Originally Posted by jason-orange

Does anyone remember Roland (not sure of his surname)? He used to buy cigarettes from shops and a few yards up the road he used to crush them in his hand and throw them away. Strange fella, does anyone know what happened to him? He was a familiar sight in and around Birkdale circa 60's - 80's

I dont know of Rolands (sometimes called Glovey) whereabouts now or if he's still alive, I last saw him in 2002 - he was in a rest home I worked at and it has since closed down. Roland was shell shocked during the war, such a shame really coz if you could get him talking he was a very polite chap. He used to buy lots of nick nacks from charity shops and give them to the staff as gifts. He also used to bring down his vast colection of ties and handkerchieves when he saw you get the iron out, after ironing each one he'd say 'Thankyou Ma'am'.

another character i can remember from my teens was little Teddy, he was a midget & lived in Virginia st, he had a little squeaky voice & used to sit all day on a concrete stump that was part of a wall very close to the approach to the footbridge to London st.

Anybody remember Jeff the Teddy boy.He was small and had one arm,often wonder what happened to him.

Yeah..I remember Little Jeff. He used to hang out at Tommy's Rock Shop on Neville (Sp?) St. Also he used to jive in front of the juke box in the Fun House in the late 50s. (Bill Haley's "See Ya Later Alligator".) He was always smartly dressed and had a permanent entourage of protectors, carers and helpers.

Originally Posted by smithy99

Yeah..I remember Little Jeff. He used to hang out at Tommy's Rock Shop on Neville (Sp?) St. .

at last, someone remembers Tommy's rock shop. it was about a yard wide but he managed to squeeze a juke box & a table & a couple of chairs in there, the first time we ever heard Elvis was in Tommy's, heartbreak hotel, i think it was 1956,

Originally Posted by Ken B

at last, someone remembers Tommy's rock shop. it was about a yard wide but he managed to squeeze a juke box & a table & a couple of chairs in there, the first time we ever heard Elvis was in Tommy's, heartbreak hotel, i think it was 1956,

Spot on Ken! 1956 it was. I was in the army at the time at a desolate posting in Brecon South Wales. Elvis was about all we had to entertain us then. I remember it well.

Originally Posted by Nick2

Spot on Ken! 1956 it was. I was in the army at the time at a desolate posting in Brecon South Wales. Elvis was about all we had to entertain us then. I remember it well.

Just imagine....

Elvis and sheep & nothing else

" A wool-a-bless my soul, what's wrong with me............." Etc:

Originally Posted by blackdog-mick

Just imagine....

Elvis and sheep & nothing else

" A wool-a-bless my soul, what's wrong with me............." Etc:

Sadly Mick wellington boots were not army issue so the sheep were useless !! S'pose we could have gone on a "ram raid" though !!

Originally Posted by Nick2

Spot on Ken! 1956 it was. I was in the army at the time at a desolate posting in Brecon South Wales. Elvis was about all we had to entertain us then. I remember it well.

that must have been about the time that those yanks that weren't at Burtonwood were in Norfolk looking for them broads.

I remember Tommys very well. He would sell you 5 Woodbines in a paper cone. He was quite a character.

bounced!

Originally Posted by pedoja

As far as I know Ethel (the purple Lady) never hid her face.... although she was usually looking at the floor there was not attempt to hide.

I believe she had a particularly unpleasant incident in her life when she was young, which affected her for the rest of her life.

She did have a dog at one time, however after the dog died Ethel dragged the empty lead around for years.

There have probably been more threads on the internet about the Purple Lady and other characters than anything else.

Ethel Geale (Jeel?) lived in Tithebarn Road for a while which was around the corner from where I lived as a kid. I remember her well. She had a little black dog which always had a purple or pink ribbon round it's neck. Ethel wore the same gear, a red purple crushed velvet coat and matching purple accoutrements. she wasn't that old, but yes, something bad had happened to her regarding her family or something to do with a baby. I used to know what it was but this is going back some 40 years ago, and I cannot recall exact details.

This thread, and so many others like it, is a fantastic source and store of tales and anecdotes that would be lost forever without this forum. Long may it continue.

Let us hope that long after we are gone people still relate to stories about us too. There is too little communication these days and if electronic media has its uses then I for one hope that this is one of the better ones.

Long may the stories continue to be told....
M.

Anyone remember a guy in the town..drank in the Welly/Coronation..always had a greyhound with him usually with a rossette..the guy usually had a brown overcoat on..one of those people who you just pass by but somehow it stays with you?..must have been around the mid 1970s.

Anyone remember an elderly chap called Tom or "Old Tom" who used to live down Byrom Street and would walk to Bispham with his walking stick whistling little tunes constantly.

I would hear his whistling from my parents house down Wennington and knock on the window and wave to him.

Really nice fellow, always wonder what happened to him.

Originally Posted by Untitled 8

Anyone remember an elderly chap called Tom or "Old Tom" who used to live down Byrom Street and would walk to Bispham with his walking stick whistling little tunes constantly.

I would hear his whistling from my parents house down Wennington and knock on the window and wave to him.

Really nice fellow, always wonder what happened to him.

Was he blind?

Originally Posted by Felix2

Was he blind?

Not fully blind, but maybe a tad

Anyone remember the guy who used to ride a big threewheeler bike down lord st, In the early 70s who was very small but had a massive head, And allways had a blue pin stripe suit on, and very thin white hair.

What about the chap in the 80's/90's who used to have all sorts of stuff festooned on his bike with handwritten messages about smoking. He used to shout about what I think were anti smoking slogans.

