TALES OF YORk

Welcome to 'Tales of York' - our story corner where we ask our locals and

persons of interest to dip into their life stories and achievements and share

them with us along with some of their favourite anecdotes and tall tales.

REGULAR LIFE STORIES ... BARRY MCTEARE

This article will be a relatively short one because, having only lived in Salisbury for 7 years, I don’t feel entitled to more than a few paragraphs.

My experience of the Duke of York commenced when things were starting to open up again towards the end of the first Covid lockdown. This followed the death of Maureen, my wife of 65 years, when I was understandably feeling a little bereft. The Duke seemed to be the only pub in the area that stocked Gordons gin, and the clincher for me was that there was a chance of a game of cribbage on a Wednesday evening.

Prior to my time in Salisbury, I would play dominoes and cards and have a drink at the

Rose and Crown in St Albans. My interests as a younger man included competitive squash; motorcycling in France; fell-walking and scrambling in the Pennines, the Lake District and Scotland. I always enjoyed family life, particularly in semi-retirement.

In the early fifties, like many of my contemporaries, I did National Service, and I was

in the Royal Signals based at Catterick. After that, it was time for the boring bit of earning a living. Following an apprenticeship at John Lewis in Oxford Street, I spent the next 40 years in the family carpet shop in Finchley, North London. This is where I became a lifelong Arsenal fan.

Maureen and I moved to Salisbury in our declining years to be near family. The thing I

missed most from my previous life was the accessibility to one of my favourite pastimes

– London jazz clubs. The Concorde Club in Eastleigh is helping with this and features

some great bands. I don’t drive anymore, so it is a case of persuading a friendly driver to

take me. Here I am blessed, as many from the Duke of York Sunday quiz scene, where

I’ve been made so welcome, are willing to help.

JANE WALKER – PAINTER

I mostly paint buildings and street scenes in various types of light,but most often at dusk, when I think the light is particularly interesting.

I started out as a wildlife painter, but I have always been interested in architecture, and my paintings mainly focus on urban scenes.

I often get asked to paint people's houses, which I’m happy to do, as it's so close to the kind of paintings I already do.

I occasionally exhibit around Salisbury, and I'm often at the Salisbury Artscene events which take place in the Market Square.

Jane Walker

www.janewalkerartist.co.uk Instagram.janewalkerartist

REGULAR LIFE STORIES ... JAMES MACPHERSON

When James first read in the local CAMRA magazine, Barrel Organ, that the Duke of York had re-opened as a real- ale pub after a period of closure, he went straight down to check it out, as he only lived just up the road. He quickly realized that here was a good ol’ backstreet boozer that he could finally call his ‘local’ – a good choice of well-kept ales and a friendly, welcoming clientele where everyone was happy to chat and share stories – so he claimed a bar stool and has been a regular customer ever since.

James was born in Bramcote, Notts. during the infamous ‘winterspring’ of 1963; the youngest of four siblings, he
attended Bramcote Hills Grammar School and, like his brothers, became a lifelong and long-suffering fan of Notts County FC. He studied zoology and genetics at Edinburgh University before taking a job as a Clinical Scientist at the then Cytogenetics Unit at Salisbury Infirmary (now the Wessex Genomics Laboratory Service at Salisbury District Hospital) in 1989.

During his 34-year career working for the NHS both as a laboratory scientist and as a manager, he helped set up and run a molecular diagnostic service for Fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited learning disability, while also conducting research on this and other human genetic disorders. He has co-authored numerous scientific papers and in 2017 passed the final examination to be admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. James retired in 2023, and is now a registered volunteer at SDH where he promotes nature conservation and sustainability on the NHS estate; his booklet ‘The SDH Nature Guide’ is on sale at the League of Friends shop at the main hospital entrance.

Besides real ale, James’s main interests are natural history, walking, angling and gardening. The turn of the millennium sparked a passion for travel which led him to visit over 40 countries, seeing tigers in Nepal, leopards in South Africa, blue whales in Sri Lanka, orangutans in Borneo and resplendent quetzals in Costa Rica. Although a creature of habit by nature, when it comes to drinking he is happy to play the field, and will try anything from pale ale through best bitter to dark porter depending upon the season and his mood at the time – even, on occasion, the odd lager, cider, bottle of Primitivo or tawny port!

