Canny lass

Singing happy Birthday as i write this! That must be one helluva party you have on the 18th Dec every year!

Does this mean we will be hearing you on the airwaves soon?

Dear God, I'm very afraid! The 21st December I'm planning a big party to celebrate being/surviving 25 years on the other side of the North Sea. If your planning any kind of big bang could you save it until midnight ... just to make the firework display a bit more exciting and keep the costs down. My old man thinks this Doomsday thing has all gone a bit too far. He says the date is right but the year is obviously wrong as he experienced Doomsday 21 December 1987. I wonder what he means by that?

Butter and sugar are a must!! Speaking of sandwich fillings, did anybody else have jam with everything? My dad took sandwhiches to work at Netherton Colliery. No matter what the filling, he put a layer of jam on it. he said it was too dry to eat otherwise. To this day my favourite sandwhich filling is fried pork sausage with Robertsons thick cut orange marmalade. Cheddar cheese and strawberry jam comes a close second!

Better late than never (I've had a trying day)! Happy birthday to you, Happy bbirthday to you, Happy birthday dear Keith, Happy birthday to you. (Sung to the tune of "Happy birthday to you") Hope it was a goodun and long may your batter-brush batter..

"The Lard Information Council". How much can a man, let alone a whole council, say about lard?

We've got 'Table 25' in the making. Filmed entirely in and around Front Street. Merc and Keith are just putting the final touches to the manuscript.

Beef for me! And didn't you just love the 'brown bits' that got caught up in the dripping and that lovely layer of jelly that collected under the dripping when it got cold.

I'm addicted!!

These are driving me bonkers!!!!!

Nancy Matt Damon - mother Frank Sinatra - daughter Sarah Miles - was in a film with Nancy Travis. (Bit of a long shot!)

Sorry Boss! read the question wrong!

He says: it depends what the problem is . If it's the shorts gliding downwards because of the weight of the water then a bit of good old fashioned, British knicker elastic should do the trick. If it's the ramp structure then he'll need a bit more time to think about it.

Thoroughly Modern Millie - Julie Andrews? (3rd photo from left)

My old man sends a great big thank you for these pics! When I met him he worked for a company called Navire,who had a base in Blyth, and he visited Blyth quite regularly. The pics reminded him of his early days in the shipyards in Gothenburg and he said he could smell the steel! He is, or was, a design engineer - not so much in ships themselves but in the equipment used for handling passengers and cargo. If you've ever taken your car on a ferry there's a good chance that he designed the ramps and hoistable decks. He was also responsible for the system of stacking containers on ferries

I'm amazed to learn that Clive was only 40! Good make-up indeed and the acting ought to get an award! Thanks for the Telegraph link Threegee.That's a real insight into the life of Arnold Ridley. I had no idea.

I take it we'll be waiting a while for the next quiz then - if your off to the islands with the hoochie coochie girls that is? Will you be back for Christmas?

He really was a star! I loved Dad's Army. Those characters complemented each other perfectly. Cive's catch-phrase "they don't like it up'em, the fuzzy wuzzies" caught on everywhere. How old was he? I think he was a good age way back then.

Yes folks, I'm back1 (at last). I've not been able to access the site for a few weeks but somebody's worked a miracle. My word you have been busy. There's an awful lot to catch up on.

Seems like the girls, and the odd bloke I know, are getting in on the act as well. What I want to know is why men get to grow a bit of extra hair when its cold and we poor women ..... http://www.fanuary.com/

Thank you guys!! There's plenty there to get my teeth into and from the quick perusal I've just done, there seem to be some really good sites for such information. Myself, I haven't been able to find much on the Internet so I'm really grateful for the help.

or James Bond?

I can remember the schoolboard man as well Keith but as far as I know he just came to the school, looked at the register and knocked on doors. I'm more interested in this more intense activity which Keith (the otherin) describes above " phonecall, e-mail , letter, summons, fine, then if you still don't get them to school, Jail." At some point in time a decision must have been made to take these measures, probably at government level, and if that's the case the method is likely to have been evaluated at some time - unless it's very recent. It's this evaluation I'm interested in. Is the system working? Anybody know if the amount of truancy has been reduced?

Any idea how long the truant officer has had this type of roll Keith? Is it something relatively new? Have there been any reports (government, newspapers, TV etc.) on how successfull the system is or otherwise. Anybody know what the children think about this system?

Thanks for the response. I totally agree with you both, Keith and Malcolm. Academic achievement isn't everything. They seem to have an odd idea here about reporting the amount of absence in school reports. It's not allowed here but there is a growing contingencyof people who are pressing the government for this to be allowed. The reason it's not allowed is because it's seen as "a form of punishment for the child" - yes, those are the very words being used! - and not as a means of informing parents who may be unaware of the situation. I myself can see several positive aspects to recording absence. Firstly it gives a background against which to judge a child' achievements. If a child does really badly at school It may be because they have been absent for half the term because of illness and that should be taken into account. Equally a child can do extremely well despite having been absent for half the term because of ill health and that shouldn't be overlooked either. Secondly, I think it's a good thing for prospective employers to know how the attendance rate has been. Thirdly, I think it's good for the child to have some concrete figures so that he/she is made aware of the size of the problem. I'm interested in knowing what effects this system of fines in Britain is having - if any. Can anybody point me in the direction of any articles, information etc. on this?