He cycled everywhere and could often be seen in other towns too. Looked a little like a thinner Zak Dingle from Emmerdale!

Originally Posted by njam52

Anyone remember the guy who used to ride a big threewheeler bike down lord st, In the early 70s who was very small but had a massive head, And allways had a blue pin stripe suit on, and very thin white hair.

Can remember his name was Howard. Despite his disability he had been to University and was quite a gent as I remember. Believe he lived in the vicinity of Hesketh Park.

Originally Posted by BOING2

What about the chap in the 80's/90's who used to have all sorts of stuff festooned on his bike with handwritten messages about smoking. He used to shout about what I think were anti smoking slogans.

He cycled everywhere and could often be seen in other towns too. Looked a little like a thinner Zak Dingle from Emmerdale!

I suspect that he is no longer with us. Remember seeing him on numerous occasions pedalling along the A580. No one ever knew where he operated from but he did have different bikes.


Anyone remember the strange lady who rode a bike in a most peculiar fashion and looked a bit like the Grim Reaper?
Used to see her round Birkdale.

Yes i remember the lady on the old bike, she used to ride around hillside on it with her coat on back to front how on earth she ever fastened those buttons up i will never know, she allso wore ripped stockings that were hanging off her legs to, she lived in the bungalow to the right of the rugby ground on waterloo rd her husband was a solicitor i went there one day to buy the old rover car thay had parked at the side of the bungalow
it had been there years and she would only communicate by passing notes though the letterbox ( very strange )

Originally Posted by BOING2

What about the chap in the 80's/90's who used to have all sorts of stuff festooned on his bike with handwritten messages about smoking. He used to shout about what I think were anti smoking slogans.

He cycled everywhere and could often be seen in other towns too. Looked a little like a thinner Zak Dingle from Emmerdale!

I knew him as Nosmo King.

He disappeared suddenly,so I can only assume that he died.

Originally Posted by Barrie

Does anyone remember Bob Marshall ? He had an ice cream business in Blowick in the 50s He and his wife Annie used to have tricycles with large boxes on the front "stop me and buy one" style. They made great soft ice cream and penny lollies.
I used to help Annie by pushing her trike up the bank at Peel Street bridge, she would reward me with a broken lolly.

I also remember "Bathy" He was from High Park and rode around in a lever operated invalid chair (or bath chair hence the name Bathy) Us kids were terrified of him and he used to chase us along the pavement at high speed.

I also remember Bob! and of course Annie, I lived in he next street Larch St and along with a number of other kids I used to mainly on a saturday morning take his ice cream trycicle ( pushing and taking it in turns to ride! ) up Hart st, up St Lukes bridge, along Virginia st to the Palatine Dairys and pick up a huge block of ice wrap it in sacks and rush like mad back to Poplar st before it melted!! but we were luckier we had to take our basins back to Bobs later and got a basin full!!
And another ice cream man lived opposite to us in Larch st, Reg Townson!

Does anyone remember "Coggy" Blundell? (you didn't dare call him that to his face!!) he had a kind of scrap yard behind the Blowick Hotel, now the Thatch and Thistle, full of all sorts of stuff he dealt in, but what a great heart he had!. As kids if we wanted to make a
trolley, and needed plank, box and wheels, usually old pram wheels, he used to tell us to collect all the old comics and when we got back it was usually built!! for us!! and every sunday he visited the childrens wards with the comics!!
Two of things people remembered him for was he always wore white gym shoes, always newly whitened with pipe clay, and he usually sat on the bottom deck of a bus or tram next to where the conductor stood and rang the bell on the number 5 Blowick bus!!
I remember a lot of stories about his "sporting" prowess!! if anyone is interested!!
Mike

Originally Posted by rekab

Does anyone remember "Coggy" Blundell? (you didn't dare call him that to his face!!) he had a kind of scrap yard behind the Blowick Hotel, now the Thatch and Thistle, full of all sorts of stuff he dealt in, but what a great heart he had!. As kids if we wanted to make a
trolley, and needed plank, box and wheels, usually old pram wheels, he used to tell us to collect all the old comics and when we got back it was usually built!! for us!! and every sunday he visited the childrens wards with the comics!!
Two of things people remembered him for was he always wore white gym , always newly whitened with pipe clay, and he usually sat on the bottom deck of a bus or tram next to where the conductor stood and rang the bell on the number 5 Blowick bus!!

I remember a lot of stories about his "sporting" prowess!! if anyone is interested!!
Mike

Yes.....I remember Coggie......I was always a bit scared of him......he used to have a large old car...Austin I think....it didnt have a self starter and used to crank it over by hand.

so sad, saw her loads.she was in the dentist once, had a very pale face,lots pale foundation on. she did have a little dog for long time. i thought she lived in town by bottom end of wer morrisons use to be.. realy sad..somebodys little girl once apon a time arrr.

Originally Posted by njam52

Anyone remember the guy who used to ride a big threewheeler bike down lord st, In the early 70s who was very small but had a massive head, And allways had a blue pin stripe suit on, and very thin white hair.

I think this chap was called Howard

Originally Posted by rekab

I also remember Bob! and of course Annie, I

Wonder if it's the same ice cream seller (tricycle) who used to wait outside Churchtown Primary School when I was a lad?

Originally Posted by suzie_s59

so sad, saw her loads.she was in the dentist once, had a very pale face,lots pale foundation on. she did have a little dog for long time. i thought she lived in town by bottom end of wer morrisons use to be.. realy sad..somebodys little girl once apon a time arrr.

I used to work in Tulketh Street and saw this lady (I always assumed she was quite young) quite regularly in the town centre.