" ON JUST SUCH A NIGHT AS THIS...."

I have attempted to stimulate the memory cells just sufficiently to recall some of those treasured moments which so easily get replaced but will never be forgotten, inevitably they will involve the mention of the many unforgettable characters with which they were associated. I want to stress immediately that no disrespect is intended to any person most of all to those persons who have >passed away=. On the contrary I am trying to recount jolly times, the days we all >had a laugh >together. For that reason I have tried not to include any one who still drinks here regularly ,you can find amusement with them simply by walking through the door!

First and most fitting, as he was the oldest of my acqaintances in the Wheatsheaf; would have to be the Sunday when Ted Pearman arrived at the door and thrust it open expecting to be >first in =. Imagine his shock when he found the room full of people already drinking! He had n=t realised it was the weekend that the clocks go forward! Only a man with a real sense of humour could have taken the >ribbing= he got over that and still joined in the fun!

In constrast may I mention two more reserved types, men of indubitable experience but moderate temperament, Reg Hall and Bill Jones. I don=t think either ever spoke a word in anger. I recall the day someone asked Bill what his home town was like; the answer was; =It=s a big place man ,why there=s five houses in there!=

Which is easier to park, a boat or a car? The answer can be found in the adventures of Derek >Treacle >Thompson and Maurice Cooper ,the latter I believe is still occasionally sailing not far away .

A simple question can sometimes result in surprise and amusent in a Pub. Take the time when Ray Young went up to the bar and asked, =I think it =s a bit cold in here is n=t it? The answer came back; =Wait five minutes and I=ll come round and supervise running on the spot!

Last but by no means least, we come to the amazing exploits of Mr. Richard Philbin. My favourite ones were the time he fell into a ditch but still came straight to the Pub and wrang out his hat and coat before ordering a pint and sitting calmly down to enjoy it! Secondly his enthralling monologues of Dan McGrew and Sam McGhee, only rivalled in daring by Brendan=s claim that he would drop from thousands of feet up in a=plane and still land precisely on the roof of the Public Bar.