Barney, I'm sure you know that Hugh McGrogan has Alzheimer's. It seemed to develop very quickly and I think he is now in care, but am not absolutely sure.

Hi Ted, I remember the parris buns in Livingstone's also their ice cream. You were lucky at the Boys School having two shops like that so close, at the Central we only had the service station facing the school which only had limited supply of candy.
Hazel was a really nice girt, I believe she married and moved south,and if I remember correctly I heard she had passed away some time ago. Best Wishe. Mauri

Ann
On second reading of your posting about your GP, I see that HE is not paranoid. Hope he doesn't easily take offence.

At the corner of Millview /Chapel Hill Nipsy McGrath had a shop also,we used to spend time in it yarning about gambling dogs horses

Barney, Its a long time ago now but to me that shop at Millview and Chapel Hill always looked empty,did they do much business. Mauri

Not a big lot Mauri more or less just a bit of banter and chat Dickie Dodds who lived just on the other corner of Millview from Nipsies was the local rapper upper in the mornings,i am sure you would have known him
people who lived in Millview then were the Coburns ,Grahams,McCaughertys ,old Billy Lappin,the Smiths you would have known the father of this family Billy he got (pro,)for a nickname he worked in the picture house, Cordeners, Woods,and Kennedys,there was one other family who i cannot now recall

Barney,, Thanks for that, I think I remember Dickie Dowds and Billy Lappin don't forget we are going back well over sixty years for me anyway. Oh did you know the Laverys across the street???. Mauri

YES I KNEW THE LAVERYS IN CHAPEL HILL BILLY, HARRY, KATHLEEN AND CARMEL, PATRICIA,THEN THERE WAS PADDY LAVERY FURTHER UP CHAPEL HILL ALL GONE NOW AS FAR AS I KNOW

Barney, Mark Lavery was a friedn of my Uncle as both were in the RAF together. Mauri

Yes Mauri i do remember Mark Lavery back then in his air force uniform he probably was Paddy Lavery,s son other sons of Paddy was Micheal and Patrick.during the times of the air raids when we would have took to the fields when the sirens sounded the alarm,looking out from the our back bedroom window you could see the flashes of bombings of belfast in the skies,there was air raid shelters in Pump Lane and Antrim Street and other places back then which you will remember better than me i think as i was born in 1935

Barney, You are only five years younger than me and yes I remember the Air Raid shelters all over the town. We had a couple behind Lismara Terrace amd another couple at the corner of the Longstone and Tonagah Park, people used them to store their junk and they were also used on Sundays for pontoon schoos when it was wet.

Did you know the Fletchers who lived facing the Golf Club,Cyrill etc and the other Fletchers who lived up beside Collins shop, Bobbie was in the Marines during the war and then was in Belfast Harour Police after the war, Eric drove the Lagan Valley Hospital ambulance, Thompsie was the golfer but also drove a van for one of the biscuit companies and Billy used to prop up the bar at the Robin Nest. Mauri

Yes maurie i knew all the Fletchers Mervyn/ Cecil/ Sammy/ Kenny
Thomson Fletcher also he caddied when i was doing that,and turned out a fair golfer to as well he did,I think Eric was youngest of them, an elder brother also drove the ambulance cannot recall his name at all now,
I do not know if those 2 Fletcher families were related,another family who lived in Mill View who i forgot about were the Duffys,Billy was the father of them better know as (Yellow)due i think to him not going up to head the ball,but they were the healthiest family you could meet at that time

Barney, Bobbie was the eldest Fletcher of the family beside Collins shop. Eric was the amubulance driver Maurice now that I recall was the youngest and there was also a daughter Olive. The Fathers of both families were brothers if I remember correctly. Mauri

Mauri i think that Fletcher family finished up liveing in Tonagh estate, The Green was last place they were liveing in as far as i can recall

Yes Barney, The house they lived in along with a couple more were demolished for the extension of the Niagra restaurant as I am sure you sre well aware off. Next house down belonged to Billy Wills the taxi cab owner who has probably passed on a long time ago. Mauri

Barney, Sorry made a mistake, the next house down belonged to the Shields family who had a shoe repair shop in Gregg Sreet, there were two boys and a girl in the family, Jim was a bus conductor who started his own Photography studio and Billy who joined the Ennisillen Fusiliers then settled in England. Yvonne the daughter never married as far as I know.
Billy Will's house was the next one after the Shields. Mauri

