The Flats, Bearmans, Lyons Cafe And Pie & Mash

I often think how lucky we post-war Leytonstone kids were to be born in the East End of London, yet have the whole of Wanstead park, the flats and what we called the forest at the end of our street, Browning Road, to get lost in. The mysterious Quakers Meeting house that was surrounded by the massive and famous 'Red Wall' where we all scratched our names in the soft red bricks and collected prized conkers nearby.  In those days Bearmans, the local department store, seemed to us to be the biggest and best store in the world, perhaps comparable only to Harrods! Looking back though it was not that big at all by today's standards. Lyons corner house was a treat as you lined up with your tray after shopping with your Mum and had pie and chips with gravy, I'll never forget  those lovely trifles in little cups. However as far as real authentic East End gourmet food is concerned what could compare with Pie & Mash from Cowleys at the Harrow Green,  fish & chips from one of Lukover's  shops that dominated Leytonstone's take-away trade in those days long before Pizza and Indian. Isreal's greengrocery shops selling exotic Brazil nuts or Mandarins in gold /silver paper at Christmas time. The pease pudding van outside the Red Lion or the whelk stall outside the Green Man. The Rex cinema being turned into the first Bowling Alley in the East End. Leytonstone Motors with the petrol pumps on the pavement. That terrific scrap yard by the railway arch where you could get a 'still running' old Ford or Morris for about 10 pounds if memory serves me correctly. We learnt valuable lessons about to how to fix cars on the cheap. The build up to Guy Fawkes night saw us lads with homemade 'guys' in prams outside the banks and various prime sites in the High Road. It was not uncommon to make as much as 5 quid on a Saturday, which was a small fortune in those days, you could get an awful lot of fireworks for 5 quid!!!  For a serious adventure there was the boating lake at Whipps Cross with lovely old wooden rowing boats with ropes that you pulled to steer while the other bloke rowed, if you were clever that is!! Wanstead Park and the ornamental waters provided us kids with hours of decent, healthy outdoor adventures as well as our first ever 'proper' kiss I imagine!  Leytonstone, it was a terrific place to be brought up with so many fabulous  happy memories. Now I live in sunny Australia but always will be an E11 boy at heart, even today a walk in Wanstead Park is always on the agenda when I come back 'home'. However what I can't get over is the thousands of prime conkers lying about totally ignored by today's youth. In our day pitched battles  would have been fought over such a prize!!

Ray Murray
Adelaide, Australia