Doing Grannie's Shopping

I remember the Ritz cinema, used to go every Saturday afternoon to watch the main film and lots of cartoons. I lived on Lansdowne Grove.

As I said I was born in Jordan ave on Lansdowne grove estate. Had a trip down memory lane a few weeks ago when we moored our narrow boat at crow mill. Scares me to think we used to play on the locks a kids.. My brother told me that he caught his first fish by the mill on a rod made from a german tank ariel. Do you recall the little shop at the corner of lansdowne and florence ave, which leads to Jordan ave.

I was 4 yrs old when my parents moved to Lansdowne Grove and 13 when we moved to Groby. The only shop I can remember was Goodwins, the double fronted shop corner of Chatsworth ave and Lansdowne. I remember the fairs long before the factories, The large Nov 5 bonfires on the rally banks that I helped to build. Across the railway towards wigston magna was the police station on the left and the spinneys on the right that we used to call badger hills. there was a big old house there, Abbington house that we called the haunted house. Now a school.Do you remember when they built the small rail track and boating lake ?

I left Jordan ave in 1955, very young but remember the day we moved clearly. We moved to a new council house in wigston magna. I worked in south wigston when I was 16 as granny lived there we went there alot. I also went to the church in canal street, no longer there. My dad and brothers all worked in the iron foundry in south wigston and one brother worked in the small brass and allum foundry by the canal. Our family all went to Bushloe aside from my eldest brother who went to south wigston boys school. Oh yes my mum worked at Dunmores biscuit factory in canal street in the early 50s and dad worked at nabrisco when foundry work was to heavy for him. Dad was also a local and county councillor from the 70s onwards and a govenor at Guthlaxton. Still have loads of family in wigston but i have not lived there since 1967.

My memories of South Wigston are I think a bit before yours. I remember the foundry somewhere near S W school which I also went to. My uncle worked at the Premier Drum company. I have lot's of memories of S W all with the exception of one day are very happy ones.

yes the foundry was opposite the school. Our best man worked at premier drum when it was west ave and when it moved to Blaby road. I remember when the site that is now tesco was a coal yard, we would sometimes fetch coal from there in a push chair would you believe. There was a office that looked like a little house where you paid for coal, it always had a roaring fire going. Of course the railway line by the side brought the coal in. That was in the days when there were three staions,one at the top of the spion kop, at the level crossing by the coal yard and the one thats now open agian at glen parva. Maybe you were at school at the same time as my eldest brother, he is 71.

I am now 73. I do remember the coal yard across from the park where we also used to collect coal. We used to play in the wartime shelters in the grounds of Constone. My mum worked at Two Steeples in Wigston magna and my dad worked for Bishop and Barrows the garage on the corner of Victoria street W M. I think Darley ave was the last street on Lansdowne grove, after that it was open field to the canal.