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I am very grateful for the reminiscences so far received. I wonder if anyone can recall sitting listening to a performance in a bandstand? I have a vague recollection of a silver band in Weston Park but I am aware of photographs of crowds on deckchairs watching/listening to such performances on, maybe, a Sunday afternoon . My late father-in-law, in the 50s and early 60s played LPs on a sound amplifier to audiences in deckchairs from a bandstand which, although cut down to just a platform still exists in a park in Ashbourne. It all seems so "gentile", so "heart-warming". Can it really have been like that? Please feel free to take part in this reminiscence. BANDSTAND IN THE PARK The crowd was hushed, the birdsong stilled, The lawns, such bright and stripey deckchairs filled, and as the plaintive cornet sang, the old church clock in harmony rang. It was a vision to behold, A story often told In parks and gardens everywhere, The bandstand concert always there. It’s how it had been down the years, Songs of comfort, tunes of tears, Music with the power to ease, A placid scene beneath the trees. Through the decades years have ranged, And down those years how things have changed. In parks and gardens stand forlorn The bandstands, quiet now, as if at dawn. No bands, no singing maids, No uniforms, no cornets played. All the deck chairs put away, Never to return on a sunny day. These public places long ago Were places where our lives were slow, But now, it seems, what people need Is somewhere green where they can speed. Joggers, cyclists, scooters, too, Speeding heedless of the people who, With some longing, still recall The times when parks were meant for all, A place of calm yet crowded, full Of Floral beds and river trill. I think one day it would be grand To sit again at our Band stand. To hear the music, see the faces, Let the tunes take us to places Far away, or hear the shows Or simply in our chairs repose The Bandstand surely plays a part In bringing, in the towns and cities, art In music, speech and drama, Opening up a panorama Let’s hear it for The Bandstand please Restore its place among the trees, Return the blackbird and the lark But give us music in our Park! © 14 Sep 2021 Please respect copyright.

Hi, This is a photograph of my grand father Alfred Wells and my father Alfred Edward Wells. They had this shop at No. 2 Brightmore Street between 1902 and 1927 which is next door to No. 87 St Philips Road. The righthand edge of the photo would be joined to the triangular plot No. 87. I have worked out that this is now right under the tram stop on the new dual carriageway of Netherthorpe Road Hope this is of interest