Derrick Clennell and I were talking in the Middle House on Friday night regarding Nigel’s recent article about Cockfield craic and the local dialect.

It then went on to the subject of how new regulations have come into place where, when at work, you cannot call people pet, love, honey, flower, darling etc. It obviously triggered a memory and he went on to tell the following.

Several years ago when the Raby Moor pub at Burnt Houses was open, just after David and Annette Parnaby moved out, one of the next tenants was Roland and his wife, Roland was German and even though he spoke good English he still had the German dialect.

Now as a lot of people might know, most of the customers who went into the pub were on the mature side and as such had long memories, even stretching back to the Second World War. John Watson from Burnt Houses was such a chap and never missed an evening session.

Fearing that Roland might be subject to some racist abuse from any customers Derrick enquired "All right Roland, how’s things. Have you had any problems because of you coming from Germany?" Roland replies… "No prob`s Derrick, well maybe one, that old chap down there in the corner (John Watson) when he comes to the bar he say ‘A PINT HUN!’”