Visiting Bridge Street the other day, and passing the site of the old cafe, suddenly brought back childhood memories of legendary Brigg character Tansy the Tramp.
Walking past the cafe as kids, in the 1960s, we knew Tansy would be in his favoured spot near the window, having a cuppa, once we spied his battered old pram on the footpath outside.
Tansy - trousers held up with coarse string - would soon see off annnoying youngsters with a swish of his cane in their general direction. So, rather than copy The Good Samaritan, it was definitely better to pass by on the other side of the street. For the cane was every bit Tansy's trademark as it was Charlie Chaplin's.
He - Tansy, not the Knight of the Silver Screen - lived a rough existence in a range of rather broken down buildings off Elwes Street, known locally as Sumpter's Farm (see picture).
Word was he had suffered during the First World War while doing his bit for King and Country. But, after the intervention of a couple of well-known Brigg Urban District councillors in the 1960s, he finally gained the war pension to which he was entitled. Hopefully that made his declining years a bit more comfortable.
Tansy's surname, as many older town residents will know, was Altoft.
Nicknames afforded to Brigg characters in the past have led to some being remembered in the town decades later, including Granny No Nose, Wild Harry, Fag Ash Lil, and Sooty.
Perhaps we'll look at some of them in a future posting.
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