Oxton Childhood

A Memory of Oxton.

I grew up in Kylemore Road, Oxton. One of 5 children. The Arno features heavily in my memories. We would walk up there following instructions from mum to 'get out from under my feet'. We'd take plastic flasks of ribena, dress up in our cowboy costumes and spend hours playing cowboys and Indians. I can remember a park keeper telling me he'd get me a horse and totally believing I'd find it there the next day. I was so disappointed. Very few cars around then. 1960. We also played down the Flat Lanes. Fishing for sticklebacks in the pond before the archway under the railway line. Our mum used to send us to the village with a shopping list. We'd go to Fletchers for groceries. I can remember butter being cut off a large slab and wrapped in greaseproof paper. Adams was the butchers. On delivery day whole pigs, sheep etc were carried in and cut up in front of you. Mr Rowe had the fish shop. A very appropriate name. There was Mrs Dee's general store and Mrs Jones the greengrocer. She had a small cubicle in the shop where the till was sited and you took a chit to her to pay. I remember she was a tiny woman who drove a huge car and could barely see over the steering wheel. Such happy memories, I could go on and on.

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