Leaf Road

A Memory of Houghton Regis.

I moved from London into 64 Leaf Road on 1st January 1961. We were offered the house because housing was very short in Southwalk, where we lived with my mum and dad. When we got there it was freezing, the roads were laid but there were no pavements. My husband and I had one daughter, and I was expecting my second child. I remember it was very muddy and the nearest shops were in the village, which was quite a hike. They did open a small shop just nearby and shops up at the top of Tithe Farm Road. Dunstable, was where the supermarkets and other shops were, and a bus came through the estate. Mind you, in the winter it would not be able to get far along Tithe Farm Road due to ice. I remember the shopping centre being opened by Hattie Jaques - she was a very popular celebrity at the time. We lived there for seven years and went back to London when my husband's firm offerd him a job in Chingford. I never really liked it there, as all my family were back in london. One of my sons went to have a look at the house he was born in - he said it looked ok, but he wouldn't want to live there.