as a youngester i spent a lot of time at my grannies in the low road and got to know lots of people in hilden through my cousins david and dennis connor and having two uncles in victory st and an aunt in eastdown view especially paddy stoops the morrows eddie flynn alan anderson and i think a guy who joined the american army paul lanigan also fred and lawerance rickard who delivered papers and of course tucker orr and tommy roberts often wondered what became of them.
and of course living in the county down knew all the guys like sam potts stevie clark and a few more looking through the posts here different names keep cropping up then i say i remember him what a wonderfull place this is when you can relive your young days thanks to you all and especially jim collins who provides the chance to experience it all

I was born in East Down View and lived there until I was 7 years old. I loved it, especially with Rickard's shop just across the road. By the way, you might be surprised to hear that a house in East Down View is now selling for £365,000, so I couldn't even afford to go back there. Anyway, I know all the people you mention. I used to think Dennis Connor was lovely although he was older than me. He would have gone to Hilden School with some of my brothers.

Maybe Jim should rename this the Lisburn Forum. More Lisburn locals might be encouraged to contribute.

Hi again. I met a man in Tescos yesterday. He used to be my "boss" when I worked in Hilden office. Anyway, I told him about the Lisburn Exiles site and he said he couldn't wait to get home and view it. I don't think an awful lot of people know about the site. It was my sister who told me. I wish I'd known about it in the winter months as it would have put in many a boring day!!

Even in reasonably pleasant weather, like yesterday, after painting the fascia board round the bungalow, and eating lunch and 'tea' in garden, it can be 'fun' to find comments relating to my hometown of a bygone age. Especially as I am the only one remotely interested. My sons are in a 'different world', and would regard this 'hobby' as one of my many ecentricities.

The Connors lived a few doors down from us in Mill St Hilden when I lived there, Davie worked in the Mill in the sixties when I was there, Dennis was a Draughtsman if I remember correctly.
Donald

your right on davie did a bit of jogging in the early days before it was as popular as it is now i heard he contracted menengitis through it dennis was a draughsman i think it was in shorts but i cant remember for sure thats why i love this forum it brings back all the great memories it has been around 40 plus years since iv seem them anyone remember the lockharts of eastdown view also cousins of mine

I like the free narration of county downer. Reminiscent of Joyce. James, that is.

All overworked? Ah well, back I go to Bill Bryson.

Guess where I,m just back from ?.
Dabbler right first time
Donald

Dabbler,
May I ask which Bryson book you are reading?
LR

countydowner,
As my name suggests I was born and bred there.
Went to Hilden school with Denis and then to the Tech.
Denis trained as a toolmaker at Altona and then went to the main factory at Sydenham where he did indeed train and work as a draughstsman.
Paul Lenaghan was quite a character. He played in goal for the famous/infamous Netters and was also a very good gaelic footballer. He was a painter to trade. He had an elder sister, I think called Isobel.
You may have known Robert Hamilton, he lived next but one to Maurice Magee. Unfortunately Robert died a few weeks ago.
Did you bundle sticks in Paddy Stoops's shed?
Regards,
LR

Not me LR Granny would,nt allow it she said that,s how Charlie Docherty lost his eyesight.
like Beano said you cannot always depend on your memory,some of the names i remember but sorry for me not the faces.
Do you know whatever happened to davy?
my Dad also went to Hilden school in around 1920s part time of course the rest of the time he worked always spoke of a teacher but i cant remember his name.
the photograph in this website of a man unloading coal from the lighter at Hilden mill could be my grandad that was his job he lived in a mill house in Leamington
regards
CD

Very sorry to hear about Robert Hamilton, an old neighbour of my aunts in Roseville Gardens. He was a bricklayer like my husband Joe. He had a lovely garden, lots of features, beautifully lit. He was a right nice fella. May he rest in peace.

What about the owl sweets????

Jap Desserts
Tea Cakes
Merry Maids
Raspberry Ruffles (what I wouldn't give for a quarter of Raspberry Ruffles, are they anywhere in the world??? )what about a raspberry bar even???
Birds Nests
A sherbert in a yellow tube
A liquorice pipe..... anybody???
Sweet tabacco
Cigarettes with red tips for children ....no political correctness then, smoking children, teach them in advance eh???, get into your smoking apprenticeship as soon as possible.....
Fondants, all colours and flavours, the ma's favourite
Parma Violets before you went to the pictures with your boyfriend, no gold spot breath spray then.
Love hearts, when you still believed anything you read
Chewing nuts (me granda's favourites)
Black Jacks and fruit salads (false teeth guaranteed)
A block of McGowans toffee, choc or plain??
Penny chews, green checked paper wrapper
Gobstopper
Penny mix up

All of the above stored in big glass jars to be found on high shelves in Blakeys, Mulhollands, Ferris, Millers, McClenaghans, Vaughauns, Montgomerys.
All carefully weighed and placed in white paper bags,
GREAT!!!
I'd love a fish out of Millers but he has probably "just sold the last one"!!!



PS. All you "is this the new Med?? " We are in the West of Ireland, with our Mother. At least if we were in the Med we would be at the Disco, instead we are stuck in front of a laptop at 00.41, Lisburn exiles on the brain!!!!

Countydowner
Paddy Fulterton who lived in the back Row ( Bridge St ) about house Nr 95 next door to Smith unloaded coal from the quay in Hilden mill when I was a boy in the 50s, a small friendly man who wore to work a set of overalls and a cap ( as did most mill workers ). The crane ran along the brick wall at the quay, he had a son Frankie whom I remember also .

We called Sherbet dips kali suckers , do you remember the wee hammer the shopkeepers used to break the toffee?
Later when we we apprentice fitters using too small a hammer to drive a dowel home the journeyman would say " For Ch+++ts sake put down that toffee hammer!"
Donald

LR: That 'History of Nearly Everything', which I have already read, but it is absolutely fascinating, and I will probably read it yet again, if I live long enough.

Pat and Joe, in reply to email query, I meant that your reply was negative in the sense that the person to whom I referred was not known to you.

Everybody else: Yes, I have a quiet, uneventful life, and yes, I do know how 'sad' it is to keep popping in here.

Matter cleared up Dabbler. The reason I could'nt reply was that I had deleted & emptied Trash with the e-mail address. Back to the brain cells again. Pat.