Life In The Early Fifities

A Memory of Edmonton.

I was born in 1949 in a prefab in St Malo Ave just off Town Rd. Things were tough for Mum and Dad as he was invalid and unable to work. I really never noticed for a few years and just tried to explore and enjoy the world around me even though it consisted mainly of an overgrown garden and a bomb site down the road. My most vivid memory at 3 was accidentally locking myself in the toilet and then being rescued by the fire brigade. That made the papers! I also remember the annual parade. Some of the performers scared the hell out of me by wearing these large heads. Some of my relatives worked at the old Green market on the vegetable stalls. It was such a vibrant place, full of life and great characters. I visited the New Green a few years back on a trip from Australia, our home now for over 40 years.Sadly I found the shopping centre a most depressing place.
We moved to Centre Road next. A much bigger house and opposite the entrance to The Latymer school which I was later to attend after infant school in Hazelbury Road and then Silver Street Juniors. We had along association with Masseys the greengrocer, my brother working there as the manager, myself as a parttime shop boy. Jobs like this were sort after as times were very tough for many locals, unlike life for most of the attendees at Latymer. The shop also sold coal and coke, and many locals would bring their prams and trolleys to take their bags of fuel home. We also made deliveries and it was not unusual to be delivering fuel until 9pm in the evening from the back of Bill Massey's Bedford truck. Christmas was a fun time despite often shoveling coal and coke in the snow. My brother enjoyed the fun of the mistletoe over the shop queue and it never seemed to deter the ladies from getting their fruit and veg. Far from it! I do regret not having the time back then to play soccer for the school on Saturdays but such is life. I was still in Edmonton when the Angel pub closed down. What a night that was! Life had moved on by then and I was working in London for Cosmos Tours. But that's another story.

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