A Step Back in Time

Windsor Street c1965
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I was born in Denham village but brought to Rockingham Parade, Uxbridge when I was one year old. Windsor Street was my main walking route to the town, bus, railway station and the shops. Uxbridge was a lovely town to grow up in as in Rockingham Parade lived next to the entrance to the lovely Fasinage Park and the river Frays. I walked along the river to get to Whitehall primary and junior school and later to Greenway secondary school. There was a great choice of cinemas (3) although my favourite was the Odeon as I could walk to it either along the river or through the park. We regularly went to Uxbridge swimming pool which was not heated in those days! When I was old enough, I went to the dance hall above Burtons on Windsor Street and the Regal cinema had the Court School of Dancing after it ceased to show films. There was a great teacher there called Clive who was obviously gay and he was a real 'character'. I have many great memories of nights spent there during 1969-70. I was married at St Andrew's church at the top of the High Street in 1966 and had my reception at the Railway Arms which no longer exists as there is a huge ring road there now. Windsor Street was cobbled when I was growing up and there were lots of little shops full of interesting things. There was a MacFisheries supermarket on the High Street turning right off of Windsor Street and I got my first Saturday job there earning £1.16 shillings for eight hours work! There was a large Co-Operative shop almost opposite Park Road (which led up to the swimming pool) and I loved going in there to look at the perfumes, cosmetics and clothes. It was a bit like today's Debenhams stores but more quirky. I remember, sadly, the shops closed on Wednesday afternoons and, of course, on Sundays when everything closed. Does anyone remember the great Uxbridge Show held during the summer every year up next to the swimming pool? I believe it is now called the Hillingdon Show and I don't know if it is still there. Some of my most treasured memories are of the Uxbridge Youth Club. It was in the grounds of a very creepy disused church and I was 14 when I went there in 1964. A man called Derek ran it with the help of two other men called John Kirkpatrick and Tony ?. We played records and danced to the music, played darts, pool and table tennis. It was all very innocent in those days and it kept us off the streets and I made many good friends there. I have since moved from Uxbridge to Littlehampton, Uxbridge, Harrow, Luton, Harrow and finally Lincolnshire where I have found a place a little similar to where I started out. I still have pictures of old Uxbridge and many happy memories of a great childhood in an unspoilt old town.