Upper Tooting

A Memory of Tooting.

I grew up in Park Hill Court, Beeches Road in the sixties and seventies; my father was the caretaker. He used to be in charge of the bonfire on firework night, up on one of the drying grounds. The girls stood one side and the boys stood the other. My dad used to set off all the fireworks and the boys used to set those wiggly fireworks that seem to chase you! They don`t have them anymore. I went to Fircroft Infants and Juniors, my teacher was Mr Dalton; such a nice man.
Then on to Garrat Green Girls School. My house mistress was Miss Vandenburgh, I was in Rosalind with my sister, who was 4 years older than me. My grandparents lived in the same court with us - they were bombed out of Nutwell Street during the war.Then when they lived in Beeches Road my gran remembered a V1 or 2 landed on the cemetary; it showered all our gardens with bones, she said. Grandad was an ARP warden and had a shoe repair shop down at Tooting Graveney. My nan used to work there too, and it was a dear little shop that smelled of leather and glue. My mother worked at the co-op in Tooting, in the office. I remember going up in the old lift up to see Santa at Christmas as they used to build a grotto for him. My father worked at British Films in Balham. All my friends wanted to come to my birthday parties as I always had Tom and Jerry films from my dad; the highlight was when he showed it backwards whilst rewinding it. I remember the mental hospital around the corner and the police, touring the area sometimes, telling us to stay indoors as one of the patients had escaped. I can still see the sweetshop at the end of the road with all its penny sweets. Opposite was the Mayfair cinema where we used to go to Saturday morning pictures. There were garages opposite our flats where we all played tennis - it was great.
When the circus came to Tooting Bec Common I used to watch the circus go along the main road; all the lions and tigers and clowns. The circus was everything, all animals, horses and dogs, it was a real sight. I loved going down to the shops with my mum. I remember the butchers with sawdust on the floor, the tailors where my mum's sister worked. It was called Franklins Tailoring. And the Italian ice cream parlour next door where they were lovely to you. I worked at the pet shop, Mayfair Pets as I got older, on Saturdays I used to breed baby rabbits and look after the animals. They always drew a crowd when we put them in the window run to sell them. The market used to smell funny. It was all sorts of shops. I moved away in 1978. I have been back once with my teenage children to show them where mummy grew up as we live in the New Forest. My flat where I lived was pretty much the same but the High road was so different. I want to remember the "old days". Its funny how life is all about smells? You associate things by them.