I KNOW that TRM wouldn't be the same without its pictures, which is why I'm delighted, this week, to be able to include one that has been suggested by one of our regular readers.

Alison Hardy kindly sent me this email.

"Hi Jeff, you have probably seen this charming little picture before, but I thought it would look nice on your page. The pic is in Ken McKay's 'Vision of Greatness', but I was sent it by other means.

“It says the ship about to enter the docks was the The City of Rome, and she unloaded items from Barnum's Circus on the quay. The most interesting thing for me is that the picture is from 1889, when my grandfather would have been one year old, and living in Point Street, which can be clearly seen from the pic. He lived there, along with his family, my great grandparents, until they moved up to the new Waterloo Road.

“My great-great grandfather, Daniel Manson, the Shetlander, also lived there in another house in Point Street, before they moved to Chapel Street. He came from Shetland in his fishing boat in 1841, and married Lucy Lewis, whose family were already in Point Street. Her father, William, was a shipwright in Hogan's Shipyard, at Hakin Point. So a lot of my ancestors are coming and going about their lives in that picture, which I find utterly fascinating.

“The City of Rome anchored in Hubberston Roads, having come from New York, and transferred 134 passengers and 378 pieces of baggage…mostly belonging to Barnum's Great American Circus, which was about to tour Great Britain…onto the quay in Milford Docks.

“I hope there were no circus animals among the 378 pieces of baggage as I hate animals in circuses and zoos…anything in captivity is awful.

“They were immediately transferred to a train and whisked to London in six hours...nothing new there then!

“In the picture there is evidence of six generations of my family, as I live with my daughter and grandson in a house to the left, and nearer the front of the picture, so, along with us, and the three generations in Point Street, that would be six, a lovely little cameo.

“Hope this will be of some use to you, Jeff."

Thank you Alison, loved it, and I'm using a slightly touched-up version of the photo from my own collection.

In TRM Trawler Corner this week is One Accord LT 324, a steel-sided drifter, built in 1927, in Selby. 102 tons. 90' long.

Landed, seasonally, at Milford, from 1927 to 1938; 1948 to 1959, and from Sept to Dec 1960. Local owners were the Anson Steam Trawler Co. Ltd. and Picton Bros (Milford Haven). Local Skipper…Bill Phillips.

In December 1969, this report appeared in the Western Mail.

"A Milford Haven trawler was holed in a collision with a German tanker off the Pembrokeshire coast yesterday. The trawler, One Accord, returned to Milford Haven at a slow speed, with a large hole in the bow. None of the crew was injured. The trawler and the tanker, Yorksand, collided two-and-a-half miles off the Smalls lighthouse. A coastguard said that visibility was good.

“The Yorksand, which was leaving the Bristol Channel, stood by the trawler, but later left to continue to the continent. Earlier in the day One Accord left Milford Haven with a seven man crew, Skippered by Mr Bill Phillips.

“The vessel, owned by Picton Brothers of Milford Haven, had been fishing from Milford since the last war. The trawler was accompanied back to Milford by another trawler, the Ross Fame, which had been in the Cardigan Bay. A Mayday message was sent after the collision, and officials of the Company were at St Anns Head, to try to make an inspection of the boat as it entered the bay."

Just a few weeks following the collision, the One Accord was scrapped, and here's a snap showing the damage she'd suffered.

Now teaser time. Last week's, another from Les Haynes, proved to be a bit of a head scratcher, and I had lots of incorrect answers. The right one was…24…which was well calculated by Pat Farrar, Hoppy Atkinson, Gerry Thomas, Elinor Jones, and Joan Earles. Many thanks to all who got in touch.

Let's have one more from Les's wicked brain.

You get the first set, free. You get the second set, free. The third set, you have to pay for…unless you'd rather go without. What are they?

Just a reminder to all who enjoy our brain teasers, if you'd like your name included in the winners’ enclosure, my cut-off point is Monday lunchtime.

Sadly, my old friend Charlie Wetherall got the previous week's poser correct, but missed the deadline last time, hence his name was omitted.

Before I go, here are a few happy thoughts from Hakin's John Morgan.

I've had them for a while, but, somehow, life sometimes gets in my way.

John…"Here are some of the songs once sung in the pubs, in and around Milford, and beyond. In the Hearts of Oak…Chorus…’Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore...Don't look at the rollin' waves but bend to the oar…’

“And the last song of the evening at the Welcome Traveller….’Do your best for one another...Makin' life a pleasant dream....Help a poor old weary brother…Pullin' hard against the stream’.

“Some well-known pub songs were…’To be a farmer’s boy’… ‘O for the wings of a dove’…’Wandering down life's shady path’...and ‘A fox looked out one cloudy night’.

“Even though times were hard, there was always a gathering of locals…a pint was 3d, and sleever 2d. Whatever the drink, they all sang and enjoyed the company."

Cheers John...I'll drink to that…sorry it's taken so long…better late than never.

Here's a good old pub pic for you. A yard of ale in the Masons Arms.

Now …"Drink up you 'orrible lot...ain't you got homes to go to? "

See you.