A number of Teesdale residents will remember the late Clogger Howson, and may also recall stepping out in the sturdy footwear he produced for years in the cellar of his home.

He was really called Jack, but everyone referred to him by his nickname, thanks to the excellent clogs he made for men, women and children below his house on The Bank in Barnard Castle around the 1940s and 50s.

His grandson, David Lodge, got in touch to tell me about him following the piece in this column about Maurice Tarn's tiny clogs which are on display at Meet the Middletons, the upper dale's heritage showcase.

"I used to wear clogs made by him all the time when I was a lad and they were always really comfortable," Mr Lodge recalled.

"I enjoyed being in his cellar, where he had some fearsome-looking knives for cutting the leather and shaping wood for the soles."

Clogger often wandered along the banks of the Tees, especially after floods, looking for suitable pieces of timber that could be used for soles.

His clogs were especially popular among mill workers, as they were easy on the feet and long lasting. The craftsman, who also made some shoes, had three sons and two daughters.

One of them was Esther, David's mother, who married Arthur Lodge. David was born in the house above the cellar workshop. His wife Margaret is now a well-known hair stylist in the town.

Jack Clarey has written asking if anyone knows all the words of a curious poem he often heard recited at gatherings in the upper dale many moons ago.

It told of an elderly woman, regarded by some as a witch, who used to scare boys half to death by relating tales of eerie deeds involving ghosts and awesome creatures which prowled in the night.

Legend had it that after being spellbound by her croaking voice in front of a flickering fire, some big strapping lads were too frightened to venture into the shadows to walk home.

The one verse that sticks in Mr Clarey's memory is: "The cheerful old soul loved the fragrant weed/She smoked it well seasoned and ripe/And from mortal cares seemed to be quite freed/ By the solace she drew from her pipe."

Manager Vera Henderson and her part-time staff, Miranda Walker and Susan Oliver, are always delighted when unusual items are handed into the Help the Aged Shop they run in Barnard Castle - such as five pairs of skis and other gear to go with them that a woman has just donated. Gifts like this, along with piles of clothes, books and bric-a-brac, help boost their takings to an average of more than £3,000 a week. Two volunteers, Ruby Moore and Barbara McLean, were sorting through garments and LP records in the back shop when I called this week. They and others, including Margaret Wilkinson, Brenda Coates and Susan Smith, are always on the lookout for anything special, such as antique jewellery or china, which can be sent to an auction house to fetch a higher price. "We've had some good finds among bags of stuff handed in and got high prices for them," said Mrs Henderson, whose husband Jack is also a volunteer. "But we've also found some not so pleasant things, such as false teeth and trusses." Others in the hardworking volunteer lineup are Margaret Robinson, Joan Hodgson, Margery Hall, Diana Raw, Alison Harrison, Liz Lamb, Sonia Hooper and Dorothy Kirby, all doing their bit to make life more pleasant for some elderly folk. More than 30 enthusiasts who took part in a quilting day at Holwick on Tuesday had an excellent lunch between cutting and stitching squares of fabric. Anne Noble of Craft Works, who organised the project, delighted them with the news that the main item on the menu was to be the great chieftain o' the puddin' race, the haggis. Robbie Burns would have been proud to think that these men and women, working at a craft which was important to families when he was alive, were honouring him in this way on his birthday.

* I'll be glad to see anyone who calls with snippets of news at The Northern Echo office at 36 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, on Mondays and Tuesdays, telephone (01833) 638628.