Steve Allen has shared these videos, in which he captured some happy moments in the neighbourhood of Chandler’s Ford during the lockdown. These included music on Thursday evenings, and a piper playing for a neighbour’s birthday.
With Steve’s permission, we are sharing these on Chandler’s Ford Today.
1 – Malcolm the Piper was playing for a Scottish lady on her birthday.
[Read more…] about Music in Chandler’s Ford during Lockdown: “Love thy neighbours is so true”
Lakewood Road decided to have a socially separated street party yesterday for VE75. I replied to the invitation and said I was at an original VE day party. Several people expressed an interest in the comments so I thought Chandler’s Ford Today might like to see them. As it turns out, I am not the only one who attended an original party.
Am I the only one in Lakewood Road who attended an original VE day party? I was seven years old or, as I would surely have reminded people, seven and three quarters. When Mother picked up the newspaper that day, I was having breakfast. She opened it, yelled for joy, and ran out into the street declaring ‘The war is over.’
That evening I was taken to a bomb site about a mile away from our house in Sheffield. We children were given currant buns to eat – wow, and a fizzy drink. Normally the best we could expect was some bread and margarine or dripping if we were lucky. There was a huge bonfire, taller than the adults. Someone put a figure of Hitler on it. The most vivid memory was of fireworks which I had never seen before. I learned about rockets, Roman candles, Catherine wheels, sparklers and bangers. Roman candles were my favourite.
There was bunting strung everywhere made of any scraps of material that could be found. Houses, walls and shops had ‘V’ painted on them in whitewash. The morse code …- for V was daubed on doors. I did not know at the time about Beethoven’s 5th symphony but I had heard the call sign on the radio preceding the coded messages going out to the resistance workers. Whitewash signs reading ‘Welcome home, Jim’ or Fred or Sam were beginning to appear. A little insensitive if your neighbour no longer had a loved one to welcome home.
It was a brief and joyful interval but the overall mood was one of relief and thanks that it was all over at last. Our parents had been through 2 world wars and fortunately, we had not lost a close family member.
Father served in WWI but in WWII he was a haulage contractor and a member of Dad’s Army which was known as the Home Guard. They practised throwing grenades using clods of earth. I was excited to go with father on his lorries loaded with the ‘tallboy’ bombs from Sheffield to the ordnance factory where they were filled. I wasn’t allowed in the ordnance factory but stayed with the guards at the gate who always gave me something to eat.
There was no thought of the 75th anniversary but here we are and it will be an interesting party. Mother’s immediate post-war aim was to get me educated so that I would not have to go down the pit like most boys in our district. Orgreave Colliery was nearby and my contemporary, Arthur Scargill, who I never met, could tell you all about that.
We had a great party yesterday, sitting outside our gates on the pavement. There was an abundance of bunting and we all dressed in red, white and blue. I learned that I was not the only one old enough to remember. Someone told how he remembered seeing Portsmouth ablaze from a raid in 1942. Another spent a lot of his time in a Morrison Shelter. Robbie Sprague was there too but he cannot remember it as he was only 1 year old.
Another resident Peter wrote the following story –
Mike, No, you are not the only one in Lakewood Road that remembers VE Day. At six years old we had a street party with bonfires in the road, not gardens, with singing and parties where I threw my teddy bear onto the bonfire, having just thrown-up on it (the teddy, not the bonfire)!
I came out of my parents’ Morrison shelter (Father fought and was wounded in WW1 and was in Dad’s Army) awaiting the demolition of the concrete built shelters in the road so that everybody could use.
However, we stayed at home in the Morrison shelter with our neighbours.
Thank GOD! We have survived and to those young lives that fought and died for us to be what we have today.
I cannot thank them myself, but I do remember them with gratitude.
I am pleased that lock-down muted the celebrations. I feared that it may become too jingoistic and nationalistic. It is a tribute to the human spirit that, when these 75-year-old memories are activated they bring a wave of emotions with them. People do not forget.
There must be other readers of Chandler’s Ford Today who have memories of the original day. Tell us your story.
A new CD of choral music by Hugh Benham, director of music at St Boniface CofE Church, Hursley Road, has just been released by Convivium Records as disc CR050 – Hugh Benham: Sacred Choral Music.
Copies may be ordered from Hugh at H.Benham@Soton.ac.uk at £10 – delivery is usually possible within a day or two. CDs are also available (as are digital downloads) from the Convivium Records website. [Read more…] about Hugh Benham: Sacred Choral Music
How would you define the moments that matter? [Read more…] about Moments That Matter
This is a community website about Chandler’s Ford, but today we’re going to touch upon the war, knitted scarves, Clementine Churchill, and the Russians – all in this short article. So please read on.
Last week we published an article about Audrey Steele, who at the age of 90 has recently been awarded the Citizen of Honour for the Borough of Eastleigh. [Read more…] about Audrey Steele Received Recognition from Clementine Churchill in 1942
I’m delighted to have met 90-year-old Audrey Steele recently. Audrey Steele was awarded the Citizen of Honour for the Borough of Eastleigh early this month.
Audrey has recently celebrated her 90th birthday. This award recognises the voluntary work she has done for the people in Eastleigh Borough and Brazil. [Read more…] about Meet 90-year-old Audrey Steele – Eastleigh Citizen of Honour
Congratulations to Caroline Husain from Chandler’s Ford, who has been named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2018.
