'chez Jene'

A Memory of Streatham.

I remember Chez Jene, a boutique owned by the mother of presenter of radio and tv David Jacobs. I had never been in the shop, it was close to the 137 bus route in Leighamcourt Road, and whilst waiting for the bus l would look in the window at all the finery and jewellery, but never went in as it was expensive for those days. However in 1964 when expecting our first child, my mother handed me a gift, it was 'something new called a ,baby-gro' - l believe they were from America(?) She had seen it in the window of Chez Jene and l believe it was around £5 or £6 pounds, a small fortune then. I also remember the unmarried mothers home on the opposite side of the road, l believe it was run by Nuns, but l am not sure. l always used to feel sad because one could catch a glimpse of nappies blowing on the line in the garden that could be glimpsed down the side of the large house. l did realise that babies born to the mothers there were adopted. It always looked a cold and lonely place to me. Streatham High Road still had a milliners where you could purchase a hat, not an uncommon sight in those days. I left Streatham when our children were school age, and on my frequent returns l was sad to see the dissapearance of everything l remembered. Compared to today it had a village feel. l even left my first born; the first time l took her out in her pram outside Boots the chemist. I did not remember l had a baby until l arrived at Pratts! I was so shocked that l had forgotten l had a baby; but as those days were safer than today, she had come to no harm, but it was a heart-sinking feeling. It was not unusual to see rows of large prams outside shops, and people would stop to admire the babies they contained. Sadly, unlike today. The Ice -Rink and swimming pool were places to be visited regularly. l could walk across the common and through some woods as far as the roads that were named after American places, quite unworried on my own to see an aunt on Sunday mornings. I used to love the Streatham Hill Theatre, where l first saw Tom Courtney in Billy Liar. The Locoarno was for dancing with a live band.

---

---