Fittingly, James met his partner, Maggie, at the Duke – though it took some time for romance to blossom, as they habitually sat at opposite ends of the bar! Fortunately their eyes eventually met and fate took its course; they have now been together for six years and typically can be found in the Duke on Thursday evenings, usually with Poppy the miniature dachshund in tow. The Duke is a true locals’ pub where everyone, whether grizzled regulars or casual visitors, can make friends and feel part of the family.

THE RHYTHM BLASTERS AT THE DUKE
review by Duncan McBride

On Saturday 13 July, patrons of the Duke of York pub were treated to an evening of inspired entertainment by The Rhythm Blasters.

Front man, Dave Taylor, gave a lively performance full of gusto and humour, while being ably backed up by Malcolm Wilkinson (lead guitar and vocals), Luke Futcher (bass guitar) and Alex Mundy (drums).

The 2 excellent sets included a variety of songs by Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Junior Wells and others. It was a fantastic night of blues music.

This is The Rhythm Blasters’ 40th year, with various line-ups. Alex Mundy was their original drummer and has recently re-joined the band.

They will be playing at the Duke again on Saturday 26th October. I am looking forward to it already.

MY STORY ... LINDSEY BELLRINGER

I’m very proud of my Cumbrian heritage as I was born in Penrith and spent much of my childhood enjoying the woods, fells and lakes. When the family moved, initially to Lancashire and then to Middlesex, we always went back to Cumbria for holidays, or at least stopped off on our way to Scotland. I am still very fond of the area but don’t miss the weather.

I started nursing in 1968 at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, and later, throughout my career, worked in a variety of other hospitals, including Grimsby, Papworth and Barrow in Furness. My partner and I left Barrow to have a much delayed ‘gap year’. Taking a small tent, we cycled south from Barrow and sailed from Felixstowe to Belgium and then on to France.

When we reached Sancerre, were lucky to be taken on by the Vacheron family and spent our time picking grapes while housed in a beautiful stone cottage with all meals included. It was a joy not to be in a tent and we met some wonderful people.

After leaving Sancerre, we tried to get more work, but living in a tent was getting colder and our money was running out. As winter approached, we moved on to the Chamonix area to try and get work but had no luck, so we returned to Belgium for a comfortable stay with my sister in Brussels before returning to the UK to look for jobs.

My partner had interviews and job offers in various parts of the country but, when we arrived in Salisbury on a cold, wet day we fell in love with the place and, later that year, he started work on the Salisbury Journal and I started work on Radnor ward at Salisbury Infirmary. I thought we would stay about 5 years and then move on, but 40 years later we are still here. Am I now almost a local?

We still enjoyed cycling but I got fed up with always being the last one to the top of hills, so we bought a beautiful Claude Butler tandem from Hayballs, and nicknamed it Jeeves. This made exploring the local villages and pubs much more sociable, with the run to the Cuckoo at Hamptworth becoming a favourite, especially if there was a cricket match on. We also cycled from Salisbury to our wedding in Hitchin, with Jeeves and ourselves suitably dressed for the event causing a lot of interest along the way.

I continued to work at the hospital, transferring to Salisbury District Hospital when we moved from the infirmary site – the only time I left was to complete an Intensive Care Course at St. Georges in Tooting. During my 29 years at the hospital, I worked as a sister on intensive care, surgical high dependency and general surgical wards, in management as a senior nurse and finally in the education department. I witnessed many changes during my years in the NHS, some were improvements, but not all. Salisbury has a very special hospital and though it experiences tough times, like all hospitals, the caring and expertise of all its staff has always impressed me and I’m pleased I was part of that.

