I Was About 9 Years Old.......

A Memory of Old Wives Lees.

The first time I went to Old Wives Lees and that would have been in the Summer of 1957. Some friends in the road where I lived made this journey every year, it was their and their families only opportunity of a holiday because we were all drawn from working class stock. They spent from mid June until early September in the hop fields of this area of Kent, which even now is in quite a desolate spot - well, I think it is, not that there is anything wrong with that!
When my friends had departed for Kent some weeks before me I remember that their Father had returned home for some reason, to collect something I believe and he and my own Father who hardly knew each other struck-up a conversation and before I knew it everyone was in agreement that I could join my friends the following evening although there was no means of letting anyone in the hop fields location know I was coming.
When the next day arrived I had a small case packed and off I went on what was to me the 'journey of a lifetime'. Firstly, a trolley bus ride of about 40 minutes, departing at the Woolwich Ferry Tunnel, Northside and then making our way on foot crossing UNDERNEATH the River Thames to get to Woolwich Arsenal BR Station to take a Steam Train the 60 miles or so to Selling Station, Kent and what an adventure that was as you could only imagine for a small boy who had never travelled further than 2 or 3 miles in his life.
I have to say how wonderful it was, the 'rattling' of the trains carriages, the wonderful smell of the smoke that issued from the engine, the 'Da,da,da,da - Da,da,da,da' faster and louder as the train increased and sometimes decreased it's speed. The fields and the woods we by-passed, some having an array of farm animals inthem and others empty save for a tractor which had finished work for the day and which was sat, parked and abandoned near to a gate until the following day when work would recommence.
On arrival at Selling Station we were met I remember by one of the elder brothers of my friends who was driving a horse and cart. There were unbelieveably few cars about then and where there are now motorways, main roads and wide streets, there once stood country lanes and byways.
We made the relatively short journey, probably of a couple of miles, peacefully meandering along what I believe was and is 'Selling Road' towards the area of Old Wives Lees and what was no more than an encampment of tin huts provided by the owner of the farm whose hops and fields were being picked and cleared. When it was becoming dark, my friends and I went to a field of a local farmer where we 'rescued' several vegetables which we took back to the camp and which were readily added to an enormous cauldron to join three recently deceased rabbits and that would be providing sustenance to all those who had toiled in the fields all day! (possibly to be continued)

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