THE 'mystery' picture postcard carried a while ago on this page featuring a cobbled village street, complete with tramlines, has certainly taken us down the winding trail of memory.

After a raft of earlier replies, confirming that the old sepia postcard had been incorrectly captioned as being West End Road, Haydock (it turns out to have been Church Road, about a mile further up the district) more correspondence rolled in.

G. Potts of Clipsley Lane, Haydock, has confirmed that the postcard view was taken from just in front of St James' Church and the infant school. He thinks he recognised the old-fashioned car rumbling across the cobbles as being owned by Doctor Watkinson. "The cyclist was probably a school-teacher", he adds.

Mrs S. Redcliffe of Wrigley Road, Haydock, also pinpoints the location but understands how some folk may be confused, as the district has vastly altered over the decades.

And the picture also brought a rush of memories for Christina Wildman who just happens to live along that particular Church Road stretch and says: "The cyclist is practically outside where I live now".

She recognised the shop with its sunblind down (extreme left of the postcard) as being St Dunstan House, then the Matthews family's gents' and ladies' clothiers and haberdashery. "Still there, but no longer a shop".

The council offices featured still exist, but some of the old terraced housing has been demolished to be replaced by new homes. Christina also recalls Mather's sweet shop and believes that the busy little village stretch also boasted a butcher's, plumbers' merchants, newspaper shop, a clogger's and Blighty's barbershop.

Then there was Cook's grocery store. "I think there was a chip shop somewhere in the equation and a police box near the council offices." Directly opposite the Conservative Club stood a big house where a friend of Christina's hubby lived when they were kids".

K. H. of St Helens (identity provided in good faith) accepts that the old postcard did not feature West End Road, part of his childhood play-zone in pre-war times. But it still helped prompt happy reminiscences.

He recalls the ancient stretch of Ebenezer Street, with a string of old houses down one side - the backyard business of a local tripe-dresser being located behind one of these.

Opposite, an old wooden hospital building set in a spacious garden and later converted into the domestic dwelling of a pet-loving Mrs Topping who took in neighbour's dogs whenever the families went on holiday.

Close by, Ma Henry's newspaper shop, the poky interior 'wallpapered' with pages from ancient, yellowing daily editions. Seddon's shop boasted slot machines dispensing XL and Beechnut chewing gum and there was a cake shop selling homemade confectionery.

Rather incongruously, Bloor's farm barn occupied a prominent roadside location at the top of Blackbrook Brow.

OF such things are sweet memories formed.