Firstly, a bit of feedback to catch up with, this comes from Hilary Hitchings:

"Jeff, your article on The Dragons, Graham Hughes is my cousin living in Stepaside. They played at my 21st birthday party in Freystrop Hall 56 years ago! Love your TRMs."

Thanks Hilary.

Nearly 30 years ago, in one of my early charity books, the late Jackie Adams (née Buck) wrote this piece for me, and it's so suitable for these TRMs.

'Girl Talk.'

"There was Wally's Chip Shop in Pill. Wally was a small man, and he always seemed to be suffering from a cold. His chips were always greasy, and I can see him now, standing over the frying pan, with a fag in his mouth.

"Every time I would run down to buy a threepenny bag, just as I got to the door, Wally would be blowing his nose! Most of the time hunger would make me forget (or ignore) what I'd heard, but I never seemed to eat them all.

"Being a teenager in the early sixties the highlight of the week was the Friday night dance at the Trafalgar, or 'the Traf' as it used to be known. It was my first flirting ground.

"I remember running down to Woolworths after school, to buy a new pink lipstick.

"Then going home and trying to persuade my mother to lend me her new blouse to wear with my old, but faithful flared skirt. The next few hours would be spent in front of the mirror making sure I looked just right.

"The dance would always be packed. The boys with their red tie, mohair jumper and black drainpipe trousers.

"Of course at that time the twist hadn't arrived so we all rock n' rolled. Then at 10.30pm, it was time for the Buddy Holly slow dance, True Love Ways. If you were dancing then, you knew it was with the boy who would be walking you home.

"Then came Saturday mornings, and the girls would meet at Segadelli's, for a coke and a chat. Mrs S. always greeted us with a scowl. I don't think I ever saw her smile in all the time I went there. She was never amused. Whenever we got carried away singing and tapping our feet to the music on the juke box all we got was a 'no stamping feet' bellowed in her Italian accent.

"Having called there we'd move on to our next stop, Jack's Coffee Bar. Jack always had the latest records on his juke box and as you walked in through the door he'd always expect you to order a coke. If you asked him for a frothy coffee, then he too was not amused.

"Summers always seemed to be longer and sunnier in those days. The Rath Pool would open just after Easter and it was here that most of us spent our time throughout the summer.

"Mr Hassall, the pool attendant, was a familiar figure, and always at hand if needed, and there were many great swimmers who used to go there.

"To name just a few there were Ronnie Brown, Gus Betty and Mike Hughes. Mike was a star at the annual swimming gala, and always managed to win the 'Greasy Pole' competition. Of course, he had such big feet he could curl them round the pole and get to the end before the grease took effect!

"Another prominent name in those days was Dolf, the doorman at the Empire Cinema.

"If you met him down street and you had a date arranged for the following Saturday you would always ask him to book you two seats in the back row. Of course you rarely saw much of the picture that was being shown you were too busy 'snogging.'

"Then if you saw Dolf the next day he would always remember to say: "You left your knickers on the back seat last night!" He'd sound so serious when he said it and I never knew whether he'd found knickers or not!

"There were many 'personality' shopkeepers in the town at that time, including Hugh Symmons, the chemist, who was renowned for his check jacket, plus fours and deer stalker. Then there was Ike Williams where you bought your bacon.

"Although not a shopkeeper, I must mention Peter Jacks. He could always be seen walking about the streets and would escort you home. Over the years he must have walked miles just seeing everyone to their door safely. Peter is still a great friend of mine and whenever he comes to Milford he always pops into the shop to see me.

"Other things I remember for different reasons are the snug in the Whetham, Robin Hood's bank, the swing and Mr. Jones the gypsy."

Sadly, Jackie lost her battle with cancer, but her memories will live forever, and I imagine quite a few 'sixties' girls will associate themselves to her recollections.

Here are 3 pics to go with her 'Girl Talk.'

Now for our teasers, last week's (How can you add eight fours together so that the total adds up to 500 ? Answer: 444 + 44 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 500). Brain boxes this week are Cynthia Edwards, Geoffrey Sizer, John Glover, Phil Jones and Elinor Jones. Many thanks to all who had a bash.

If you've got time, try this tricky one: It's 3:35. If the clock is rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise, what time will it show?

That's enough from me, but I'll leave you with this thought: We get too soon old, and too late smart.

Take care, please stay safe.