The Oriel, Racecourse And The Later 60 S

A Memory of Northolt.

The racecourse was pretty much my home all my life, Kempton Avenue. Sorry, a bit of a personal ramble here mixed with my remeniscing about me to put into context;

I was born in Ealing in 53 of Welsh family (5 older siblings + parents), and from 1955- 1971 grew up in Northolt. I went to West End infants (opposite the Target), where 40 of us shared green carbolic soap, rough towels and the same chipped enamel bowl of cooling water to wash hands, before, moving to Northolt Infants on the racecourse. From there to Islip Manor, then a scholarship at UCS, which I loathed. Came back to Harrow (College for a while, then uni as part of an "internship" at EMI = UCL -where I was a minor part of the Nobel Prize winning Gordon Hounsfield's team (inventor of the CT and body scanner). Went on to postgrad and study law eventually. Sounds better than it was.

In most ways I lost touch with my roots, Eliots' Green or Vincents would have been far more suited than the scholarsip I ended up with at University College, socially - and far better engaged with my community network/peers. No pretentious "High School" then!

I felt schizoprenic, almost as if I was spurned as a "council house kid" at school in Hampstead, and regarded as a snob at home. I hated the school, and being separated from my friends, and eventually found out that my parents felt much the same.

I remember Chris Cobbold, Steve Barron, Rick Hall, Richard Donald, poor Gary Coulson (killed whilst being harassed by police on his Triumph Tiger Cub motorcycle) and many more, plus Pauline Crutchley, Val (Burrell) Green, Sue Crickmore, Jacky Hall, Jenny ? at the Pepita poodle parlour, Jules ? (Sudbury Town), Angie Sharp, Kathy Edwards and the amazing McMorrow sisters from Oldfield Circus, There were many many more, but I either don't want to embarass them, they may have passed on or their names are simply on the tip of my tongue.

We used to roller skate down the alley, bike on black hill, build dens on the field, out of planks and mown grass, play knock down ginger, join in with the 9th Northolt Cubs (atSt Richards), go to the Oriel and West End youth clubs, wander to South Harrow, build "trolleys" (carts from old prams), spend pennies on sweets and No 6 ciggies at the Cabin, build huge bonfires, go scrumping, collect conkers down by the rusting green gates, explore the tunnel under the old library, spend hours at The Viking cafe or the (then) new baths over a cuppa and then spend a fortune on fireworks. I had a brilliant chilhood.

The ineffective Dr Foot of Southwell Avenue (later the 14 story or "Churchill Court" and then Doncaster Drive) was the family Dr, with the Porter family living upstairs, the "parkies" were always chasing us on their nearly silent Velocettes when they weren't locking gates to keep louts (us) out of the playground.

The place is now largely inhabited by gangs of pretty undesirable folk from strange far away lands, despite loads of trees to break up what was frankly becoming a bit of a ghetto, it's really down at heel. Kebab shops, halal butchers where hygiene is a rude word, and tacky off licences. Shame, it used to have a real community feel to it, I look back with great fondness. Most I knew passed on, moved away (like me), or are now denizens of social media - which I avoid like the plague (privacy and a hatred of misinformed gossip)

No Byron or local constant Tamla type soul for me at the usual mod venues, just found it all rather repetitive - . when you've heard one reggae or Tamla Motown record (eg The Jackson5, Diana Ross), you've heard them all. It was mostly "greasers" and "skinheads" then, with a few part time "hippies" (who I sort of hung around with by the big trees in the Dabbs Hill corner of the "field"). Days of "The Animals", "The Stones", "The Beatles" , "Yardbirds". John Mayall and Jeff Beck - who needed or now really remembers James Brown, "The Tams" and the like? (Pink Floyd were just round the corner then)

So many tales to tell, married Ann Clinch from Yeading (Friars Close near the White Hart) as she was very "friendly", so had a lovely daughter at Perivale, and 2 months later, the mother went off with her dealer (who'se habits eventally killed him). We were far too young, and her parents were the opposite of mine who were snobs, wannabe travellers relocated from Acton, getting into scraps with the law, horse sales, bingo halls and pubs.

After a couple of superficial relationships I got to meet wife no 2, plus her lovely 10 year old. In Devon, divorced and living with the easiest going parents you ever met - a complete contrast. 47 years together now, both mean everything to me, We lived in Hayes for a while, Woodrow Ave, then moved to the Chalfonts in Bucks - graduating to nearby Seer Green, which we gave up when I had my eventual stroke when visiting . Mostly, it was a bad experience, full of self opinionated snobs and over aged yuppies in their Jags and Teslas. Smug or what (or am I just being too cynical)?

We currently live in Portugal, Lisbon (when I suffered the aforesaid stroke whilst visiting our holiday home). Got 2 very lovely daughters (one reunited from my first marriage, who is just adorable, unlike her mother!), and feel part of a wholesome community again. Decent folk here, very caring and proud. My name is Nick and would love to hear how you have all faired. Kempton Avenue was my home (Bob Fitzgibbon my neighbour. Northolt was my community, my education and Northolt a huge formative part of my life.

I'll always be thankful for those roots, loath them or love them. they made me who I am today - for what it's worth. Sorry for the life story, but is formed me today, keep old friends infomed and tells everyone that I miss the innocent fun we had.

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