NOSTALGIA WITH BOB HIND: '˜Elderly' women aged about 40

Last Tuesday I published a cartoon showing Strait Street in Malta, also known more prosaically by generations of sailors as The Gut. Â

As a result Richard Evans dropped me a line with his memories of the sailors' paradise away from home.

He says: '˜The Gut was a great place to go in Malta. I first went there aged about 19 in 1953. The Gut was not only bars, there were also  hotels where we could book a bed for the night. The rooms were multi-occupied, perfectly clean with sink and fluffy towels for about three shillings a night. The porter would look after our cameras and swimming gear and other possessions.'

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And the bars? '˜It was the days before electronic music so most bars had a piano and drums and loads of saxophones and trumpets so we all enjoyed the rowdy music. I don't remember there ever being much trouble as being Malta there were never any single girls as being Catholic they all had to be chaperoned .

'˜One night we did have a load of Yanks who'd had too much ale and decided they wanted to start a war and fight everyone, but they were soon sorted out.

'˜We consumed plenty of beer but being 1953 to 1958 there were no fridges available so your beer came with a couple of lumps of ice.

'˜This wasn't too bad if you could drink it before it warmed up. After that it tasted of onions.'

And Richard adds: '˜There were a few elderly ladies who frequented the bars.

'˜Aged about 40, they were as old as our mums.

'˜I had lots of fun in Malta and I have been back many times.'

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