My Playground As A Child

Hi there, may I say Ron? I am not sure how old you are, or even alive ! sorry. my name is David and although not really from Mill Hill it still brings back great memories as a kid about 10 till 12 years of age, I used to go shopping with my Mum to the Broadway, because it was a bit nearer than Edgware as we lived in Hale Drive. anyway I remember the cinema there on the corner near the church, went there now and then was it the Capitol ? people called it the Flea pit ! also Woolworth's,Norman Davis too, and many other places. One name has always been in my mind and I am 80 now,is the restaurant where my parents took me a couple of times, it was called the Hunters Horn by the roundabout, do you remember it? apart from that we had swimming lessons from school to the Mill Hill swimming pool and also played a round of golf in the park,I remember vividly the little childrens playground there because showing off to my parents I fell off the top of the slide and had to go to a local Doctor to have my tongue sewn up which I nearly bit a piece off.those were the days and I had a wonderful childhood just after the war.don't want to bore you any longer,so thanks for reading. p.s I have also written a comment about looking for old friends but without success, regards David.

Hello David
Really nice of you to join in. I will be 80 this year, very much alive and kicking, and now living in Southend on Mud. I remember going with my mum to the Capitol, Flea Pit just after the war and seeing the original Tarzan films and Beau Gest. The Hunters Horn I remember as being a bit up market price wise which is why we seldom dined there, but in the 50s and 60s the pavement outside was the meeting point for away games for Mill Hill Village Cricket Club on a Saturday and Sunday. Ah good old Woolworths and their lovely sweet counter. My little hands somehow always had something in them on the way out the door that I had not paid for. Oh yes the slide in the park. I have fallen off that too but did no damage as was much nearer the bottom when I came off. I remember the top being a bit high with not much room. The other shop I vividly remember was right by the Hunters Horn and this was a model shop for trains and aeroplanes and it was in this shop that I always bought the latest copies of the Ian Allen trainspotting manuals for all regions. I was a fanatic and this included buses as well. I went all over London on my own up to about 1952 but then in Summer actually playing cricket took over my life.
Best regards
Ron Sargeant
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Well you could have knocked me over with a feather ! I wasn't expecting such a prompt reply ,I am delighted to see that we are about the same age and that you are fine too, isn't it strange the older you get the more you think about old times? glad that your memory is as sharp as mine. most of my friends are senile and its a shame. my wife and I are as fit as a fiddle,God knows why,perhaps it is because I left England when I was 17 and have been living here in Switzerland ever since. one thing I must add,I learnt to be a chef in London because my Uncle Sam had a big Restaurant in Southend,it was called Olympia,underneath was a amusement arcade with all those penny machines, anyway it didn't work out as I hoped ,he went bust,and I stayed here, my Father said don't come back to England now wait a bit because you wil be called up for the Army, he was right because there was trouble in the Middle East and one of my school friends was killed there. well Ron ,you made my day,wonderful to hear from you and I wish a healthy long life. thank you very much for your time.David .

Hi David
Your Dad was right about National Service. I was in the mob from 57-59, a regimental policeman on Cyprus during the troubles. What schools did you go to??? My first junior school was St Georges, nearly next door St Michaels church in Mill Hill Bdy. Was removed from there by my mother because they tried to force me to be right handed and I rebelled. Then Highwood School, up Lawrence Street just before the Old Forge, where the tried to force Latin, French, Geometry, and Algebra on a 10 year old and failed miserably. Consequently failed the 11 plus but this was mainly due to suffering from the effects of a serious bout of Jaundice. Then Edgware Sec Mod, situated down the alley way next door to the old steam line and goods yard. Passed the tech at 13 and went to Kilburn Poly. Left at 16 after O levels and first jobs were with Lloyds Bank at Edgware High Street and then Station Road, opposite the Underground station.
My lady partner who lived and owned hotels in Southend for many years does not remember the Olympia. We divide our time between Spain, Fuengirola, Southend and Cruises, usually two or three a year. Had quite an interesting life to date, Jury service at the Old Bailey 1966, Richardson gang case, and hostage in Kuwait in 1990, in hiding for four and a half months. Married and divorced three times, some people never learn.
Best regards
Ron S

Hello again Ron, I am usually not a curious person but seeing you are an Internet user I thought perhaps you may have a Facebook profile,well although looking for your name of which there are only 4, I think I have found you as Ronald,the others were too young and just name themselves with the shorter Ron,well even it it doen't state anything about Southend, on the other hand Kilburn Poly,then I assume it must be you with the red shirt. when my children bought me a PC they also forced me to be a Facebook fan but I am not very interested,but I have a look now and then,I prefer Skype and Facetime, Emails and whatsapp.My family lived in Edgware first then moved to the Green Man ,I went to Deansbrook primary school just down the road, later on to the same school as you in Edgware, I can't remember your name at all perhaps you were in a different class,not really sure if the Headmaster was Mr Cooke,but I remember Mr Hotchkiss ,and a Miss Rhodes. It is so long ago and not having lived in England I lost contact with all of my school friends, unlike you I married a lovely Austrian girl in 1960 and we are still together.We have 2 children and 2 grandchildren, I live in Bubendorf near Basel in a nice detached house with a charming garden which keep as pretty as we can.about that restaurant Olympia naturally it has changed hands over the years but the building is still there, if I had your eMail address perhaps I could find a picture of the place through Google if you are interested, by the way, my wife and I were invited to a wedding not long ago in Edgware I was a bit disappointed doesn't have that flair it had when I was young,a bit scruffy, and all these multiculti shops.well we have lived our lives and all in all it was good, now it's for the young to do the same.my eMail address is... dpressinger@gmail.com........ look after yourself and all the best.David.