Bennett Road

I lived there too

By David Collison

Thanks Mike I remember you and Tony very well. I lived in Bennett Road, number 54 from 1948-1966 when I left to find the pot of gold in London. 

The Street was full of kids but sadly I missed the Ice cream factory...but the crumpets were still available to us. I think the top shop became a Bike Shop and opposite was Mrs Bridges sweet shop, come general store. By then the houses had been rebuilt and almost unrecognisable as new places apart from the chimney stacks.

My parents lived there until 2006 when mum had to go into a nursing home...she is still alive, virtually running the place. Dad died in 1994 after the big storm and somebody crashed into the low wall that divided all the houses from the pavement. Strange how stress can finish you!!

On Saterday mornings we used to go mob handed to the Odeon Kemptown and watch Saturday morning pictures and then go to the nearby cake shop and buy a big bag of stale cakes for a few pennies...and we are still alive to prove that sell by dates are just a commercial ploy to get stuff off the shelves.

I remember one Saturday Roy Rogers turned up in the Odeon, with his horse Trigger and had it counting and doing things that we had never seen an animal do before...he probably wasn't Roy Rogers or Trigger but he convinced us. Sad how you become cynical in your old age.

That was between Pathe News, or was it Pearl and Dean and the Cisco Kid as I recall.

There was no fear of getting run over in those days...there were very few cars around

One year it snowed so heavily that we were able to build a wall right across the road, which must'v annoyed Mr Gibson, the Insurance man in his Riley. One of the few cars that came down the road. then Mrs Stevens won the pools and bought a big car that sat outside her house forever. She lived opposite the Jones's who are probably still there, but I could never keep up with them!  And the Collinse's used to go hop picking every summer, load all their gear onto a lorry, kids on top and clear off for ages. Linda is the only one I remember.

Next door was Sandy who one day fell over and cracked her head open..i've never seen so much blood...well at that age I'd never seen blood before. She lived and even came to see mum once, not so long ago.

My best mate was Ray Bruce from No 61 whose mum and dad were great and very kind to me..Rays Mum put a fire out in my bedroom...yes, playing with matches, that's why I am still here to tell the tale.

I wish I had some pics but we really didn't go in for taking photographs, well I say that, but mostly the films just never got processed.

If I find some I will add them later.