Climbing To The Top

A Memory of Hounslow.

Climbing to the top.

My friend Ray and I were going to see 'The Fugitive Kind' at the Odeon Cinema, Hounslow West. This was in 1960 and we were fourteen years old. I told him that my eldest brother had climbed to the top of the Odeon tower some twenty years earlier. Well, I don't know how it came about, but it seemed a good idea at the time to re-enact the feat. We went down the right hand side of the building towards the car park, looking for a way up on to the roof. We must have looked suspicious for it was not long before a policeman turned up and wanted to know what we were doing. I didn't want to tell him we were urban mountaineers. I said I wanted to show my friend the house I used to live at in Rosemary Avenue - having lived in Rosemary Avenue this was true. 'This is not Rosemary Avenue' he said. 'I know, I got lost', I said. He didn't believe me and said 'I think you are going round the back to steal scooters'. I replied 'I can't drive and I don't have a license'. 'Show me ID', he said. All I had in my wallet was a photo of me and my dog, this had 'Barry and Lassie 1959' written on the back. He turned to Ray and said 'Who are you,  Lassie?'. He must have thought we were too naive to be capable of any mischief so said 'Clear off and don't come back'.