just to say,previous message all deleted?? i,m in melbourne for hospital appointments back to gold coast soon went to a movie today called dunkirk. i remember it mentioned ann and pats father was there. they were brave people and to be greatly admired interesting movie tom

Tom
I have started now to copy all messages before I send in case that happens to me
donald

Tom, so glad to hear from you a gain. Where have you been? We all seem to be kept busy with hospital appointments these days. I intend going to see the film Dunkirk for the simple reason, as you say, that my father fought there. It's really only of relatively recent years that I realise what he and the other soldiers came through. Must have been hell for them. I do remember him telling about everyone running towards the boats. They had no ammunition left but my father held on to his gun anyhow. He carried out his orders to the letter, that was his type and that's why he loved the army.. The boat he was to board was torpedoed. He was actually on the last boat leaving Dunkirk. We never appreciated how brave a man he was. I have his photographs from the army framed and hanging in my hall, beside his medals. God bless them all.

Yesterday I took myself to the cinema in Lisburn to see the film Dunkirk. It was just as my father described - panic, fear and hopelessness everywhere. Just imagine thousands upon thousands of troops exposed on a beacch with no shelter of any description. Enemy planes bombing all around - they were just sitting ducks. I shed a wee tear or two during the film thinking of my father actually experiencing the horror, but surviving. Good film

Hi Ann,

Now you know the extent of what your Dad went through. 'Bless em all"

Beano

ann,
thank you for your reply.i found out a few months ago i have myeloma and have been a few times in hospital, both in gold coast and here in melbourne for brief periods now by choice an out patient.hate in hospitals but people are nice, i,m not dwelling on illness, still out and about, socializing, out for dinners, visiting, life as normal, don't even talk about it. so have been quite busy. nice to hear you have appreciated your dad so much. my dad wasn't a t dunkirk but my brother has his medals in a sort of picture frame in the hall. he was all there in the war
good luck to you

Ann, Whereabouts is the cinema in Lisburn?, I didn't know they had replaced the old Picture House with another cinema?? Mauri

Hi Tom,

I am sorry to hear about your illness, we will be praying for you. We hope you can get the best medical care available, keep your chin up old friend.

Beano

Tom. I too wish you all the best with your medical problems, know what its like as I too have been shuffling between hospital and doctors for a few weeks now,but its all for the best I hope. Take Care. Mauri

Tom, sorry to hear about your illness, but I'm glad you are carrying on as usual. You have the right attitude and I think that's important for physical and mental health. You're attending the specialists and doing everything that's required, so I'm sure you'll do well. All my best wishes and Dominic's too. Take care.

Mauri, I couldn't begin to tell you of all the changes in Lisburn. I don't think you'd recognize it as the wee market town you may remember. I was just saying the other day, as we passed ANOTHER new development, that I hardly recognise the old roads myself any more.

Lisburn had a huge leisure complex which was built many years ago. It's situated where the old 9-hole Lisburn Golf course was. Amongst other things, it has a multi-screen cinema. The old Picture House you remember was in Market Square. I remember it also, both the pit, the stalls and later the balcony.

Ann

when herself and I were courting we sometimes went to Lurgan Cinema, we preferred it because there were double seats in the back row of the stalls for courting couples. In the darkness we stole kisses, what a sinful population we were then. Another sinful place was the Parocial Hall Glenavy on Sunday nights where dances were held. Herself sat upon my knee as there were no free seating and the Parish Priest Father Kerr, I think his nickname was "Patch", who supervised the morals of us young people who attended then made a movement with his hand that she was to get up from my knee. Before being moved to Glenavy he was principle of St Malacays College Belfast and was transferred there

donald

donald,
another line in rudyard kiplings poem is
it's tommy this and tommy that, and throw him out the brute
but it,s come in mr atkings when the guns begin to shoot/ nothing ever changes tom

Hi Donald, You really showed a girl a good time, did you have a car then to travel from Hilden to Lurgan via Maralin (Spelling Dodgy) then back to Heaney's fish emporium for fish and chips after a bit of a wrestle in the back seat ,Brillcrem & Old Spice !the age of innocence, we was poor and just had to contend ourselves with healthy walks up the side of Theipval Barracks? Was it the Dummies Lane they called it then off Duncan's road there wasn't a priest to be seen but the girls seem to enjoy themselves as on the way home there were a couple of orchards were we collect fruit which we always shared with them,( Your 5 a day)today I couldn't even get the leg up the tree, with hindsight it was the best of times we was poor but happy Regards Ted

Ted
I bought my first car, a Riley 1948 around 1963 when I was 18, the £50 was saved by paying into Mackies saving scheme £1 weekly. Later in 1964 we got engaged , the ring being bought in Dublin for £18 which I was awarded by Mackies for passing my exams in night Tech Lisburn. Courting places in my early teens were the "Lonies ", "Beetlers" and "Hunters Corner"!
Those were the days my friend!
Memories are made of this!
donald

