My Memories Of Home

A Memory of Barking.

I remember going to the Ripple Road School. I started in the middle of the year 1949 I think. I left about the middle 1950s. I remember going to the corner shop to buy sweets like false teeth and the like. Then walking home with my friends up over the rail bridge waiting for the train to come and enjoying the steam on our face.
With my friend Ann we would then walk to Chalmers Avenune where she lived and I would go on to Longbridge Road, number 102 in fact. It was just  before the park, a very old 3 storey house, I loved that house so much and it holds so many memories for me. My dad sold it to a car sales firm and they pulled it down and built a car sales room. I often think of the wonderful times I had in the park, at the Odeon and the shops. Caters the grocer was one of my favourites and then Abrahams, the shop that had Gingernuts, that is all I could remember. They used to let me have one and then I used to go down the back to the mystery of the back room in this shop. I was first introduced to Gingernuts there and to this day I still love them. For some reason I can remember there was a pram shop somewhere in Longbridge Road, I do not know why that has stuck in my mind. Oh yes, and the doctor who was Dr McDonald. I can remember the Saturday mornings waiting in line to go to the pictures. The wonderful church, St Margaret's (I was always going to get married there).
We left Barking I think it must have been about 19955, and went to live on the Elm Park Estate in Rainham.
I could go on and on. I now live in New Zealand and often tell my grandchildren about Barking but now I have found this web site I will be able to show them the places that I have often talked about.
My maiden name was Pat Beech.