Category: That Reminds Me . . .

IT WAS a hot Greek night in mid-July and my friend Bob decided after a surfeit of ouzo that he fancied a swim. He climbed on to a railing and … Continue readingBob’s midnight swim

A FRIDAY evening tradition when I worked in Blackburn in the 1970s was a crawl around a group of eight or nine run-down town-centre pubs known collectively as the Barbary … Continue readingDanger on the Barbary Coast

BY far the most larger-than-life character I ever worked with was Fred Shawcross – newspaper sub-editor, nightclub drummer, racing tipster and greyhound breeder. When I arrived on the subs’ desk … Continue readingThe legendary Fred Shawcross

THERE is a roadside plaque in North Yorkshire which never fails to bring tears to my eyes and a shiver to my spine. It is installed at the top of The Bank … Continue readingHeroes of the storm

DESPITE its being ridiculed in a Monty Python sketch (here’s a Lego version) which led to its adoption as a term for junk mail, I have always been inordinately fond of … Continue readingIn praise of Spam

A COUPLE of months ago I described how, in October 1990, Margaret and I tried to be married in Venice but were foiled by red tape. Returning to Essex, we resolved not … Continue readingWedding night in Brighton

A FEW years ago my better half and I found ourselves for some reason on holiday in Mogan, a Toytown-type resort in Gran Canaria, when we got chatting to a … Continue readingWhales, dolphins and timeshare sharks

ALTHOUGH I was lucky to enjoy a mainly blissful childhood, there were incidents which left their scars. They happened at regular four-month intervals in the dental surgery on the end … Continue readingThe demon dentist

FOR the 18.5million TV viewers who stayed up to watch its climax, the World Snooker Championship final of April 1985 provided a drama never to be forgotten. It was between … Continue readingDennis Taylor sees double

THE first black man I can remember meeting face to face was the West Indies cricketer Charlie Griffith. Each team in the Lancashire League had one professional player and the … Continue readingBowled over by Charlie Griffith