The 70's At The Lake

A Memory of Pickmere.

My memories are of living at 37 pickmere lane from 1969 age 7. My mum Beryl Owen still lives there now and I still live in Wincham.
I will always remember the "bob bob bob" of the motor boats which I could here from my bedroom window. Mums and Dads house backs on to two fields and then the lake below it. This was my playground for a lot of my childhood.
I too remember the fairground, the rowing boats and motor boats. I also remember being on the big boat which I think was called Queen Anne ? I was taken on it as a 4 year and wanted a wee, so had to do it in a bucket in front of all the other people on the boat. Not a memory easily forgotten !
I remember the ghost train, the carousel and slot machines you needed old pennies for.
Brian Cheatham owned all this I believe. He recently died. I remember he always had a pipe in his mouth.
I also remember the ice cream booth at the top of the hill. Jayne Robinson used to work in it over summer when we were off school. She now has her own fleet of burger and ice cream vans and goes all over Cheshire selling at car boots etc. Her mother and father still live across the road from the entrance to where Lake House once stood. Sadly some years ago Brian Cheatham sold out and the lake house, boats, fairground were all flattened to build expensive houses. Jayne Robinson lives in one of them.
Above the lake was the Happy Hour which I hardly remember. The Endeavour which I spent many a quid in and also the Jubilee Club - again many a happy memory - but now ll gone for houses. Friday night was "grab a granny night" in the Jubilee as we called it. Coach loads of people came from Manchester and all over to listen and dance to the resident band - "the Harbour Lights"
Saturday night was a bit more up market. I watched many big names there such as Jimmy Cricket and even Bernard Manning. Mr Sing owned the Jubilee and you had to buy chicken in a basket or ribs and chips to get in as part of the entrance fee. My mum worked there on saturday along with Mavis Henshall and Betty Spenser who used to live along the field in one of the pre-fabs built during the war wth her hubby Snowy. Again all long gone.
The Country Club round the corner is still open but called "The Elms". I had many a lock in there and we played pool and darts till early hours. The Red Lion is further up the road and still exists of course but has been modernised. It is more an eatery now, rather ruined it if you ask me. There is hardly a bar to stand at to chew the fat with anyone so I hardly ever go in now.
All this was a stones throw from my mum and dads and I can honestly say I didn't realise how lucky I was until it was all taken away. There aren't really any characters in the pubs anymore like there were in my hay day. You would go out and have a really good time in Pickmere. It's now a shell of what it was. Let's hope The Elms keeps going. It's the only real pub left.