READING the comments lately in the Echo about the boating lake on the Common brought back memories of when I was a lad.

On bank holidays, the fishermen at Town Quay used to load their rowing boats on to hand carts and push them up the High Street, right up The Avenue to the boating lake.

They would decorate their boats with little coloured flags, then on the Monday for a few pence you could be rowed around the lake.

Happy days!

R W KERWOOD, Southampton.