Childhood In The 1960s Early 1970s

A Memory of Headley Down.

I remember Beech Hill very well as I lived over Glayshers Hill from 1958 when I was 2 years old - we couldn't get up the hill in the winters back then and my dad would spend ages trying to get to work. We spent our childhood playing over Arford Common and the big old house at the top of the hill that eventually became Kays Crescent. Mr Radford from the village used to deliver vegetables to our door and all shopping was done at Whittles - oh, and Mr Weever up on Headley Down baked all the bread and cakes. I grew up with all the kids from Eerie Camp and went to Mill Chase. I had a friend who lived under the archway - where Mrs Groves used to live - at the top of Barley Mow Hill (the postbox was in the hedge). At the bottom of Barley Mow Hill was the good old 'Wheatsheaf' where Chris and Cyril never did know our real ages! We would skive off school and go over the Lithuanian Club and Kevin Smith fell through the ice on the pond when we tried skating! Beech Hill was a focal point where we would 'hang out' at the bus stop as teenagers. There was a small church next door - St Francis's - where we went to Sunday School with Mrs Lampard and Mrs Johnson and Brownies run by Mrs Ansell - oh, it all seemed so innocent then - but you had to wait 3 hours for the no 18 bus on a Sunday.