Elstow memories
Here are memories of Elstow and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Elstow or a Elstow photo.
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Memories of Bedfordshire
Swimming in The River at Kempston
Great times were had at the river at the bend as we children called it, we would make mud slides down the banks. What fun we had. There was always a good crowd there on a Sunday afternoon, but now its all quiet, no swimmers, the bend has long since gone.
Up The Overs
Walking free through the wet grass leaving dark trails. Ahead the meadow rises to the mill bank where we stand in silence. Silent and smooth the deep mill race slides towards the wheel. Turning away we follow the bank upstream to the New Overs. Standing on the wooden sluice walk we look down the slide to the deep pool below. No water over the spillways in summer, the shutters are down and slides are dry. Later in the day the children will come to swim in the sluice pool and splash along through the shallows to the eyot. The girls will sit on the slide lip and the boys, lifting the shutters from the sluice walk, will send a wave down the slide to wash them into the pool. No-one will play on the second Over with its dark tree shaded pool. Strong swimmers drown among the tangled roots.
On along the mill steam bank, walking on the cracked dry clay, to the old Overs. The duck... Read more
Working Memories.
I was the main weekday driver of the launch photographed during the student holiday periods of 1955-1958. When I drove it, the name was 'Silver Stream'. It was the largest of a set of three electric launches which carried paying passengers for trips of about 40 minutes duration from the steps on the downstream, north side of the town bridge. Typically this launch would carry about 40 passengers maximum. Silver Stream was a magnificent launch to drive, giving a silent drive, almost no water disturbance up to the 6 knots maximum for the river, and had a tubular rudder form which surrounded the propeller. This permitted a very tight turning such that most of us could turn round in places where the river was reduced in width to one and a half times the launches length. The two sister launches were smaller. Silver Spray was a shorter less sleek version of Silver Stream and had a single section canopy (possibly in the background of this photo coming downstream). It would... Read more
SILVERY OUSE
I was a summer season driver of these boats during my college holidays in the early 1960s. We operated four boats, Silver Foam, Silver Stream, Silver Crest and my own boat, Silver Dawn, which I believe came from the Norfolk Broads.
The mornings were spent at Fenlake cleaning and polishing to the high standards demanded by Mr Smith (`The Guvnor`). We then came up through Bedford Lock for an afternoon of trips. We mostly ran to Newnham Bridge, but occasionally ventured to Queens Park, although the river was shallow here and I once hit a submerged log by the Britannia Ironworks. Some evenings we ran private hire work and I twice drove the regatta boat (mainly supplying crates of beer to the umpires!). My fellow driver, Stan, nicknamed me 'Dexterous Ted' after the well-known cricketer, Ted Dexter, either as a compliment or a joke.
I Was A Projectionist at The Picturedrome
I worked there for a few years with Stan Hunt at the Picturedrome, and the Plaza which was nearly opposite across the river was owned by a man called Mr Cheetam. I also worked at the Plaza as a relief projectionist and also another cinema in Ampthill owned by Mr Cheetam.
They were great days and I now live in Leicester but now see that all four cinemas in Bedford are gone, what is left? I thought the Picturedrome and the great cinema The Granada were listed buildings so who had them demolished should be shot. These cinemas have brought great memories to a lot of people and been destroyed by Bedford Council.
Don't you think the Granada would have been great for live shows. What a big waste but thinking about it all, councils like wasting money and never mind listed buildings, demolish them.
I still like to visit Bedford allthough many changes have happened and I have reunited wth Stan Hunt's son Lesley who now works at... Read more
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Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Barking, Essex
- Ewell, Surrey
- Draycott-In-The-Clay, Derbyshire
- Blaenavon, Gwent
- Chiddingfold, Surrey
- Hampton Wick, Surrey
- Knockentiber, Ayrshire
- Birkenhead, Merseyside
- High Halden, Kent
- Rhydyfelin, Mid Glamorgan
- Croydon, Surrey
- Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex
- Tredington, Warwickshire
- Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire
- Souldern, Oxfordshire
- Thurstaston, Merseyside
- Ealing, Greater London
- Salford, Lancashire
- Weaverham, Cheshire
- Pant, Shropshire
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
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