Reader Charles Steels of Fairhurst Drive, Walkden, popped into the office with a number of items which he found some years ago after the death of his mother, Ethel Crook.

Celebrated thespian couple Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge were at the Theatre Royal in December, 1941 and radio star Jimmy Clitheroe -- the "Clitheroe Kid" -- was the top name when Red Riding Hood (a feast of fun and magnificence) was staged in December, 1958 with the aid of Dorrie Horne's 16 dinkies.

Those were the days.