Cippenham, The Children's Recreational Park

A Memory of Cippenham.

The Park was taken over once a year by a large travelling fun fair (Traylens) with traditional rides and amusements (a helter-skelter tower) and mechanical rides (Dive Bomber, The Whip and Dodgems) and the usual catch-penny side shows and a small travelling .22 rifle range (5 shots a shilling). I was intrigued by bigger kids who could whistle with the cartridge cases. There was also a boxing booth where locals tried their hand at the travelling string. The event was also a social gathering where people from extended families, or former neighbours who had moved as their families grew, met to compare notes, births marriages and deaths.