Christmas Eves 1960s

Common c1960
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I was born in Stroud and lived in Cashesgreen and Paganhill until I was 11 when the family moved to Hertfordshire. My aunt lived at Minchinhampton in a house my sister now owns. As children we remember making the then very slow journey from Cashedgreen up Rodborough Hill past the Fort and along the common, waving at the big bear outside the pub and then onto our aunt's house for a very merry Christmas Eve family get-together. Those of you who remember will recall the REAL winters of the 1960s when those of us lucky enough to have a motor vehicle made that journey in fear of our lives that we might topple over the edge of the common into Stroud! The sound of our car going over the cattle grid beneath the Fort on the way up meant less chance of the car sliding back down the hill but we had to be the bravest souls to look out the windows at the steep hills below - on the way down the cattle grid signalled the start of a hair-raising descent to Cainscross in the snow! And remember, these were the days when drinking and driving was the norm! However we all survived to tell the tale and not least to have recently scattered our Dad's ashes in the shadow of the Fort to await those of our lovely Mum - hopefully he'll have a long wait watching over our beloved town.