Wednesday, May 09, 2007
19th April. A trip to the local post office. Part 1.
Wakehurst Drive has been part of my life for over 40 years.
Less than a year after we were married we moved to a flat at one end of the road.
We could see new houses being built on land opposite and when we knew that a baby was on the way we put in to rent one of the houses. We moved in at the end of May 1969.
Three years later we bought the house.
This picture was taken from our present front garden looking towards the flat we lived in for 3 years. It is the upstairs flat and at the time the picture was taken looked to be waiting for new residents.
The address was Wakehurst Drive but the windows looked out over Brighton Road towards the roundabout and the A23 which we can still see.
So for 41 years I have been walking, cycling and driving the length of Wakehurst Drive - it is just about half a mile in length.
I have pushed prams and push chairs, helped the boys with their paper rounds sometimes and in later years carried bags of parcels to the post office.
I calculate that I may have been up and down the road almost 5,000 times and seen it in all seasons.
When we took these photos there was still some blossom to be seen. The bigger trees had already lost their blossom - for about a week or so it is really beautiful.
The silver birches had just broken into leaf - vivid, bright and green.
There used to be a magnolia tree outside the nearest house which I used to admire. I should have scrounged a cutting when Bill's sister, Sheila still lived there.
Half way along the road is a post box. I remember when I was recovering from the days of serious illness I felt I had achieved so much by walking to the post box with a letter.
The road gradually climbs upwards to Southgate shops and the church.
It was always the policy when the town was developed to keep as many of the old trees as possible and have lots of grassy spaces.
Next time we will have a look at the amenities at Southgate Parade.
Less than a year after we were married we moved to a flat at one end of the road.
We could see new houses being built on land opposite and when we knew that a baby was on the way we put in to rent one of the houses. We moved in at the end of May 1969.
Three years later we bought the house.
This picture was taken from our present front garden looking towards the flat we lived in for 3 years. It is the upstairs flat and at the time the picture was taken looked to be waiting for new residents.
The address was Wakehurst Drive but the windows looked out over Brighton Road towards the roundabout and the A23 which we can still see.
So for 41 years I have been walking, cycling and driving the length of Wakehurst Drive - it is just about half a mile in length.
I have pushed prams and push chairs, helped the boys with their paper rounds sometimes and in later years carried bags of parcels to the post office.
I calculate that I may have been up and down the road almost 5,000 times and seen it in all seasons.
When we took these photos there was still some blossom to be seen. The bigger trees had already lost their blossom - for about a week or so it is really beautiful.
The silver birches had just broken into leaf - vivid, bright and green.
There used to be a magnolia tree outside the nearest house which I used to admire. I should have scrounged a cutting when Bill's sister, Sheila still lived there.
Half way along the road is a post box. I remember when I was recovering from the days of serious illness I felt I had achieved so much by walking to the post box with a letter.
The road gradually climbs upwards to Southgate shops and the church.
It was always the policy when the town was developed to keep as many of the old trees as possible and have lots of grassy spaces.
Next time we will have a look at the amenities at Southgate Parade.