I have always enjoyed the outdoors, gardening, cycling, kayaking and walking, especially if there is an interesting pub involved at the end of a trip. Unfortunately I can no longer cycle as I can’t reach the ground having shrunk with age and we do not take the kayak out as much as we used to, so I needed new activities. I’ve always loved cricket and enjoy watching it from village to test level. When the opportunity came along to try women’s soft ball cricket I gave it a go. I loved it but was very conscious of the age difference, being a lot older than most of the players, so I suggested to the coach that we might try and get a mixed team for a slightly older age group going. With the help of the coach, publicity and some Duke of York locals, particularly Duncan for recruiting, a team was formed, and I became chair of Harnham Cricket Club, the Crocs and the Lady Crocs sponsored, thanks to Jonty, by the Duke of York. Although cricket is my favourite sport, I also enjoy walking netball and used to play walking football.

I have been an enthusiastic, productive but not very tidy, allotment holder for many years and have been a committee member of the Allotments & Gardens Association in Salisbury since 2016, currently in my third year as chair. I enjoy volunteering at the Trading Hut, as it is a great place to hear how the growing season is going for everyone. This year we have resurrected the Best Allotment and Scarecrow competitions that used to be run by the City Council. We want to make it a fun event that we hope new and established allotment holders will enjoy.

I enjoy travelling and have been lucky to spend time in Peru, India, Russia, Central Asia and Africa, as well as many European countries. On my travels I have seen some amazing wildlife from big cats, including a rare sighting of a jaguar in Peru, to beautiful butterflies and beetles. I doubt we will do any more long haul trips but the wildlife of this country and Europe still beckons – including the otters of Salisbury which I have yet to see.

You may have noticed pubs feature often when mentioning my hobbies and travel, and I have always enjoyed the small traditional pub with good beer and a collection of interesting characters. Times have changed, and for the better. it is much easier now for a woman to go into a pub and feel comfortable, maybe have a pint and read a newspaper or book. I remember pubs that wouldn’t serve a woman on their own in the bar, and one that when I asked for a pint would only serve a half. I ordered two halves, drank them and never went back.

Salisbury is lucky that it has held on to some of the small independent pubs where people know each other and where you can feel welcome and safe, whether on your own, as a couple or with friends. I hope the days of waiting outside for friends to turn up because you were nervous about going into a pub on your own are gone for women.

I think the Duke is one of these gems - welcoming and with great beer, I am pleased that it is in walking distance and regard it as my local.

LARRY HOUGHTON - The Legend that is Lamb Engineering

Larry Houghton (a Duke of York local) realised early on that he could not work for anyone else, so he decided to set up his own engineering business some 35 years ago in Salisbury. He had served as an engineering apprentice at Porton Down in the 70s, and went on to work for various companies locally, before setting up Lamb Engineering. To begin with, this was in his mom's garage, then Milford Farm, Petersfinger and finally South Newton.

Larry's passion is engineering and, if there is a problem to be solved, he's your man! He initially worked alone, with his wife Jeanette controlling the finances. He was later joined by business partner Andrew Strange, then Jim Plumb and Andy Jefford, and more recently, by Jordan Hicks, Finley Parsons and our latest apprentice Tyler Ryan.

The main part of the business is split between day-to-day, one-off machining for local businesses, and the manufacture of our own designs of yacht propellers. Over the years, Larry has been asked to help on numerous projects, such as a revolving giant egg designed to hold a baby grand piano, a mechanism to produce energy from a rolling speed bump, and a mechanism to enable a paraplegic motorcyclist to ride a motorcycle unaided.

Following on from the marine theme mentioned earlier, Jordan and Larry have set up Hyxtec, producing a market leading design of rope-cutters for yachts. The marine theme continues in the family with son, Pete Leonard, and his company Zancast, casting anodes.

In his spare time, Larry has followed his other passion, and has designed World- class, award-winning custom motorbikes. He was 2nd at the AMD World Championships, Sturgis, South Dakota in 2011 with his bike ‘Son of a Gun’, a masterpiece of engineering and design. He has received numerous awards, and recognition as one of the World's leading bike builders and, these days, is helped by Jordan Hicks, giving more young brains and skill to their bike builds. Their recent build M00 has won prizes in the UK and in Europe.

If bikes weren’t enough, Larry decided to build a car, and many of you will have seen the loud, yellow Miller car around Salisbury these last few years. It is a tribute to the 1920s engineer Harry Miller, and a terrific example of the skills of both Larry and Tony Taysom, who made all the fabricated parts.

