A large audience gathered in Bridport Town Hall on Saturday to hear Paul Atterbury of Antiques Roadshow share anecdotes and memories as part of Bridport Heritage Forums 'Rationing to Rock 'n Roll exhibition.

Mr Atterbury spoke of his connections with the BBC's 1950s Watch with Mother programmes and also gave insights into the development of some of the 1950s toys on show.

Members of the audience brought in childhood treasures, and Mr Atterbury spent time after his talk to look at teddies, puppets and dolls – one of which was Bernard Montgomery, in full uniform with the famous black beret.

He spent the whole morning at the exhibition and was incredibly impressed with the scope and depth of the displays, which he said captured the essence of the 1950s, reflecting the lives and experiences of real people, which everyone could relate to.

Before he left, Mr Atterbury was tempted – or maybe coerced – into sampling some of the 'school dinner' puddings available for tasting. However, he said tapioca and semolina still remained a memory he would rather forget!

The exhibition, which ran for two weeks with close to 2,000 visitors, has now closed, but members of the Heritage Forum are already busy setting up their next community project, 'A House and a Street through Time', which will start in mid-September, following an enthusiastic response to the project from more than 40 residents earlier in the year.