When Phil Drabble visited Sunderland, bringing tales of rat catching

He was the VIP visitor who regaled Wearsiders with tales of rat catching.

Phil Drabble, the star of television’s popular One Man And His Dog’ programme was in Washington, 41 years ago this month. But without the dog.

Allowed out with the gamekeeper

But Phil did have plenty of tales to tell when he was the guest at the annual meeting of the Tyne and Wear South Federation of Women’s Institutes in 1983.

He told the packed hall how he learned about natural history as a boy in Staffordshire.

Phil, who is the son of the local doctor, told how he was allowed out with the gamekeeper on a local landowner’s estate.

A sack full of rats in a solicitor’s office

After tea with the squire, he would meet friends and sneak back to the estate at night - as a poacher.

During his career in television and radio - he is the national history adviser for the radio show The Archers - he has met many characters and faced hundreds of problems.

He dealt with a drunkard blacksmith who wanted to sing on live television and a professional rat catcher called Hairy Kelly’ who emptied a sack full of rats in a solicitor’s office when he held back on payments.

Max brings back memories

Another VIP visitor to the area that year was comedian Max Boyce who was at Strang Riding School.

He raised smiles on his stallion Buttons when he came to the Washington venue for the opening of its new horse boxes.

Share the memories that you have of Sunderland and County Durham in the 1980s, by emailing [email protected]