The Races

A Memory of Billericay.

HENRY
I REMEMBER.
Billericay to Galleywood was a nice pony & trap ride, from where we lived in Goosberry Green - it took a bout an hour. No rush a long days, even a stop because good clean grass grew on the verges, & the tubs, or trap as it was called, had a bucket hooked under it for drinking water for the pony - also the nose bag, oats were cheap in those days. Well, it meant a sort out of blankets to sit on the grass - & one as a table cloth. The hamper would be well filled up; we seemed to have a lot of cold cooked meat, with salt on it was a taste that disappeared - I am sure it's that old taste that makes my mouth water now, not what is called bread today, butter, well was also much nicer. We mannered along round back roads, crossing Buttsbury Wash. Up a hill, the church stood on the left, as we would turn off right some way along - as a turn off on the left, brought us out at the bottom of a hill into Stock. A school on the left & a church off the road a bit on the right, the road ran on, the pony also would find The Hoop, a quaint pub on right hand side of the road, all had a drink, & Flagon of beer, they were quarts added to the hamper. I think I must have been tied to the tub cart - can't remember moving about much, & being a fidget R's as often called it dint add up. Stock getting left behind us, soon see the start of Gallywood Common - we would turn off, either left or right onto the grass. With plenty of other horse back riders & traps, mixing together, grass turfs would be put on the road so as to make a soft track, yes its the Gallywood horse racing circuit, gone long ago now, quite a racket as the horse run round, it seemed to last for ages, but eventually it ended. That meant returning back along the same route, everything now being on the other side of the road, The Hoop empties out.