OUR picture of a pub regulars’ holiday to Majorca triggered some vivid memories for reader, Derek Entwistle.

Derek, pictured middle left on the picture above, was one of the Saddle Inn regulars who hit the headlines back in February, 1975.

For their first pub trip abroad was memorable for a tricky reason . . . six of the revellers had such a good time in Arenal that they weren’t allowed on the flight back home.

The intoxicated half-dozen had to stay behind in Palma and try to make their way back to Bolton overland.

Derek recalled: “One of the lads had to send money to his brother by Western Union. I remember it involved the six travelling to the British Embassy in Barcelona and collecting the money that had been sent from the Embassy in London.

“They all got back in the end, but it was another week before they got home. They had to get the bus and a ferry back to England.”

Derek, a retired plasterer who lives in Grosvenor Street, said the trip to Majorca was a first for the now-demolished Saddle Inn in King Street. “We used to take a trip to races every year,” he said, “But this year we decided to go abroad. We all put money into a fund and I remember it cost £36 each. The lads who didn’t want to go to Majorca went to the races instead, so the pub was deserted that weekend.”

The lads stayed at the Hotel Kontiki and, apart from enjoying the beverages, took trips out.

Derek was able to name most of lads on the picture, listed in the caption. Four of the men, Melvyn Fleming, Garry Whittle, Billy Lane, and Bill Moss have died.