To return to the characters and well known personalities of the old Hunslet would not be right without mentioning a well known Hunslet worthy of that time, namely John Spurr. 

He lived and carried on his proffession [sic] as a “Vet” […] [in] a large open area paved with stone setts [.]

[…]

It was here that John Spurr used to hold his “Surgery” in any spare time he might have. Apart from his work as a “Oss Doctor”, he was a Council member, and he would give advice on any matters arising there. He was also the organiser of “Wiffem Waffem” Band. This was a group of local chaps who dressed up in a weird assortment of comic costumes, and they paraded the local streets playing an assortment of “Instruments” as weird as the outfits they wore. 

These varied from mouth organs, tin whistles and “Kazoos” to old gramophone trumpets, and sheet metal tubes, to dustbin lids for drums and pan lids for cymbals. Spurr himself played a concertina. They collected from passers by and anyone else who came out to watch them, and all the proceeds went towards treats for poor children. 

Needless to say their repertoire was more discordant than melodious, but the end justified the means used.