Hi Maurie Regarding Jimmy Shields,Many's a time I stood in his shop/shed in Gregg Street as my Father use to get his shoes made and repaired in his establishment, he would have been well known as my Grandparents just lived a few doors up on the opposite side, that wasn't yesterday, Regards Ted

Hi Ted, It sure is a small world??? and you are right it was not yesterday?? All the Best Mauri

Lookiing forward to seeing a TV show tomorrow night about the Esso oil tanker "Exon Valdez" which went aground some twenty five years ago while leaving a port in Alaska, what will be real interesting is the former Captain is going to take part he got fired after the incident as an investigation revealed that he was in his cabin after turning the watch over to the inexperienced 3rd Officer in a highly congested and tricky shipping channel
I know most of you will probably find this boring but for an ex seaman like myself who served on numerous oil tankers I wouldnt miss it for the world.
Exon is the American prefix name for Esso tankers as opposed to the British "Esso" which prefix's British flagged Esso ships Esso London,Esso Westminster,
Esso Brixham to name the ones I served on. Whue there were obviously some decent Captains there were also some real *******s who were lucky they didn't dissapear overboard during the voyage amd Icould tell a few stories about some of them.?? Mauri

Hi boys and girls!
I've returned to this thread, as it has so many views.
I didn't know Gerald Murray well. I have just received a message from the Murray family site, inviting me to send an e-card for his 78th birthday next month. If genuine, I am very pleased that the best runner in Lisburn Boys School is still alive. I am not 'into' birthday cards, e or otherwise, but Gerald, if you are still around, WELL DONE for getting this far, and for your life achievements. I even remember you as a good gymmnast.

Barney: I've always been an 'observer'. I remember Gerald, along with the Skelton brothers, perform remarkable feats on the 'horse' and the parallel bars,and running for glory at the school sports. (I could barely see over the horse, and yes, they DID make it smaller for me) :-)

On Wednesday a guy came and picked my computer up to take it away for servicing. The next day they phoned me to tell what was wrong and what it would cost to repair. I gave them the OK and on Saturday they phoned me to say it was ready to be picked up. When I enquired as to why they couldn't deliver and set up as promised the answer was because it is a Holiday week end (Thanksgiving) they were short handed so I picked it up myself on my way to dinner.

Was just wondering what the computer servicing is like in the various places that you all live, I know where we live there is intense competition from the different computer companies for business. Next year I think I will buy a new one and expect to have a lot of fun negotiating a price, never pay the first price quoted??
Mauri

Mauri
I'm fortunate in that I get my computers from my sons, and that if they had problems - the computers - there's a fair chance that they - my sons - could mend them, or would know a man who could.I think I have hackers or viruses, or both, but I have nothing to hide from hackers, and the viruses don't stop me writing rubbish.
While writing now, I am also watching a brilliant movie about drug smuggler Howard Marks.
Mauri, your stories are almost as interesting as his.

Mauri, I bought this new laptop from PC World in Lisburn. I must say their after-sales service is first class. Any time I have a problem I just take the computer to them and they fix it immediately. Most of the problems are trivial things but even so. They check the computer for viruses and scams, clear up all the junk for me and set any types of programmes I ask. AND they have yet to charge me. Probably think, "Silly old fool".

Dabbler, Who was Howard Marks?? I know you said drug smuggler but where?, One night in Hong Kong I was sitting in a Hotel bar along with a friend both of us in uniform. We were approached by two Chinese guys who offered to buy us drinks which we refused and they then asked us if we would take some packages back to Australia for them and again we declined despite the offer of a large sum of money. To this day I believe they were part of a drug smuggling operation which was uncovered in Australia several months later. Another time on a BP Tanker we arrived in Belfast for dry docking after over six months running between the Persian Gulf, India and East Africa. When the Custom Officers searched the ship in Belfast they found a lot of drug package's in the Engine Room, we were prohibited from leaving the ship untill another bus load of custom officers arrived and just about tore the ship apart looking for more drugs untill finally we got the OK to go and I and another shipmate called a cab and headed for Lisburn. Mauri

Jaysus, Barney, the mind boggles at you jumping the horse at full speed without the springboard. Could you do it, now, eh?

Barney, I couldn't do that, but I DID exaggerate my inefficiency for a laugh.
Mauri, Howard Marks is just about the most famous drug smuggler in British history. A film was made of his biography. Mr Nice, it was called. A Welshman who was, through drugs, involved with the IRA, his life story is fantastic. If not easily shocked, I highly recommend it.
Ann, you and Pat - definitely not.