Now is the time to hand over the empire to younger engineers. As from April, Lamb Engineering will be owned by Jordan, Finley and Pete, but Larry won't be too far away to help with little problems that may arise, but he won’t be in the workshop so often, much to Jeanette’s delight!

If you are interested in engineering or think that we could help with a project at work, or your own idea, please feel free to contact us. Details are below.

Lamb Precision Engineering Ltd, Unit 2A,

South Newton Trading Estate,

South Newton, SP2 OQW

Tel: 01722 742532

Email:info@lamb-engineering.com

Website: www.lamb-engineering.com

MY STORY ... IAN WHEELER

My story starts in the Black Country almost within sight of Molineux – I should be wearing an old gold and black polo shirt really! I've always enjoyed long cycle rides and Wolverhampton was an excellent starting point, being surrounded by lovely countryside to the West towards the Severn Valley. The only problem was that the starting point was also the highest - it was a long, tiring ride home. From Wolverhampton Grammar School, I gained a place at Manchester University to read Geography and play and watch a lot of football. I was lucky to be in Manchester for the great years of European success, the years of Best, Charlton, Law and Stiles, and was a regular in the United Road Paddock. After graduating, I went to Wadham College, Oxford, to study Education and then to my first teaching career in Coventry where I met my wife, Angie.

With the abolition of Direct Grant Grammar Schools threatened, along with their conversion into Comprehensives, I found myself being tempted by an old footballing colleague to join him in a new industrial career. The next 20 years saw me involved in the marketing and supply of pipework equipment, working at first in Birmingham but soon transferred to a new venture in Bournemouth. We were very successful, and eventually the company was taken over and I was able to return to my earlier teaching career, spending some 10 years at Bishop’s in Salisbury, where I became Head of Geography and Geology. It was an opportunity to organise technical field courses, not just in the UK but also in Morocco, Turkey, Croatia, Peru, Bolivia and Iceland.

On retirement, we moved into Salisbury and now enjoy the benefits of a wonderful bus service and very adjacent local pub, quite a contrast to life in Sixpenny Handley where some locals regarded Salisbury as the outer edge of the Universe – the big city. The one new business to thrive in Handley was the brewery, and I was a regular Friday night barman until we moved away.

Us Black Country lads appreciate a well-kept pint of ale and I have never lived closer to a pub than I do now. The Duke is a great survivor. A reminder of what a good boozer used to be like – always welcoming and it is somewhere that my sons appreciate, especially when Sixpenny Black or Rushmore Gold is on offer.

The picture shows me in what has become a familiar setting, at the top of the Cathedral tower. I have been a Tower Guide for almost 10 years, half of that time taking on the admin duties of Head Tower Guide and ensuring that we survived the impact of the COVID pandemic. It's a good way of keeping fit – 332 steps up and down - and a great way of meeting visitors to the city. There's lots to talk about and lots to see - a real walk through the 800-year-old history of an amazing building. We have the oldest version of the England football badge – the Three Lions - in 13th century stained glass and 15th century wrought iron work that is still as good as new. Mind you, you need to have a head for heights and no fear of enclosed spaces – some of our stone spiral staircases are rather cramped.

The peak years for visitors were just before COVID when around 14,000 visitors made it to the top. Our aim is to get back to that position next year, but the profile of visitors has changed substantially in that short time. No more coach loads of Russian tourists, but we do get large numbers of Ukrainians visiting, many of whom are training on Salisbury Plain. Many visitors now book online and there are fewer coachloads. This is just as well because the coach park is due to be closed during the spring while the River Park project is completed.

We have a large number of volunteers at the Cathedral, ranging from floor guides, tower guides, concert stewards, ’ holy’ dusters and flower arrangers to name but a few. If you are interested in joining one or more of our happy bands, please e-mail our Volunteer Organiser c.keegan@salcath.co.uk

I still enjoy travelling abroad, especially if there is a chance of ticking off another volcano, ideally an active one. This hobby has, so far, taken me to Stromboli, Vulcano, Etna and Vesuvius (Italy), Eyjafjallajökull and Hekla (Iceland) Llaima, Osorno, Villarica and Tronador (Chile). I'm hoping to catch up with the latest Icelandic eruption later this year.

