Mitcham Common, The Cannons And May Day.

A Memory of Mitcham.

I remember going to Mitcham Fair and paying 2 1/2d to go into a tent and look at Siamese twins in a jar. I used to walk across the Bee Hive bridge to Cranmer Middle School. Also we sometimes walked down 'Cold Blows' to get to the Cannons, which was a lovely park, although I always found Cold Blows a bit scary. There used to be bluebells under the trees in spring. There was some sort of community building there where I went to Guides (I only joined so I could go and see David Essex in 'Godspell'). Also one year I had a party in there with a clown entertainer. He crushed lots of things into a metal tin, including egg shells, and the birthday girl, me of course, then had to open the tin. I pulled out a lovely Victoria sandwich cake, in a cellophane packet. My dad would collect me from Guides and we would walk back across the Mitcham Common, which I didn't enjoy because of the maybugs. That's what I think they were, big brown beetles which would fly up at you. We'd walk over the Bee Hive bridge, down the steps and through Lavender Walk to get home. I also remember as a child being part of the May Day celebrations. My mum made me a costume, I was a buttercup. I think we went to the Wilson's Hospital or maybe there was an Old Folks Home. Or maybe that was harvest festival?