of peace and hope as per the `Poppy´ worn to remember the fallen of WW1. (Royal British Legion).

VIVA! CANADA!

`Sandancer´- `Geordieland´.

Wed 12-Oct-2022 10:58 - South Shields

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

That´s Football! Newcastle United will turn the Premiership `Big Six´ into `Big Seven´ with the `fighting spirit´ of the `Geordies´ on the team and the rousing support of 52.000 fans of the `Toon Army

`Sandancer´- `Geordieland´.

Fri 7-Oct-2022 14:47 - south Shields

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

That´s cricket! The Headmaster at Harton Academy has expressed his aspirations to renew cricket activities at the school albeit `depending on the availability of staff´.

`Sandancer´ - `Geordieland´.

Fri 7-Oct-2022 14:24 - South Shields

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