Caroline has been recognised for decades of ‘services to charity and the community in Chandlers Ford’ with a BEM (The British Empire Medal). [Read more…] about Congratulations! It’s a BEM for Caroline Husain from Chandler’s Ford
Image Credit: Unless otherwise stated, all images were taken by Allison Symes.
A group of regional writers took part in the Winchester Discovery Centre’s 10th anniversary celebrations on Saturday 25th November. [Read more…] about Winchester Discovery Centre – 10th Anniversary Celebrations
Recently a tweet by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) caught my eyes:
“Chandler’s Ford Infant School Project – April Rapley. Shortlisted for Student our Excellence in AT Award.”
Congratulations to April Rapley, Architectural Design and Technology graduate from Southampton Solent University! Her re-design of Chandler’s Ford Infant School on Kings Road has been shortlisted for the Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Technology (Project) 2017. [Read more…] about Re-designing Chandler’s Ford Infant School: April Rapley Shortlisted for Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists Award
In the 1980s there were no fancy coffee shops in Chandler’s Ford. It wasn’t common for supermarkets to offer you ‘free’ coffee either. Many young mothers found themselves isolated at home with young children, and elderly people were struggling to meet someone for a friendly chat.
One person saw that acute problem in Chandler’s Ford and decided to do something about it, to change for the better.
Her name is Jane Archer. She has run the Coffee Room based at the Dovetail Centre at the Methodist Church on Winchester Road for 37 years. Many babies who had played at the Coffee Room have grown up to become parents themselves. [Read more…] about Jane Archer – A Simple Vision, and 37 Years Leading The Coffee Room at Dovetail Centre
I am thrilled to announce my debut flash fiction collection, From Light to Dark and Back Again, has now been published by Chapeltown Books. It is available in paperback and in Kindle format via Amazon and, of course, directly from me but more on that later.
The stories range from 100 words tales to 500 words to 750 and there are one or two which just creep in as flash fiction, being just under the 1000 words limit. This is generally recognized as the cutting off point between flash and standard short story lengths. [Read more…] about Published – My Debut Flash Fiction Collection
Tomorrow morning I’ll be heading for Eastleigh for the Eastleigh Christmas lights switch on and fun day.
Sound exciting, doesn’t it?
(So many coffee shops to choose from in Eastleigh. Tell me: which coffee shop should I visit tomorrow?) [Read more…] about Eastleigh Christmas Lights Switch On and Fun Day; Winter Open Studios 2016
November is a month of remembrance.
Remembrance services will be taking place throughout the Borough of Eastleigh on Sunday 13 November 2016.
The Royal British Legion calls on the nation to unite in commemorating Remembrance Sunday at the 2016 Cenotaph Service and Parade in Whitehall on 13 November.
[Read more…] about Remembrance and Thanksgiving
I receive lovely emails from readers from time to time with their stories.
This afternoon Karen Moth sent me this email telling me something very special about her mother.
“My mum Margaret Tee (75 years old) has lived in Chandler’s Ford all her life and [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Library: Margaret Tee’s Royal Memorabilia
On the main road into Kandy there is a narrow doorway leading to Dharmawickrama, a school for 1,000 girls.
My wife Brenda arranged to visit to see what a state school is like. The contrasts within were striking. The building was poorly maintained and conditions were crowded and there were few facilities, no play area, squatter toilets, builder’s rubble in some corridors. [Read more…] about Journey to Sri Lanka: Creating a Local Library for 1,000 Girls
The Point theatre will be celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary in 2016 and is looking for stories and memories from the public to help with its year-long birthday celebrations.
Having already kick-started the celebrations with a radical redesign of its foyer and bar area, [Read more…] about Join The Point and Share Your Stories for its 20th Birthday Celebrations
I was in Eastleigh for a couple of hours today, and guess who I met?
First I was greeted by an emu, then I bumped into Mayor of Eastleigh Councillor Jane Welsh. Christmas must be around the corner as I think I also met one of the Wise Kings (in November)! [Read more…] about Eastleigh’s Christmas Lights Switch on – 21st November 2015
The Sorting Office in Eastleigh will open for its annual Winter Open Studios this weekend (21st and 22nd November 2015).
Now in its third year, the Winter Open Studios will run over two days, opening on Saturday November 21 from 11am to 5pm, and on Sunday November 22 from 11am to 4pm. [Read more…] about Don’t Forget: Winter Open Studios This Weekend at the Sorting Office Eastleigh
Two designs created by Eastleigh-based artist Lisa Jean Gardner, who works under the name Iris Hill, have been chosen by supermarket giant Asda to feature on a range of greetings cards.
Lisa’s designs, easily recognisable by her use of inks and watercolour to create bright, whimsical patterns and scenes, [Read more…] about Eastleigh Artist’s Designs Picked up for New ASDA Greetings Card Range
A new Piano Sonata by Hugh Benham, Director of Music at St. Boniface Church of England Church, Chandler’s Ford, was recently performed in a concert at St John the Baptist’s Church, Wimbledon by the pianist Michael Higgins. [Read more…] about A New Piano Sonata by Hugh Benham