Donald,A car at 18 fair play to you ! I was still in Elmore's but a car would not have been on my horizon then and a Riley no less ,the nearest I got was driving up and down the yard in a new A40 van when the boss was away ,you must have been some catch then cruising round the town with your arm out the window and us poor mortals were walking up and down the fly side on a Sunday night I can hear some of the mothers saying I're one was left home in a car last night ?and the other one saying "Is she seeing him again?" He's a great catch,God Donald they were great memories looking back they didn't last long enough,If only,Regards Ted
PS I think this conversation is under the wrong heading,

Ted
wouldn´t it be great to be able to turn back the clock? The years between 14 and 21 decide what you will achieve in later years.I used to laugh secretly at my father and teachers, such as Mr Woodende, Guest Semple and others who tried to convince us how important an education was. Getting our hands on eightpence for 5 Woodbine or a seat in the pit in the Picture House and a walk on the "flyside" on Sundays were more interesting and important.
donald

When we were courting, we walked the roads too. We must have kept very fit because we walked for miles on warm, summer evenings. Places we walked were the Antrim Road, Old Hillsborough Road, over the line of course, the Hillhall Road, everywhere and anywhere. We were engaged on my 18th birthday and my ring cost £26.50 - that was all we could afford, but I'm still wearing it. We saved up for 2 years before getting married. We got our first car in 1965 and it was a Morris 8 (bullnose) Pat and I were expecting at the same time and I remember both of us were like 2 fat ladies, but nevertheless the wee Morris 8 took us to Omeath and back. Dominic drove of course as neither of us could drive at that time. Simple pleasures and happy times, even though we had no money to spare. We were young and healthy and easily pleased.

Ted

not all memories from younger years are good unfortunatly, when herself and I quit seeing each other for a few months I met a girl from the Lowroad whom I started going out with. She once told me that she was at home waiting for me looking out of the window and when I arrived outside she said to her father, "Donalds arrived". He answered " Away you go, maybe he´ll take you to Chapel with him"!My family also interfered because of religion saying Cathoilcs should only marry Catholics. Despite both of us being very fond of one another different religons was the reason we parted as it was frowned upon by everyone. I should know, myself being the product of a mixed marriage. Herself and I met again in Portadown dance hall shortly afterwards, stayed together and married in 1965. Last time we met was the end of the 60s in Lisburn, I was standing outside Woolworths with my 2 kids in the pram and she arrived also with her child in a pram, we exchanged a few words and never met again.

donald

Donald

Isn't life odd. When I was 17 my boyfriend left me suddenly, and as he was in the RAF I only saw him once again when I think he was with another girl. I was heartbroken. I could hardly believe my eyes when I had an email from him a while back! He had been trying to trace me for years. It left me reeling!

Liz
Some things and people we never forget, it could be asociated with a longing to return to our youth! I have been happily married for 52 years, a better wife and mother for my kids I could not have wished. Who said "Bring back the good old days"?
donald

Liz, that's a lovely surprise. Will you get in touch? Imagine after all those years he hadn't forgotten you. I thought these things only happened in films.

Donald, there were also double seats in the Regent Cinema in Royal Ave Belfast.!!!!

Ann
I best remember the Ritz where we queued for hours to get in, also across from it the Mayfair comes to mind, later re-named the News and Cartoon cinema, It showed dirty films and the clergy forbid us to go there as our immortal souls would have been endangered.
donald

Donald, do you remember the name of the film in the Ritz when you queued for hours? When I was very pregnant with our first child, we queued outside the Majestic Cinema on the Lisburn Road for a long, uncomfortable time (for me). The film was Gone with the Wind. When we eventually got into the cinema, there were no seats left and we (and other)had to sit on the steps alongside the seats. It was a long film with an interval. It's wonderful what you could do when you were young. My late aunt Annie told me that when Oklahoma was being shown in the Picture House in Lisburn, all the girls who worked in the Netting Dept in Hilden Mill, rushed up to the cinema to see the film. I'm sure your aunts Nellie and Kathleen would have been there too.

Ann
I mentioned it here years ago, I still remember about 65 years ago our aunts taking us to the Majestic or Regal to see "Annie get your gun"! Your brother Joseph, Will Thompson, myself and others. We met at the Monument and went on the train to Balmoral station, walked the rest and on the way home stopping at a chip shop. Wern´t you and Liz also there? Doris Day sang " I can´t get a man with a gun"!
donald

Donald I probably was there, I have memories of some films in that crowd but can't remember which.

Morning Donald,I read your reference to The Mayfair Cinema and almost laughed out loud as I remembered in my teens there was about 5 of us went in to see what then would have been described as a dirty picture (Cloghermerle) spelling doubtful ?anyhow its a well known French novel about a village a French Parish priest and a communist Lord Mayor ,the picture had sub-titles and every time the audience laughed the the mate beside me asked "What did they say" this went on all through the film,Then the penny dropped!he was illiterate and to this day I still hear him what did he say,what did he say,and the best about it was there was no dirty bits in it,I am sure the book can still be bought on Amazon,The innocence of youth,Regards Ted

Ted,
it was rumoured that some Clergy put their immortal souls in danger by covering their collars with a scarf and going there to view the films to see if they were acceptable for us. What sinners we were then.
donald