All in a good mood

High good humour all round at the award, it would appear to Randal Motkin, of the 1979 'Mr Crickley' title. Back row, L to R, Dmitri, Terry Courtney, Julian Parker, Bernard Dawson, Dave Southwood. Middle row, Training, The Skeleton, John Parry congratulating Randal, Mike Taylor. Front row, David Hole, Zoya Spivakowska, Ros Cleal, and Anna Collinge. The Skeleton is wearing C-H-M's father's demob suit from 1945.

Miss Crickley 1980 ...

Jane Dineen says that the inscription by someone else on the back, slightly interpreted by me, reads: "Birmingham girl, Jane [Dineen], Anna [Collinge], Ros [Cleal], Jane [Fitt], Suzie the Cook; Front row: Gloria [Polizotti], Sharon the mouth, Julie Ann [Souter], Sue, ?." This cheerful group were the contestants in the 1980 'Miss Crickley' competition held at Ullenwood. Some may feel that the holding of such competitions tended towards a trifle of political incorrectness (and that would never do ...): but we always held a 'Mr Crickley' competition as well, and the 'Personality of the Year' competition was, of course, open to both sexes. Dungarees were commoner than bikinis it would appear. Dr Ferris would have me believe, doubtless, that one year the skeleton painted on a bit of hardboard was a contestant: he's probably right. Update: Dr Ferris opines: "I might be able to help Crickley Hill Man in identifying one of the 1980 'Miss Crickley' contestants, beyond informing him that I'm sure they were all sincerely working for 'world peace'. The 'Birmingham girl', as it describes her in your photo caption, was, I think, Debra who might have been one of Bernard Dawson's pupils at the time."

A trip to the Air Balloon with Dr Ferris ...

Dr Ferris writes: "I am pleased to see from recent blog entries that Crickley Hill Man has tracked down some more of our fellow diggers. However, I wonder if he knows the whereabouts of 'The Skeleton' who was a fixture around Ullenwood for many years and who I last saw in 1983 leaning against the wall outside the mess hall in a rather insouciant manner, dressed, inexplicably, in one of Terry Courtney's denim jackets. Perhaps he was waiting for a taxi to take him into Cheltenham?

'The Skeleton' was originally employed to help out at St John's Ambulance training days at Ullenwood but he hung around there after the courses were discontinued and eventually he became more associated with the diggers. John Boden and I once took him to the Air Balloon, much to the bemusement of the locals, but 'The Skeleton' was rather sullen and uncommunicative that evening and drank little. I therefore find it hard to believe the rumours that he is now a barely-functioning alcoholic giving periodic Health and Safety demonstrations in Blackpool to help make ends meet.

Perhaps if Crickley Hill Man were to publish another photo of 'The Skeleton' on his blog, it might prompt him to get in touch and, perhaps, attend the reunion in July."