Yesterday I went out for a walk, tracing most of my old route to primary school, then beyond to Debden Broadway. A series of memories floated into my head as I walked:
Betty and Bill.
Street parties on Cleland Path.
A friends mum who would bite their dog if it bit her.
The same friend singing Police and Thieves and claiming she made it up on the spot, only years later did I discover her lie.
The now demolished wall that we used to balance on outside St Gabriel's Church.
My little sister being hit by a car outside St Gabriel's Church.
The once open land with a marvellous old oak that I loved, still there but behind fences, deadly nightshade grew near it.
My primary school where I was most happy in education, its once huge open field now covered in houses. The bird that flew into our classroom window, sat dazed for a moment and then flew away.
The eccentrically decorated house with a hand painted sign outside declaring, 'Beware of the tadpole'. I liked it but the neighbours weren't so keen.
Angela and Barry who treated me like a daughter and gave me so much during my teenage years (and beyond).
Debden's pie and mash shop, unchanged through the decades.
Where Woolworths used to be.
Sprays the bakers, sold out of my favourite Bath bun.
