The Street Family

A Memory of Cuffley.

My name is Julie and my Mum and Dad are Joan and Tom Street (Mum has passed away). I have wonderful memories of Cuffley and lived there from the age of 5 to 19 years in Homewood Avenue; we moved there in 1963. My Mum loved to tread the boards and I remember going to see her in plays at the old Cabin before the hall was built. I remember my Dad helping to paint and build the sets outside on a Sunday morning. I have been back over the years to see some of the plays and the last one was directed by Neil Panell who sadly died recently. The stage was the same as it ever was and bought back happy memories. There are many parts of Cuffley that seem the same and Tolmers Road is one of them - apart from the fact that it now has pavements. I recall walking home from Cuffley School and staying on the grass verges and not the road. I used to go to the Cuffley Club on a Sunday afternoon when I was about 14 and then later on when I was older in the evenings. There used to be some great groups there and one of them was Slade before they came famous. The Tesco shop used to be the Cuffley Hotel/pub and of course The Plough is still around. Being a kid then was so much fun - roller skating around Homewood and Brookside Crescent; walking up to Home Wood; riding your bike until it started to get dark. The people of Cuffley were (are) lovely and friendly. I remember shops in the High Street; Wacketts is still there although I think it might have moved location - not sure. I spent sixpence on sweets there every morning on the way to school. Ridgeways used to supply school uniforms and shoes and the family who owned it lived on the Ridgeway too. I went to Brownies at St Andrews Undercroft and it was so noisey due to the echo. I remember a load of kids coming down for the day from London. All us familes went along to the Undercroft and took one or two of them home for the day so that they could experience a day in the country. We took two sisters and they were as quiet as mice all day. Took them out in the car but it rained and rained so they didn't get outside at all. This kind of thing would never happen now! My parents were so much a part of the community and I am sure that Cuffley hasn't changed in its spirit. I now need an excuse to go back and hopefully see a couple of the remaining people that I might still know from those wonderful glory days.