REGULAR LIFE STORIES ... STEW MCBRIDE

Stewart McBride can usually be found working behind the bar in the Duke of York on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings. It is also his local pub when he is not working.

He was born in Winterslow and moved to Bemerton Heath when he was 5 years old. He has spent most of his life living and working in or around Salisbury. He went to Highbury Avenue Junior School and Highbury Avenue Senior School.

On leaving school, Stew worked for International Stores for three years before trying a few other jobs. Theseincluded several years as a self-employed ice cream salesman, a spell in Plymouth as a driving instructor, several years as a carpet fitter and working withAndy, one of his four brothers, as a mobile DJ. Stew subsequently took and passed his HGV test before working as a lorry driver for the next 30 years, the last 15 years of which were attached to the building trade.

In the summer of 1979, Stew did a road trip around Europe with some friends. It was a fun-filled, relaxing 10 weeks in which he visited Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra and France.

After retiring, Stew met Jonty (Newbery) who, in due course, invited him to join the staff at Duke of York, where he has now worked for almost two years.Stew’s interests include the local music scene and Salisbury Football Club. Whilst his hobbies include playing cricket with the Crocs (an over-50s mixed Cricket Club sponsored by the Duke of York), table tennis, darts and pub quizzes.

REGULAR LIFE STORIES ... TREVOR KAY

So how did I end up here in the city of Salisbury, a regular at the Duke of York, when I was born and bred in the city of Salford, among the cobbled streets and gas lights?

When I was 21, I joined the Ministry of Defence to further my career as a management accountant. After a year’s training in Winchester, I was posted to Liverpool, then Germany, Shropshire and Surrey. In 1978, I was posted, on promotion, to manage the finances at CDE Porton Down. I have lived in this area ever since, apart from a brief sojourn in Plymouth where I ran the Students’ Union (and met another Duke regular, Richard Arnold).

I later worked in various posts in the IT department at Salisbury District Council, ending my local government career as Corporate Information Manager. A brief move to the IT department with Salisbury NHS saw the end of my career, and from where I took early retirement 12 or so years ago.

I now work in various roles on race days at Salisbury Racecourse, which I find most enjoyable. I am a keen member of Salisbury Rugby Club. For 5 years or so, along with a co-driver, I've driven the support vehicle when the club cycle team (the LFBoB) are on tour in France and Spain. Friday teatime will often see an assortment of Legendary Fat Blokes on Bikes enjoying a pint at the Duke, a favourite watering hole.

I have several hobbies, including music of many genres, food and softball cricket. I play music with the Hopback Blues Band and cricket with the Harnham Crocs, the over-50s team, sponsored by the Duke of York.

My son, Jamie, is also a regular visitor to the Duke and my daughter, Sophie, worked behind the bar before going to University. I have many connections with the Duke. I even rented the flat upstairs for a while before Jonty moved in.

REGULAR LIFE STORIES ... PETER DONELLY

Pete Donnelly is a true local, having been born in Coldharbour Lane. His family also live locally. He went to Westwood St Thomas School and is still in touch with several of his old schoolmates, many of whom also pop into the Duke of York for a pint.

Pete is a semi-retired plasterer who was lucky enough to learn from Bill, his father, who came over from Ireland in the 1950s to work on the restoration of Lambeth Palace.

The singing started for Pete when his wife, Jan, put his name forward to sing ‘In the Ghetto’ at a friend’s barbecue, as she thought it would suit his voice. He was a real trooper and, despite the fact he had never sung to anyone publicly before, he performed and it went down a storm.

Since then, he has made it more than a hobby, buying all the best gear and learning to sing songs from all genres to ensure he entertains the whole audience.

Pete likes to sing whenever he goes abroad. If there's a karaoke bar anywhere near, he will head for it, often pulling faces when their equipment does not come up to scratch.

On a birthday trip to Ireland four years ago, he got up to sing with the entertainer in the City West Hotel, where he gained some Japanese fans. Much to Pete’s amusement, these new fans were so impressed they filmed his performance.

Pete likes to sing, loves to entertain people and just loves seeing people enjoying themselves.