1978 The Garden

I couldn't have asked for a better garden. We had an enclosed yard outside the back door, with the garden on one side and a range of outbuildings on the other. There was a passageway which led to the front garden and driveway, and a scullery kind of place and drying room which you accessed through the big double sided garage. The scullery housed washing machines. Most of the major laundry went out to be washed but small items mostly underwear was washed on site by the cleaning ladies. When I was older I would earn pocket money by sorting the clean socks and underwear and putting in the dorms. The drying room was a big room full of heaters and clothes lines and was another favourite place to play in the cold weather! And I distinctly remember putting my sister's guineapig in one of the washing machines and then not being able to open the door. I had to go and own up to it so she could be rescued, needless to say I got a bollocking for it.



The garage was a great place too, the front had a normal door like any other garage, but the back was open. To the side was a large area where the lawnmower and all the tools etc lived. Here we had four big hutches that over time housed four guineapigs and a couple of pigeons. After this was the coalshed. In the coalshed there was a little round window where you could climb out onto the flat roof. I used to play up here a lot. The edge had a low wall that you could hide behind if you lay down. I used to drop things on or shout things at unsuspecting people as they walked passed below! Yet another place I wasn't meant to be!



Back in the garden there was a really big willow tree. I spent a lot of my time in this tree and got pretty good at swinging through the branches. I even climbed it when I broke my arm and had to be rescued by my mum because I couldn't get down! When it was windy I would climb as high as the branches would allow and sway in the wind. The whole area by the willow tree was trees and bushes and made a good shady spot for picnics. There was a large veg plot, as my father has always enjoyed growing fruit and veg. The garden was completely enclosed by a high stone wall and plum trees lined a lot of it. There was a huge lawn, which was later partly taken over by goats and a hard court area at the far end. The hard area was great for bonfire parties and we had a fair few of them over the years.



Standing alone next to the hard court was an old apple tree. Beneath it old Scruff was buried after doing a 'mad circuit' of the garden and suffering a heart attack as he rested beneath it's branches. Against the furthest wall was a very old stone arch that used to lead out to the road but had been bricked up. The arch was about a metre deep so there was a small area inside where I used to bury dead insects, birds and small animals. The arch was built from the crystal like stone that often comes out of quarries. Some of the stones had dislodged from the arch and lay on the ground. One day one of my brother's friends picked up one of the big stones and threw it back against the arch. We all expected it to hit the arch and drop, but because of the nature of the stone it bounced. I remember seeing it coming towards me but didn't manage to step out of the way and it hit me squarely between the eyes. My brother's friend went home. I added to my existing scar and again developed some cracking black eyes, but luckily no serious damage. A lesson in physics learned.