Childhood Freedom

A Memory of Theydon Bois.

My brother and I spent very important years in Theydon Bois. We were only there for 5 years but they were probably the most formative. It was a very simple village. There was the school, far too small for the many children born at the end of 2nd World War. So the Telephone exchange and Scout hut became class rooms to suppliment the Victorian school which was just one room with a dividing screen that was pulled across after morning assembly. Mr Carpenter was the Head Master. We could watch red squirrels play in the beech trees if our attention wandered from the lesson.
Boys and girls had separate playgrounds, my brother was so thoughtful ( we were new to the village) that he came into the girls playground to make sure I had someone to play with. We used to race Stag beetles, they were very prolific!
The green and the pond were so important to us, we learned about wildlife and the seasons, we fished with bent pins and line, and we watched. We taught ourselves with the help of the I Spy series of books and the freedom to just hang out.
My father was an important man in the village, he with his partner Alex ran the garage at Station Approach Road. Like most garages at this time it was in transition from a blacksmiths. My brother and I would pop on our Cowboy and Indian clothes and perch on the back of vast Shire horses as they were being shod.
Not only this, the front of the garage was a television shop! We had several sets that we could watch the Coronation on. I don't think anyone joined us, although I'd like to think the girls from the pub next door, The Bull, were there.
I don't know how many times the baker baked during the day but I would be sent to get a fresh loaf. it was too hot to hold but marvellous on a cold winter's day. I did eat quite a lot of the crust at the one end...before I got home.
The butcher's was not such a delight for a small girl. I had my note of what to ask for and the money tightly gripped but standing in the sawdust with a whole butchered sheep above me, the severed neck at eye level dripping blood by my shoe was not a delight.
There was a toy shop, imagine! A greengrocers and a hairdressers. I remember the hairdressers ruefully because she snipped my ear, and me being stoical even aged 7 never said a word.
One of the best memories was the village fete and flower and vegetable show. The village green was enormous, and still is, with marquees and stalls and booths, it was a child's delight. I enjoyed it with my friend Jean Kettle. The crowning glory to the event was me winning the children's painting competition with a painting of Jean's farmyard.

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