I always enjoy receiving feedback, so wanted to mention some this week. Like lots of others, I am always interested in Manx nostalgia and other features on Facebook, and contribute some stories myself, mostly about walks around our island with my two wire-haired fox terriers, who are now four.

As a little boy, there was an old man who lived in a bungalow on Selborne Drive, just around the corner from my house, Laurel Dene, Tennis Road. He had a foxy called Rocket and I always admired the dog. At that time, we had a Lakeland terrier and I enjoyed attending the dog shows which were generally held at the Villa Marina. Again at these, in the terrier class, there was a nice old man, Mr T.E. Kaighen from the north of the island, who showed beautiful wire-haired fox terriers. Anyway, the conclusion of this little story is that I am now the old man and have two lovely dogs who ensure I get my daily exercise. We have some favourite walks and enjoy (even at my age!) discovering new places around the isle of my birth.

Back to the feedback… I recently posted on Facebook a short clip of the dam on the Clucas Laundry site at Tromode under the title ‘The woods, river and fields around here… part of my adventure playground as a boy’. This obviously struck a chord with a number of others, firstly to enquire about its condition and location. It has benefited from the summer weather as it is quite overgrown, but we were able to walk right up to a bend in the river which is now very silted and overgrown, and where the vestiges of a weir, metalwork and a gate for water are still clearly visible.

The dam itself looks silted around its perimeter, I think because little if any water refreshes it, but the ducks still had plenty of space to enjoy themselves. Dave Welsh remembered the bullrushes at the dam which he used to collect and sell, and Bill Creer reminded us about the swans who lived there then and how care was needed nearby when they were nesting. Sadly there were no signs of the swans on my visit, and as Gary Curtis reminded me, there used to be fabulous brown trout in the main dam and the two races. Again on my visit, although flies were present above the water, I didn’t see any fish jumping.

Dave also mentioned a house by the dam where they ‘borrowed’ apples, and Bill discovered that the owners were quite happy for you to take the apples, but remarked that legally taken ones didn’t taste quite as good though! Viv Cornelius tells me that the house just before what was Braddan Football Club was her mum and dad’s.

Another visitor was Kieran McCanney who, when he took his dog up there a few years ago, found it very overgrown even then. He remembered playing all along the banks of the river on pushbikes and, at that time, could get all the way up to Sir George’s Bridge crossing the river and the ‘cementy’ weir as they called it, and Castleward Fort. They were all good for camping over and leaving no trace. I also remember as a cub and scout when we would go from St Thomas’ Church Hall and go outside all the way to Castleward for fun and adventures.

Andrea Marsden’s memory was of cross country at Tromode when she was at St Ninian’s, with the ‘run’ back up Bray Hill being a nightmare! How about you? Did you love or hate cross country? I loved it and remember some great schoolboy athletes like Robbie Lambie and Robbie Corkish.

Irwin Kelly, who was at school at the same time as me, used to play in this area for years, walking and cycling for miles, but he wonders whether most kids these days would rather be glued to the computer! Justine Watkinson told me that even as a Pully kid they knew about this place and they used to wander everywhere, even aged only around 10.

There was actually a close connection between Pulrose and the laundry, which serviced the many hotels as well as domestic premises, in as much as many people from Pulrose got jobs at the very busy operation. Denise Callister didn’t even know if the dam area was still there and remembers playing there and at Castleward as a child, but had to remember to keep away from the swans. She knew a number of smart business units now occupy most of the site but was pleased you can still get to the dam.

Michael George of the Welbeck Hotel was a recent visitor and, when speaking to an Eastern European lad, was informed that the pump is broken to the mill reservoir. He remembers the gate to the weir but cannot recall whether the gate was open or if everyone had to climb over it. Does anyone know anything about the pump and the lack of water reaching the dam?

Another with childhood memories was Susan Gledhill, whose dad, Henry Brew the butcher, along with Stan Hunter, long-time Steam Packet employee, were the cub and scout leaders at 5th Douglas. She remembers playing down at the back of the laundry and falling in the dam many times!

Some people can be quite critical of Facebook, but one of the great things is that you can reconnect with friends who left the island. I’m now back in touch with a number, including Julie Shutt, Verina Quiggin and Carol Jones, and Carol had a nice story to add. She said: ‘I used to ride my uncle’s horses down there. He farmed Castleward. The dam and the Dibby Dub were my playgrounds as well.’

She told me that she used to dig for pig nuts by the dam and there was a rope swing further along the stream which was thrilling. The rhododendrons provided fabulous dens. When she got older, she and friends camped down there and explored the river over to Barrowdale. In later years she was another who got a summer job at Clucas’ Laundry and she used to walk over to the dam to sit in the peace and quiet on her lunch break. Such wonderful memories of many years of play and pleasure.

A fairly regular contributor to the letters page of the Examiner is Alf Caine. He is a significant landowner in the area adjacent to Castleward, and from time to time I meet him as I use the public footpath that negotiates through his land. He has kindly let me pick conkers that I take to playgroups and primary schools to help learn about nature and the seasons.

For a long time, he has suggested that part of his land could become another national glen, and it certainly is a lovely area. As a businessman, his plan was always to develop part of his land which is near to the hospital, without success to date. Alf is a ‘no nonsense’ self-made businessman who got where he is by hard work. It would be really nice if someday his national glen could become a reality.