Saturday Morning Pictures

A Memory of Tooting.

As a small boy in the 50's on a Saturday morning me and Joey Hodson would walk up Garrett Lane from Summerstown to the pictures at the Granada. Tooting Grenadiers we were called at the Cinema. We couldn't have been more than10 yet we walked along the road without a care. We would knock on people's doors and run off. At the Granada an organist would rise out of the pit on a Wurlitzer and play the tooting grenadiers and some other stuff. Then we watched a silent movie of Laurel and Hardy then there would be a Batman Movie. After, Joey and me would run home pretending to be Batman and Robin with our coats tied round our necks by the top button as capes!

Also pictured is the Tooting Central Hall where I a Sunday morning I sometimes went with my dad. My mum would go to St Mary's church Summerstown. In those days nothing was open on Sunday's. The trolley buses are shown in the picture too and one if these the 630 used to run past my front door in Garrett lane. I remember once when I was quarantined upstairs with scarlet fever looking out of the window at the trolley busses going by. how much the world has changed in my lifetime.
Stephen Dix

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Added 26 April 2015

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I was born in Squarey street in 1947, lived there till 1959, we moved to Bedfordshire as part of the "London Overspill". There were two brothers named Hodson in our street, one called Joe, a carpenter i believe. Any connections here stephen?

By Colin Knight on Sun Apr 28th 2019, at 1:53 pm

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I was born in 1947 in Squarey St. just off Aboyne rd. Spent the first 12 yrs. of my life there and continued to visit when on leave from the Merchant Navy throughout the 60,s. till i had nowhere to stay cos my Nan passed away and the house was then occupied by an Asian family. Friends i recall in that street and Bellew St.and Huntspill St. were, Ronnie Sibley, Martin Trindall, Barry Wilks, Barry Risely, Susan Hudd, Veronica Hoare, and all her brothers, Jackie Newall, Roger Clifford, and Ian Milton. i often wonder what became of them all, tho i did go to Veronicas wedding in the 60,s, and i bumped into Barry Wilks a coupla times up the West End in the early 70,s when i was a delivery driver based in Bedfordshire. And during my first school holiday in Houghton Regis, our new home, i cycled back down to Squarey st. and stayed with my Nan so i could be with my old friends one more time before adulthood sent us all on our seperate ways. Even talked Ronnie Sibley to cycle back with me to stay at our new home for a week, he found the journey very difficult so we put him and his bike on a train for the return journey. That was the last i ever saw of him. So early 70,s was the last sighting of any of em, hope they all still with us.

By Colin Knight on Sun Apr 28th 2019, at 2:18 pm

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I lived above N BERGS in tooting high street from 1945 to 1961 .My local school was Broadwater which I attended from 1950 to 1955 my teacher was Miss Fuggel who was I think was engaged to a
man that was lost in the war she never married .I went to Saterday morning pictures at the Granarder my best frend Gussie Thain would get in the que eary so we could have the front seats any more Thains out there

By paulrowe16 on Mon Jul 20th 2020, at 3:38 pm

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I lived at 34 coverton rd where I was born In 1943 I also went to Broadwater school where Miss Fuggle was my teacher a lovely lady she had swept back ginger hair I owe her a lot,I have many many childhood memories of Tooting Broadway.

By johnseymour300 on Fri May 13th 2022, at 7:35 pm

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