MENTION here last week of Olive Field brought back vivid memories for some traders in Barnard Castle.

They recalled that the swashbuckling lady had a habit of sitting outside shops in her chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce and blaring the horn until assistants scurried out to serve her.

She would move from one shop to another - butcher, baker, chemist, newsagent - giving a mighty blast at each and barking out orders until all her needs were met. There were hefty sighs of relief when she gave a regal wave and departed.

Mrs Field was a generous hostess at two functions I attended at Lartington Hall in her later life. She sat amid decaying and cobwebbed splendour, blowing her hunting horn and chortling heartily with her feisty parrot.

She was extremely kind to many people, and could afford to be. When she was killed in a car crash with two of her staff, she left more than £1m.

WHEN I flew to Japan earlier this year, I took four copies of the official Teesdale calendar to hand out with other small gifts. They were warmly received and are now on display in a bank, a temple and two houses in the Yamasaki area.

Many other people have taken or posted copies abroad in recent years.

It cannot do the dale any harm to have its charms flagged up in this way around the world.

The project has been an outstanding success since arts officer Rosie Cross launched it. It has created much interest among local camera enthusiasts, as well as gaining widespread attention. The area cannot have come up with any more fruitful idea than this.

SEVERAL queries have come in about poacher Tommy Todd's book and where to buy it. It is called My Life As I Have Lived It, compiled by George Reginald Parkin, and published in 1935. It has long been out of print, but can sometimes be found at auctions or in second-hand shops. I would love to get back my own copy which I loaned out umpteen times until someone forgot to return it. Any chance now?

JOHN TOULSON, whose lorries seem more plentiful than ever on Teesdale roads, was in his absolute element at Streatlam on Monday. He stood with a contented smile on his smoke-smudged face amid a vast array of puffing and snorting machinery at the latest of his steam rallies.

The amiable haulier has an obvious and deep affection for the mechanical monsters he pointed out to me from the 700-plus exhibits there.

Enthusiasts from far and wide clustered round many of them - studying, listening, feeling, purring over their merits, grumping about their poorer points. It was not unlike the way farmers gather round the leading sheep at shows and sales.

YOUNG drinkers have been causing Friday night concern in Middleton of late, arriving from other parts with bags of cans and bottles and leaving a mess behind. But the amounts consumed must be tame compared with the efforts of lead miners when they trudged back after a few days and nights underground.

These wiry men were said to have a thirst that could be wrapped in a parcel and put on a train for Barnard Castle.

On a typical Friday more than a century ago, the busiest people were the publicans. The lead men had favourite inns, notably the Miners Success at Harwood, known as Tumbledown Dicks, where Tim Collinson was mine host.

Some hard-up miners ran up a slate at at several pubs. But their biggest worry was being confronted by their bosses' spies, who often went round checking on them, or by their sharp-tongued wives, who would seek them out.

I HAVE been asked in the street at least a dozen times in the past week if I would like to go back to my old job in Barnard Castle. The answer is thanks, but no - my new reduced hours suit me fine.

* I can be contacted on Mondays and Tuesdays at The Northern Echo office at 38 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, telephone (01833) 638628, or 07986 459320.