Those Were The Days

Rye Lane c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

I remember Rye Lane in Peckham as a very busy shopping centre. I was born in the area and lived in Mcdermott Road in the prefabs (it is now a Charlie Dimock Garden) until I married  in Blenheim Grove Church (behind the station)and moved away in 1963. I remember shopping in Jones and Higgins (in this picture) - to us children it was an aladdin's cave with all its different departments. Later on I worked in Woolworths, which I believe is still in the same place, while still at school in the evenings and weekends, and went to school at Bellenden Road and then on to Peckham school, firstly in the old building then on to the the new glasshouse as we used to call it. We would all play on the shelters on the corner of Peckham Rye Park - they made good slides when it was wet on the shiny stones, then we would go off into the park for a day's fishing in the pond, just playing games in the wooded areas of the park. Goose Green playing area was another favourite haunt of us kids - we would spend all day there without a care in the world.  Oh those were the days!