Hi Ian Have got news for you I worked on the bottom block or to give it 's proper name the Mental health Unit I was a mature student nurse and when I passed my RMN my sons delighted in telling everyone that their mum was mental and had got a certificate to prove it. You can still buy Sasparilla and Dandelion and Burdock the proper stuff not the supermarkets versions at Mawsons herb shop at the bottom of George St Oldham Olive I remmember drinking nettle beer at that funny litlle house near Heysham Head.My dad said it would do my blood good . Bren >-- Original Message -H >From: "Ian Winterbottom" <i.winterbottom@ntlworld.com> >Subject: Re: [LANCSLIFE] Cornets and Royton >Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 14:59:20 +0100 >To: LANCSLIFE-L@rootsweb.com >Reply-To: LANCSLIFE-L@rootsweb.com > > >Coo, Bren, you posh person you. I just missed Chaddy Gram, a mate of mine, > >John Regan, went there though. I was a Bulge baby if you remember that (All > >the Dads demobbed at the end of the War caused a minor population explosion > >that followed our generation up thro' School) and Grammar School places > >were desperately short, so as a "Borderline" case I ended up at "Central", > >Shaw and Royton amalgamated while I was there. Must admit I hated it there, > >I was badly bullied and it is still with me now! Liked the School itself > >though, and still love Royton. We used to wear uniform, mostly just the cap > >and then only till someone nicked it and chucked it on the roof. Or the tie > >if someone didn't try to strangle you with it! I can only just remember >Tandlehills, it must be a good fifty years back! My Mum took us there a few > >times, I remember really loving it; but living in Shaw as we did it was >almost impossible to get to, I remember the monument though. And the >sweetshop; Turf Lane is just next to Shaw Road End, Nan & Grandad used to > >buy us Dolly Mixtures and ice creams from there. I used to visit the Park > >too with Nan for the Leonard Cheshire fetes. My Mum and Dad were married >in >St Anne's Church just across the road. I've bobbed in and out of Boundary > >Park a time or two as well, only as a visitor thank Gawd! A mate of mine >was >once in the infamous "Bottom Block" for a time and we used to sneak off for > >a jar in the Mare and Foal over the road! (I've had some funny mates now >and >then!). I must keep an eye out for the Granelli's however, see if it still > >tasts the same. Tarra, Ian > > >==== LANCSLIFE Mailing List ==== >Lanky Life -- dialect, slang, and sayings; culture and traditions; history >of towns and villages; folklore; poetry and songs; recipes; and nostalgic >essays. > >============================== >New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors >at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > ___________________________________________________________ Book yourself something to look forward to in 2005. Cheap flights - http://www.tiscali.co.uk/travel/flights/ Bargain holidays - http://www.tiscali.co.uk/travel/holidays/

Ecky Thump. A smaller world than even I thought of. I can imagine the kids' delight in the Mental bit! My mate, Trev, was in the Mental Unit in the very late 60s, having been invalided out of the Navy for what was then the unusual problem of glue-sniffing. He was a loner who'd got hooked on the stuff while modelling - an enthusiasm we shared, one reason we were mates. It was a bit beyond the pale back then, they weren't too sure what to do with him! To my lasting sorrow he ended his life with a cylinder of anaesthetic. I've had my share of that kind of trouble since then, wish I could step back in Time! We used to delight in taking the Michael out of my Mum, and my Nan. Nan was about four foot three and as wide as I'm tall, I still remember her squaring up to me (17 and rising 6 foot) and looking straight up my nose to declare, "Thea'rt not too big fo't'ave thi arse tanned, tha' knows!" I wouldn't have put it past her! What I'd done I don't remember, happen upset HER Mum,. Grandma Wain, who lived at t'bottom o' Cowie Street! What the Heck I would have done if she'd insisted I dunno, probably have done me best to get over her lap, lor' love her, like folding a Blackpool deckchair. On the subject of Blackpool, got a question about sandcastles, folks, anyone remember any good ones? I used to do some crackers on Blackpool beach. At the time I was fond of PC Wren's Beau Geste, and ERB's "Barsoom" books, so that beach became either Zinderneuf or Martian engineers building dams to stop the tide. We - my brother and sister- and I damn near got cut off once doing that! I built "The World's Biggest Castle" once too, in the Isle of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, during Army service. Me and two kids, with a gallon bucket and a garden spade! We had fun, but the locals thought I wor' barmey. Would have taken a Lancastrian to find it fun, I think. Blow it, we liked it! Ian