FOND recollections of pony carts and the pop craze of the 1960s came flooding back for Terry Jennians, a St Helens ex-pat now living in Canada, after he'd picked up (via the Internet) on my earlier piece about the age of horse-drawn transport.

Complimenting Whalley's World readers upon once again delivering the goods, he writes: "Reading about the Argon Appleton grain store brought back the memories. Mine was one of those childhood noses pressed against the window of the store, watching the live chicks on display". Terry's late father, Bill Jennians, once a regular contributor to this page, used to look after the store's horses when he was a youth.

Harking back to the many horse-and-cart traders who populated the St Helens streets in past decades, Terry says: "I have fond memories of Mr Fenney who delivered milk around the Dentons Green and Windlehurst areas where I grew up. I fed his pony, Kate, many an apple or lump of sugar".

Another character recalled - though his name now escapes Terry - was the rag-and-bone man with a wooden leg. "We used to get goldfish from him in exchange for jam jars, or a donkey stone to whiten the front doorstep, in exchange for a bundle of old rags".

Terry was recently chatting with another ex-pat, from Prescot, about the many local pop groups during the 'swinging Sixties'. "I was road manager for the Psycho Five", he explains and he retains fond memories of the line-up of Joe Shields, Kevin Murphy, Terry Mercer, Norman ("can't remember the surname.") and Wally the drummer.

"Then there were The Incas, The Blackwells, Albert Cook's band who appeared in the film Ferry Across The Mersey and many more.

"It was great to be a teenager in the Sixties and I have happy memories of Friday nights at the Plaza or in The Blue Room (Zephyr Club) run by Bert Morris who managed the Zephyrs".

H ANYONE else got a memory to share of pioneering beat-band or rock group days in the St Helens area?