Crocuses, Halifax Gala And Other Memories.

A Memory of Halifax.

The crocuses around Savile park Manor Heath and on the way to Scircoat Green were, and still are the first glorious sign of Spring in Halifax. The roundabouts and parks have always been especially lovely and well looked after. I was born in Halifax in 1957 and lived at Norton Towers first, then Manor Heath. I loved the Halifax gala, watching the floats and then going to the park for the fair after. It was the highlight of my year. Mum used to make us banana sandwiches to go to Manor Heath park with in the summer. We'd go to paddle in the rough concrete paddling pool and sit at the side to eat our sandwiches. It's be full of people when it was sunny. Manor Drive and the back streets along there would be full of kids playing ball games and "what time is it Mr Wolf" and going up and down on home made go carts and skipping all across the streets. Every evening in the summer we'd be out playing together, knocking on each others doors asking if the children of the family were "playing out". We'd collect used bottles and take them to the off licence at the end of Manor drive and get a few pennies for them, then we'd go to the fish and chip shop on there to get a bag of chips, or when the new potatoes came "chats" with bits, salt and vinegar and eat them in the street from the newspaper with our fingers. When we got older we'd go to the youth clubs, different ones on different nights.....St Jude's , King Cross...(anyone remember Jimmy Saville coming there?...oh dear.) West End and St Andrew were my favourite haunts in 1970 ish. Then we progressed to The Upper George, the Adiga bar and Clarences when we were much too young to be going there. I have loads of happy memories of living in Halifax.