My Teenage Memories....

A Memory of Tooting.

From 1959 to 1973 I lived at Tooting Junction. '59-69 in Glasford Street opposite the police station, then when I got married in 1969 I moved one whole road away in Renmuir Street! Many local people may remember our big, black labrador, who used to bark and throw himself at the front room window if anyone dared to walk past our downstairs flat at 2 Glasford Street. My dad used to mend cars outside in the street, as well as working at Battersea power station for a living! My mum, little sister and I used to sit outside the Railway Bell pub with our bags of Smiths crisps and a pepsi or lemonade while our dad had his Sunday lunchtime pint (only the one). Mum would have half a pint of brown ale (Ugh!) outside with us. Sometimes, he would get a bottle of Tizer and a block of ice cream from Kings sweetshop to make fizzy sundaes for 'afters'!

We would ride down the hill at Longley Road on our home made go karts that my cousins and I would make out of old pram chassis (where did they come from?) One time, I almost ended up under the wheels of the 220 bus, so my go karting days came to an end. Me and my friend Richard used to buy our Beatle records from Peter's record shop next to Greasby's auction house. Peter would put them on the deck so we could hear them first. He was a 'nervy' man, but very pleasant,, and would put aside Beatles records for us as they sold out in no time! Anyone remember him?

I went to Sellincourt school from '59 to '63. The lovely Mr Roberts was the headmaster. Teachers I remember were Miss Gaff (miserable old devil!) Miss Clarke (miserable old devil) Mr Myers (VERY miserable old devil who used to hit and shout at the kids) Mr Gates and Miss Gamgee (?). They were spotted holding hands one day......Oh, the joyous rumours!! I went to Garratt Green from 1963 to 1967 then went off to work in a poodle parlour in Revelstoke Road, Merton.

I was a 13 year old rocker, a 14 year old mod and a 15 year old hippy! My weekends were spent hanging about on Figges Marsh with my reefer jacket, tigers tail or cow bell (depending on the current trend) as my cousins all lived in Mitcham. My grandparents and great grandmother lived in Manship Road. We used to go to 'band practice' at the church hall just off Gorringe park avenue on the border of Figges Marsh, to see The Oddz 'n' Enz and do The Memphis dance! However, I spent a lot of time in Tooting Broadway. I was a Granadier (?) child for Saturday morning pictures at the Grenada, then from 1963 onwards went to as many 'concerts' at The Grenada as my Saturday job could pay for! I saw the Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Helen Shapiro, to name but a few, with my little sister and my cousin in tow! The Beatles lodged in a house in Trevelyan Road as I'm sure many of you Tooting-ites will remember! I bought my first guitar from the Broadway Music shop for £52 which I saved from my wages. My dad used to take £1 10 shillings housekeeping money and I would have about 4 quid left for myself. That lasted all week, and I had a good time on it! I used to walk the whole length of Garratt Lane, turn off at Earlsfield and along Penwith Road to Merton to save the bus fares to buy that guitar. It was a 12 string jumbo and would have cost a small fortune now! Then there was the Lots o Fun arcade at Tooting Broadway, where I was forbidden to go as 'the boys there all smoke' as my mum used to say. Of course, I took no notice and went anyway, and smoked as many fags as I could blag off the poor chaps who I must have driven mad. If I had a spare shilling, I would play pinball and try to get as many free balls as possible! There was the wonderful Harringtons pie and mash shop, where I had the job of going on Saturday nights with my glass jar for 'licker'. It didn't seem to matter what size jar you had, they filled it up anyway. Lovely grub! Sunday's In the Summer of Love of 1967 were spent on Tooting, Mitcham or Wimbledon common (or Hyde Park if we could afford the tube fare) guitar or portable record player in hand, cow bells round our necks. It was all quite innocent as we were too young to get up to more mischief, but I had the time of my life anyway!