Nonington, Kent

Skating rink

I lived in Elvington in a small prefab in Sweetbriar Lane. I used to go roller skating in a play area where there were swings etc, the rink had a big crack across the middle which we used to jump over. i went to Aylesham secondary school and used to bunk off and get the train through to Canterbury with friends... [more]

The Pantomime at the Welfare Hall

My mum was called Jill Drake and my dad was Bob Drake and he worked down the pit.  We lived in St Johns Road and I remember that I was about 7 when the Elvington Players was first launched.  The Pantomime was Mother Goose and somewhere I have a photo of it which I will try and find it. It was... [more]

Family History

My family history reveals that the name of Piddock was once known in Knowlton and the family name linked with the Church. Piddocks were also to be found at Nortbourne in the 1500s - do such facts have interest for anyone?

Lamberts Laundry

I called on many customers in Adisham village before the popularity of the automatic washing machine affected the laundry trade. I served all the main traders: Hosking Post Office, Best Bakery, Colmans Farm, and numerous private households. The generosity of the customers in providing tea and cakes added pleasant hours to my journey and I sometimes took the Sunday service at... [more]

childhood

I was born at Yew Tree Cottage Lower Eythorne, opposite the White Horse pub in 1945, and left the village when I was 21.
I remember the fresh fish van, the cricket pitch behind the pub in Upper Eythorne, steamrollers, bubbles in the tar during the summer, collecting car numbers, the number 88 bus to Dover, Sunday School, Elvington School when... [more]

Great grand parents lived in Barhamn "Black" Mill

my ancestoers richard walter and family lived in Barham mill. The mill is also the "location" for the movie Raising a Riot.

Through the Kitchen window

I was born in my Grandparents house - "Wimbourne" - in the valley below the Mill. Many pleasant hours have I spent sitting in the kitchen with my grandmother shelling peas that granddad had grown in the garden. The Mill could be seen from the kitchen window high on the downs. When travelling through Bridge on the Canterbury Road, we would... [more]

The Happiest Days of my Life

My  maternal grandfather, Archie Greatorex, was the licensee of the Anchor Inn from 1957 until his death in September 1974. Most of my family holidays, until the age of 10, were spent with him. My parents used to pack my sister and I up and we would catch either the coach or train from London's Victoria to Canterbury, thence by number... [more]