Reply To Swimming & Bookham Grange Hotel

A Memory of Little Bookham.

I remember Mr Colwill & his son, I used to keep my horse on the land below the hotel owned by the local coal merchant. As I met more locals we used to have parties in the old ball room with Nigel Portman-lewis, Jon Emuss, Gay Sutch & so many more. A super gang of teenagers. My parents came back to Bookham to look after ageing family at the Old croft where we also had parties, a meeting place for everyone. My parents always had an open house approach to youngsters! The swimming pool was Gilmaise on the Dorking Rd, also a gathering place in the summer. I had been going there from an early age when my parents lived at five new parade. Paula Absalom, Mary White & some of the local guides used to spend hours watching the local boys strut their stuff diving from the High board! Sadly this has all been built on now. Bookham is almost a suburb of London.