I always appreciate people getting in touch to comment about some of the things mentioned in my piece each week, and I would like to share a few which have been in my ‘in tray’ for a time.

It was lovely to receive a handwritten letter from Moira Marshall, now 90 years old, when I mentioned if anyone remembered some of the chip shops from years gone by.

Moira’s mum and dad, Frank and May Cording, operated the little one at the top of Summerhill Road in Onchan during the 1950s until 1967, when sadly her mum had died and her dad sold it and moved to live with Moira and her then husband, Gordon Smyth, and their three boys.

When her dad had the chippy, it was called the ‘Cosy Corner Café’, and in those days you could sit in the dining room and get fish, chips, peas, bread and butter, and a cup of tea for two shillings and threepence in old money- yes, change from half a crown! Moira’s dad always lit a fire in that room during the cold winters.

The chip shop then became ‘Nellie’s’, and some time later it was demolished for road improvements and the installation of the roundabout.

Moira’s husband Gordon died in 1985, and she remarried in 1997, only to be widowed again eight years later. Thanks for sharing your memories, Moira.

How about some of the other chippies? Did you take a bowl to Hope Street for your chips?

How about Felice’s chip shop or the Alexander on Bucks Road? Did you ever go into the Rio Del Grill in Tynwald Street late at night? Who remembers the Neptune in Strand Street? Get in touch!

Thanks to Libby, who sent me a text about her favourite local advert from days gone by. It was for the delicious homemade ice cream at the Town Dairy in Arbory Street, Castletown - ‘often licked but never beaten!’

The shop owners were Alf and Marie Court. Do you have any memories of other local adverts? Get in touch.

One thing I do remember was the incorrect pronunciation on the silver screen when we were at the pictures for the matinee on a Saturday afternoon - Bridson and Horrox… remember?

On the subject of ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’ - see what I did there?

Ian Ellis was an enthusiastic cinema attendee, and he reminded me how the interior of the Crescent Cinema was designed, curiously, as a medieval castle. He went on to work in nightclubs such as Whispers and Toffs, and I had mentioned previously the smoky atmosphere in pubs and clubs back in the day.

He told me something I wasn’t aware of, and that was that in cinemas in the 1980s the audience was segregated - one side for smokers, the other for non-smokers. How did that work? Not very well, I expect. In more recent years the dangers of second-hand smoke have become very apparent, perhaps one of the issues not realised previously and highlighted by the death of entertainer Roy Castle, who had never smoked.

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I left things a bit ‘up in the air’ last week in relation to my first year after being re-elected to Douglas Council, almost 40 years to the day that I was first elected to the House of Keys… so how about the last year back on the now 12-member City Council?

Well, I have always been a ‘people person’, so I enjoy meeting constituents and others to try and help, and here I apologise - it’s great when I can assist, but I am the first to apologise when I have not been able to.

I am not someone who can just sit around, so given my previous experience I have plenty of time to fully play my part as a member of all three council committees.

I am very keen to work with others in facilitating affordable and appropriate housing. I think the recently completed apartments in the ‘James Brown’ development in Willaston certainly lead the way on the island from a number of perspectives, and I really hope we can continue in that vein.

Redevelopment work promised at Spring Valley Estate some years ago did not progress in a timely fashion, and other such schemes are a high priority.

If we want to retain or attract back skilled young people, affordable housing provision is key.

Cooperation between government and active local authorities is a must, and we do not need to reinvent the wheel in terms of the body to lead such work. The proven skills and experience at Douglas City Council can go a long way to resolving this situation, given the political will.

Another area that I highlighted years ago was in relation to facilities for young people, and I found it incredible that the budget for playground works had ceased some years ago. So it was good to work with other councillors to get that reinstated on a phased basis in this year’s budget.

We need to play our part in the challenging area of town centre retail footfall and continue to support our parks, gardens and green spaces. We must demonstrate value for money for ratepayers in all we do and endeavour to promote a sense of civic pride.

I am looking forward to serving the people of Douglas for a full term, as I didn’t 40 years ago, in the town - now city - of my birth.

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What is your favourite era for music, and what is your favourite song and artist from that time? Get in touch! I have a theory that it is likely to coincide with your influential teenage years and can stick with you for the rest of your life.

That is certainly the case for me - I am, and have been, a big fan of 1970s music.

During the decade there were a number of different genres, with the continuation from the 1960s of Tamla Motown, glam rock with Sweet, T. Rex, Mud and others, great classic rock music, the influence of disco encouraged in no small way by our own Bee Gees, punk rock in the late 1970s, and my favourite type, which is that of singer-songwriters, including James Taylor, Carole King, Don McLean, Harry Chapin, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Paul Simon and many more.

I have recently had the opportunity to host the ‘Sensational Seventies’ show on Manx Radio, enabling me to indulge my passion.

I have to admit I was more than a little apprehensive about the technical side of live radio, but the music carries me through and I have become more confident with practice. It is completely different to doing a disco, which I have much more experience of.

Indeed, it is 50 years this year that I first had the opportunity at Allsorts Disco in Wellington Street, and I went on to play - and still do on special occasions - the best music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, demonstrating the timeless quality of the music.

I am still on my ‘musical mystery tour’, attending gigs at home and in the UK of those I have enjoyed for a very long time. This life is not a rehearsal - make the most of each day.