“WHAT wonderful memories,” writes Mrs M Allinson of Sunnybrow, in reference to the picture of Ossie Rae, the noted theatrical cross-dresser of Bishop Auckland.

It was taken in the foyer of the Bishop Auckland Odeon in 1950, and it takes us back to the days when not only was there a cinema on every street corner, but every community had its own club or hall in which the local celebrities –like comedians or singers – performed.

Ossie was one of the star turns.

“In the early 1950s, myself, my friend and my sister went to Hunwick every week to join Ossie and his sidekick, Tot Sleeth, in the village hall where he taught tap dancing and ballet.

“He used to produce a pantomime every year in which we all had a part. Ossie was always the dame, and Tot used to do a little magic. We travelled round all the villages doing our show, which was enjoyed by everyone. Ossie was a great character.

“I am now 82 years old, but memories came flooding back of the good old days of 1952.”

KEITH BELTON also shared a stage with Ossie.

“I once did a gig with him around 1954, when he was top of the bill at Hunwick Village Hall with a mind-reading act,” says Keith.

“I was one of three accordion playing lads from Witton Park, supporting the great man. We received five shillings expenses which was good ! We usually got nowt, playing for chapels, woman's institutes and the like.

“We developed into skiffle and eventually became the Tees Valley Jazzmen – we’re still going strong, all thanks to “The Big Time” Ossie.”

A CORRESPONDENT who signs himself Hippo – perhaps we are meant to be mind-readers to discover his real name – also remembers Ossie.

In the early 1950s, Hippo worked at Dextran, a branch of Glaxo which was based on the Aycliffe Trading Estate, making a blood plasma substitute for the NHS. Among his colleagues was a club singer called Harry, a stage artist called John Rutter and the legendary club comedian Bert Trusler.

“I became quite familiar with the club scene as I would ride my motorbike to see my colleagues perform,” says Hippo. “One evening, I visited Toft Hill Club to see a mind-reading act billed as Zareada and Delroy – it was Ossie Rae and his pal, Tot Sleeth.

“Ossie effected a Bishop Auckland view of “eastern dress”, including curly toed slippers, while Tot was nondescript, although his headgear resembled a freshly shot rabbit.”

Members of the audience were invited to submit written, sealed statements, which the comedy pair would try to divine through the envelope. When they felt they were close, they’d open the envelope and read out the statement – and their prediction would prove to be word perfect, of course.

However, sleight of hand was involved. It would seem that the first statement of the evening was probably a plant, and after that they were opening envelopes in advance of guessing what was inside them.

BERT TRUSLER was a local comedy legend, appearing in the clubs and pubs of County Durham for 60 years with his own brand of Bobby Thompson type humour. He’d don his cap and his muffler while singing Tears, and he’d finish his shows with his theme tune, Good Luck, Good Health, God Bless You – a rather mournful Gracie Fields.

When Bert learned that he was terminally ill with cancer, he recorded the song and it was played one last time at his funeral in Shildon in 1991.

IN DARLINGTON, off Yarm Road, there’s an estate in which the streets appear to be named after waterbirds and raptors. It starts with Teal Road and then come streets such as Albatross, Flamingo, Kestrel, Widgeon, Mallard, Heron, Falcon, Shearwater and... Malim.

What is a malim, we asked, and why is a Darlington street on a birdy estate named after it.

David Sweeten, who was born in Teal Road, provides the answer.

“The houses were built in about 1933 on Lingfield Meadows, which was farmland that belonged to William Malim and John Teal,” he says. “The land was purchased by builders Sweeten and Kent, which was run by great-uncle, James Sweeten, who had been Darlington Borough Architect before going into business.

“My father, James Arthur Sweeten, worked as a bricklayer on the houses, and was paid pot money when the chimney pots went on the top.

“A pair of semis was completed every two weeks. They had central heating and double gates, and they were designed by my great-uncle.”