Dennis and Elaine a mystery revealed part three

I first came across Dennis & Elaine in the summer of 1970. 

Their names appeared on a wall near Withington Library and soon they were everywhere.  Then and now I became intrigued at that simple message of love and partnership, and have continued to wonder who they were.

And almost as soon as the inscriptions appeared they ceased and I was left with nothing more than a memory which I regularly trotted out to anyone who would listen.  It was a nice story but incomplete and even after I had posted a story on the blog* I remained convinced that it was one of those little mysteries with no ending.

But then Elaine made contact and in due course she promised me a photo of the two of them, and here it is.

Nor does the connection stop there because Elaine worked at the old Tommy Ducks which if you are of a certain age you will remember with affection.  In my case it was one memorable evening when I introduced my sister and brother in law up from London to the ceiling of the pub.  

In turn Elaine shared another picture, this time of Tommy Ducks and the coffin which landlord Ken Riggs had brought from the Nags Head which was his previous pub.

Now I can’t remember the coffin in Tommy Ducks but I sat beside it in the Nags Head in the '70s and even went looking for it once.  I couldn’t find it and recently even doubted that I had shared a room and a pint with it.

But now Elaine has managed to bring both memories out of the past and remind me that history is not just about the big events but also the little ones which are more properly about how we lived.

And finally I also have to thank her for starting me on another mystery that of the Ardwick Millionaires but as they say that is another story.

Pictures; from the collection of Elaine Archer.

Dennis and Elaine, *http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Dennis%20and%20Elaine%20in%20Withington