Tongham 1970s 80s

A Memory of Tongham.

Boy I miss Tongham. Not because of how great it is, but because how great it was. Growing up there as a young boy has to be one of the best experiences a boy could have.
I used to live on Northside, number 3, along with my brothers James and Mark. The only Portuguese people in the village (Mum was, Dad wasn't). I moved there as a 3 month old baby and stayed until I married and moved away in 1992.

As a child, one cannot forget, the Rec, the Red cross, the youth club. Such great memories of when a community was a community and a community mattered.
We sorted out our own problems amongst each other. I remember with such fondness the people who made that community. The people like Joe the copper, the Collis's newsagent, the cafe with the penny flick machine that later became Bert's chippy. The carnivals and the first time a fairground came to the village.

Such great people who gave everything for the kids, Roger Rickwood, Dave Aslett who ran the footie teams and Roger taught boxing up at the youth club with no worries about health and safety.

Then of course there was the famous White Hart Pub ran by the time I was old enough to get in by Dave and Stella Trott. Stella was scary but me Dave and Howard Taylor were the only Palace fans in the village so kept safe. Dave would be renowned for locking the pub doors, if you were still in, you weren't getting out :-)
Occasionaly we would venture all the way to the stock car racing, what great fun and right on the door step.

Memories go on and on, Now I live so far away, and Tongham is nothing like it was, but upstairs my Tongham friends, my life is full of memories,
Miss you Tongham.