Cycling along the prom with a bunny girl on the handlebars | Nostalgia

Marilyn, from Eastney, went on to be a bunny girl at Playboy clubs and became the first English girl to be featured in Playboy magazine.

Richard, from Old Portsmouth, says: ‘I chatted to her and her friend, also called Marilyn. I became friends with both and we all loved lying in the sun.

‘I started going out with Marilyn and I would pick her up at her parents’ house in Kasassin Street, Eastney. As I had no car we cycled along the promenade to the Apsley pub. She sat on the crossbar with her bag in the front basket and never complained.

'Probably like the rest of the young men in the lounge bar, I could never take my eyes off her. It was the most beautiful face I’d ever seen

'We often went to parties and Marilyn wanted the other Marilyn to come with us. I called them the two Marilyns. Marilyn Cole often wore an Indian squaw-type dress which I adored.’

Richard continues: ‘John Mullin, a local student photographer, took pictures of Marilyn and I believe one was put up in the pub. She gave me two as a sort of going away present as boys with money started to date her. I was a solicitor’s articled clerk on meagre earnings.

'Marilyn did a lot for Portsmouth as it and, I think, Manchester were the only two casino Bunny Clubs outside of Park Lane, London.’

• When I published the picture of young Mary Forrester asking if anyone knew her, I wasn’t expecting a response. However, Teresa Harrison (née Wareham) came up trumps revealing that Mary was her dance teacher in the 1960s.

She says: ‘She was a teacher at the Mavis Butler School of Dance, Southsea, and then I think she opened her own studio. She was a lovely teacher – kind and patient.

‘I was privileged to be a bridesmaid at her wedding but unfortunately I cannot remember her married name!’

• On June 27, I mentioned a scrapyard at the top of Locksway Road, Milton, and wondered if anyone knew anything about it. Of course, there was.

James Kellaway, of Bedhampton, remembers: ‘The scrapyard was Jordans at the end of Locksway Road. A pathway ran diagonally through the yard from the road to the Thatched House pub.

‘Most of the large and heavy scrap was stored in the old canal upper lock basin which was filled in with just the side walls remaining.

'I can remember aircraft parts stored in the yard. The yard entrance was a narrow path leading to a bungalow. At the front and facing the road were the two cannon from the Hilsea Bastion restaurant at Portsbridge, mounted as gate sentries. There was also a corporation trolley bus.’

James adds: ‘The whole lot was moved to Copnor when the firm relocated and the cannon were still there when Jordans was sold to ERM Scrap & Recycling. The cannon may still be hidden there or may have been sold on.

James, a regular contributor, then recalls how, in the old days, you could have so much fun for so little.

'I meant to say in my last letter how cheap it was to enjoy life,’ he says.

‘We could, for a penny platform ticket, get to the sea end of the harbour station and watch all the harbour traffic movements no matter what the weather. Real value for money.’

• The day two planes crashed on Eastern Road – May 6, 1962 – was remembered by Melvyn Griffiths who says: I was on duty at nearby RAF Thorney Island when news came through that the aircraft had hit the boundary fence. I was sent to go and have a look to see if any assistance was required.‘We had most of the kit to help but we were not needed and it was a civil matter rather than a military one.‘The aircraft had aquaplaned on the wet grass and failed to stop in time. This was surprising because the 748 was brilliant at short landings and take-offs which is why Channel Airways operated these aircraft from the city airport.Being a Drayton lad I had my first flight from the city airport aged 10 to the Isle of Wight in a DH Rapide flown by a woman who I found out many years later was a famous and decorated RAFVR pilot during the war. She delivered everything that ever flew, from a Spitfire to Lancaster bombers.’• As I mentioned yesterday, this is my last column. I am taking a sabbatical for a while as compiling these pages during the past four months has been extremely difficult.

It has been the most enjoyable 11 years of a very mixed life. I just wish I had gone into journalism when I left school.

Thank you for your e-mails wishing me well but let us hope this is just au revoir not farewell. Thank you all, Bob.