Earlsdon

A Memory of Coventry.

We moved into Earlsdon from Wales in 1965 and stayed with my aunty who lived in Belvedere Road. Such a big house with three floors and close to the Spencer Park tennis courts as I recall. The bus used to stop right outside the front door (no 1 in those days) and take us into town and park at Broadgate. We'd always visit Owen Owen (now Primark!) and have a cup of tea and a bun in the ground floor cafe.
If we didn't get the bus we could walk over the iron bridge which crossed the railway and even then was covered with graffiti. I used to leave the clanging echo sounds from it as it had built in sides so you couldn't see the line below.
Eventually we moved to our own place in Myrtle Grove at the top of Moor Street.
There was a paper shop run by Mr and Mrs Mills at the bottom of Moor Street opposite the Royal Oak pub and this was eventually turned into a cafe by their son Brian. The co-op was on the roundabout facing the City Arms pub and on the other corners were the Methodist Chapel and the Library and public toilets. My sister worked at the library and I went to Earlsdon Junior School.
As we would walk there we passed the sweet shop by the Albany Club (Bowlers?) and I used to love to buy lucky bags and a Frys five centre bar. Then a comic sometimes from the paper shop while Mum bought the evening Telegraph (which I was later to work for).
Moor Street has two halves and the longer steeper section took us home crossing over Warwick Street and Clarendon Street.
Living in Earlsdon meant most things could be purchased locally. There was a supermarket called Starways (I think it is Threshers now) and a great card shop called Fanes (it became a fireplace retailer). Gabriels was and I think still is the chip shop. Rolfes was the DIY place opposite the newsagent and there was a furniture store (Rich and Smith) next to that. The Coventry Economic was were I took out my first savings book at the age of 8. In those days my aunt who lived in Huntingdon Road did her laundry in the laundrette near Providence Street.
There was a paint shop called Coopeys (I went to school with their daughter Jackie).
When I re-visit the day time Earlsdon is much the same but at night it has been transformed - not to my taste. There are taxis everwhere and lots of night owls out for a good time. In my day I could be sent down to buy chips at 8pm with no fear but nowadays it feels inhospitable and scary and a bit grubby to be honest. There is even a police presence.
Earlsdon has made progress but I prefer the Earlsdon I remember.

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