Category: That Reminds Me . . .

ON September 13, 1944, Captain George Wordingham Scarf of the Royal Artillery was on manoeuvres in a Jeep near Cattolica, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, when he was killed by a … Continue readingA war grave in Italy

WHEN Burnley won the League Championship in 1960, it was largely thanks to their brilliant inside-forward Jimmy McIlroy. The Northern Ireland international appeared almost 500 times for the Clarets and … Continue readingKing James the First of Burnley

ON the way home from Bury Market the other day we found ourselves behind this van, bearing the legend LightWeight Roofing Solutions Ltd. Which is just what you want in … Continue readingWhat’s in a name?

WITH cats much in the news at the moment (what on earth possessed the brother to put Kurt Zouma’s drop-kicking activities on the internet?), I cannot help but recall an … Continue readingThe cat down the khazi

ONE Sunday evening almost half a century ago, my parents returned home with an extra passenger in the car – a tiny puppy. While out for a drive they had … Continue readingMy dog Kevin

I READ a few days ago that hour-long episodes of Coronation Street are to be broadcast three times a week as part of an ITV assault on the BBC’s EastEnders viewing figures. Heaven knows … Continue readingThe lonesome death of Martha Longhurst

MENTION the name Bernard Manning these days, particularly to those of the Leftie persuasion, and the response will be: ‘Vile old racist homophobe’. Yet while he did tell racial jokes … Continue readingIn defence of Bernard Manning

WHEN Robert Maxwell bought the Mirror in 1984, one of the first tasks he set himself was to make sure that Keith Waterhouse stayed with the paper since, for many readers, his … Continue readingAn afternoon with Keith Waterhouse

FROM the day I started infants’ school at the age of five, my mother insisted that I come home every day for lunch. Perhaps influenced by her own experience as … Continue readingSchool meals, yum!

IT was in early January 48 years ago that I arrived in Newcastle upon Tyne to begin a school-leavers’ course at the Thomson Regional Newspapers training centre. The office was … Continue readingThe wrestling vicar