Gladstone Park

A Memory of Hendon.

Our family moved from Churchill Road, Willesden to the country right out to Dudden Hill, in Normanby Road. The entrance to the park was just down the end of the road near the old iron bridge. There was a rather short tree to the right of the entrance that for some reason I would continuously climb as if it was my passport to the glorious Gladstone Park.

There were three paths one straight up to the house, right to a lovely flowered tree route to the playswings. and the left took around the rear of the swimming pool. I had many happy days there when my body was a shrine! It looks a bit different now, I'm 63, ok 64 this August.

In between the pool upwards was an area of scrubland which was a bit like Vietnam. Thank God we didnt have real gun ! And the government didnt conscript us years later because we had already gone through our basic training. :-)

I got into making model gliders, it was a Keilcraft "Dolphine". I ran down the hill a little, gave way and let it loose....er well it flew great, out of the park, over the iron bridge landing upside down in Burnly Road whilst I was running after it! I took it home and mended it with some extra struts on the fusilage and I was back up the hill again.

Oh Happy Days.

Seeya later when another memory comes to me.

Jim Rabbitts.

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