[Devongone]

Walton always was ...... and the bigger it grows the worse, but it has the great memory of one of our cricketers chasing a ball so enthusiastically he went head first into the dam. Better still when he climbed out he was covered in long strands of pond weed. At low moments I could always think of that.

Old Tupton looks nice now.

I've seen a lovely cottage new on the market in Matlock Bath. Am I going to try?

Does Brookfield School still have the huge playing fields it had when I was there ....... back when the Grammar School turned into a Chesterfield School and went to Brookside? It ought to be popular if only for access to sport. At that time the nearest "good" schools were Staveley Netherthorpe and Tupton Hall, St Mary's was tiny secondary modern and junior school, Newbold Green was punishment for failing the eleven plus, Violet Markham was for girls who liked sex more than reading and St Helena was our equivalent as a girls' grammar school. It was a frighteningly elitist system, but we did have lots of good teachers (not too many of whom were budding sadists) and academically and sportswise we could compete with any school of our size anywhere!