ecuk268

My mum always called it Rumsey. Another way that you can spot a old Romsonian is how the pronounce Braishfield. The "i" is not used so it's Brashfield.

Regarding the pubs: There is a Vine at Ower but there used to a pub of that name half way down Cherville St on the left. The Fleming Arms was at the corner of Station Road and Alma Road. I believe the building is now called Fleming House.

OK Romsonians, These are the pubs that were open when I was a nipper but are no longer with us. The Star The Vine The Angel The Sceptre The Sawyers Arms The Bricklayers Arms The Railway View The Fleming Arms The Crown The Horse & Jockey The Kings Head The Crossed Keys Do you know where they all were? (No cheating by using t'internet) Or are there any that I've missed?

I'm also a Romsonian, although now living in God's chosen city. I can trace my mother's family in Romsey back to the 1850's. I lived there for the first 25 years of my life and, when I was a kid, it was a small market town, with a Thursday livestock market (just behind Bell St). Everyone knew everyone else and most people worked in the town. Now it's mainly a dormitory town and has lost a lot of it's character. Too many newcomers want to change things and the real locals can lose out. This is happening in many "attractive" small towns that are within commuting distance of cities. Demand pushes up property prices forcing local young people to move elsewhere if they want to buy property.

You're stuck in the situation where you need a job to get experience but without experience no one will give you a job. I was in the same situation when I changed career in my early 30's. I did the courses, passed the exams and applied for loads of jobs. Luckily someone who'd been in a similar situation earlier in their career decided to give me a chance and I was OK. Just be persistent. Don't just go for advertised jobs. Many vacancies are not advertised, so do a bit of cold calling, ask around etc and don't be too fussy to start with. Once you've got a bit of experience you can be a bit more choosy.

"Breaking News" on R. Solent at 9.00am

I was at Barton Peveril Grammar in the 62-63 winter and we never lost a single day. It started snowing on Boxing Day '62 and continued on and off until the end of Feb. Me and my mates use to walk up the old canal at Romsey which had frozen. I was amazed at the number of dead birds that had dropped from the trees frozen solid. When the snow finally melted, we had a huge lake on our playing fields which was there till mid May.

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mandel Absorbing book about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's enforcer. If you think that politics these days is a dirty game, the Tudors could eat this lot for breakfast.

His idea of political debate is to hurl insults. Do you think that he's left infant school yet?

Brown will point out that this is no time for an inexperienced politician to take over. Also he'll emphasize Cameron's "posh" background - old Etonian who has stuffed his shadow cabinet full of other old Etonians. He married into a fortune - his wife's worth about £30m. What can he know about the realities of everyday life for plebs like us?

Saw him at about 4.00pm just after Swann was out.

David Pleat cannot pronounce any players names correctly. He was always saying Jim Maggleton instead of Magilton. Can't agree about Stuart Hall, the man's a poet. Barry Davies is the best of the lot. He's very economical and doesn't get hysterical. Motty's past his sell-by date and should gracefully retire.

The club have always been pretty good at this sort of thing. Many years ago a mate's mum was very poorly in Southampton General. She was an avid Saints fan so he wrote to the club to see if they might send her a card. Much to her delight, one morning in walks Danny Wallace with a card and a big bunch of flowers. Made her day.

If you've got kids, you can always get a "call" on your mobile saying that one of them is unwell and you have to go home.

Remember standing behind the Milton Road goal on a sunny afternoon when we put 8 past Coventry who had in their team a very young Stuart Pearce. Hat tricks for Danny Wallace and Steve Moran. Frank Worthington might not have scored many but he created an awful lot of chances for others. I would have loved him to have stayed but Lawrie didn't approve of his activities with the ladies.

The latest Stephen King - Under the Dome. Big book - 850 pages. I've done about 300 pages so far and it's OK.

According the the website of the Southampton store, they do home delivery but they don't specify the cost.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com Excellent site for every aspect of saving money.

There's a bit in todays about a pensioner who's had a bit of trouble with yobs in Lordshill. Apparently, he's lived in his house for 75 years. I seem to remember Lordshill being built in the late sixties.

His contract was until 2012, so he'll presumably get a good payoff. Whoever they get, they haven't got the players to seriously compete in world footy. 25 years ago, every top English team had a Scottish international - Souness, Dalgliesh, McQueen, McAllister etc. Where are the players of that calibre now?

Don't agree about George Best. Yes, he wasted his considerable talent, he was a hopeless alcoholic and he took a liver that could have probably been better used by someone else. But I couldn't help liking him.

Soccerstats.com might be a start.

Used to go there in my mis-spent youth. There used to be an old dear bashing out songs on the piano on Saturday nights.

"Bad Science" by Dr. Ben Goldacre. Comprehensive de-bunking of the homoeopathy and funny-diet industries. He states that Dr Gillian McKeith bought her PHD from some obscure place in the USA. He also got one from the same place for his dead cat.