Golden Gates

A Memory of Derry Hill.

This hasn't changed at all. My friend Andy Moody and his family lived here in the 1970's.

I went round nearly every day for a couple of years ...we were so into playing soldiers, we spent hours making forts and digging trenches, Andy had some great military memorabilia. When we grew up Andy joined the army and moved away. I remember his mum & dad ..a real character...and his sister Nicola.

We made parachutes for our action men and threw them out of the top of the gates. No one else had a house like this.

I think the gates are special to everyone from Derry Hill...in the days before the golf club you could walk through the gates down through the Rhodedendrum bushes and everything was so quiet, a private garden just for the villagers.

In the winter when it got dark I'd ride home from here straight down Old Derry Hill between the walls with the light from my dynamo arcing out to either side.

A great - and safe - place to grow up.