By Betty Brooking
When we lived on the Oakmount estate in the 70s, our son first went to Mrs Vincent’s nursery school at the Methodist Church Hall Fryern Hill.
He then started infant school in the annex with Mrs Moye at Kings Road School Chandler’s Ford (She always ran the sweet stall at the school’s annual fete, held at Merdon Avenue School). [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford School Days: 1970s – 1980s by Betty Brooking
It is worth saying how different commentating on powerboat racing was then to how it is nowadays.
As the boat [competitor] of a personality raced past, the commentator would show a degree of deference. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: the Joy of Powerboat Race and Cycling (Part 12)
I had the great joy last week of going to see An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley with a friend at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.
My friend had seen the film which was why she was keen to see the play version. I love detective fiction and thought seeing one in a play format would be interesting. I was right – it was!
[Read more…] about Watching the Detectives
We were fortunate to pick two sunny days for a trip to the Isle of Wight.
During the trip down Southampton water we saw the Ovation of the Seas, a new 168,000 ton diesel-electric driven cruise liner She is undergoing inauguration event prior to her maiden cruise to China. She will operate between china and Australia. [Read more…] about Walk on the Isle of Wight
Now for Part 2 of my 50 things to like about the Chandler’s Ford area.
It is a family tradition to have a takeaway and watch a movie on a Friday night. We visit David’s Fish Bar (who regularly offer fish and chip suppers as prizes for various charities raising funds. A delicious prize!). [Read more…] about 50 Things I Like about the Chandler’s Ford Area (Part 2)
In the third and final reminiscence from the late 1980s, Chippy tells us his memories of transport and travel at the time.
Strange as it may seem, I think there was more traffic coming through Winchester Road / Bournemouth Road in those days. I often drive that way on a Friday now, and the queues are nothing like I remember. A lot of local traffic would use that route rather than the notorious A33. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 3
Chippy Minton moved to Chandler’s Ford in the late 1980s. In this second instalment of his memories from the time, he writes about some of the shops that were around Chandler’s Ford and Eastleigh at the time.
The Chestnut Avenue hypermarket had been there for some years. In those days it was still trading as Gateway (having recently changed from Carrefour – and many people still referred to it as Carrefour). Asda took over the store fairly soon after I moved to the area – though continued to sell Gateway branded goods for several weeks. The store closed over an Easter weekend and reopened as a fully Asda-ised store. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 2
I had an eye test appointment last week in Eastleigh. This was the only reason I needed to go to the town centre, but while I was there I visited one of the many coffee shops for refreshment.
As I sipped my Americano I wondered why. Why had I decided to spend over £2 on a coffee that I didn’t really need when I was only a five-minute walk from home where I could have one for nothing. Why is a coffee stop now regularly included in a routine shopping trip? Why do we need so many coffee shops? [Read more…] about Coffee vs Discount in Eastleigh
Last weekend I got back from a school trip to Ypres in Belgium. It was a very tiring two days but it was well worth it to explore a different country and culture.
I was there for a history trip to look at the history of Ypres and its importance in WWI. It was a very insightful trip into how the war’s legacy has affected the country.
The first trip was to [Read more…] about My Belgium History Trip – Ypres and Chocolate
Peter Shuttler, Doug Clews, and Martin Napier have contributed some interesting posts about their childhood experiences of Chandler’s Ford between the 1930s and 1960s.
I thought I would complement these by writing about some of my memories from more recent times and see how much has changed – and how much has stayed the same. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 1
Tomorrow the air will be filled with pride and excitement. March 5th 2016 marks the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the Spitfire.
The Supermarine Spitfire prototype Spitfire K5054 first took to the skies in 1936 from Southampton Airport.
Want to know where you could see the Spitfire 80th anniversary flight on Saturday? Read on. [Read more…] about Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Spitfire
It was a rather strange day today.
We went for a walk to Hiltingbury Lakes in the afternoon, and somehow got lost. (It meant we couldn’t find the lakes; or, the lakes simply disappeared!) [Read more…] about How Do You Get to Hiltingbury Lakes (without Getting Lost)?
As 1963 started, I found myself more embroiled in preparations for the crucial exams in the spring.
My real energies were directed towards bikes and boats though!
I was never a very keen scholar, and spent far more time studying boats in magazines, than I did revising!
I knew I was poor at maths and physics, so effectively gave up on those subjects, and concentrated on English, History and Geography, where I knew I had hopes of positive results. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Witnessing My First Powerboat Race (Part 11)
I returned to the weekly “Club Room” meets throughout the Autumn & winter of 1961/2, with The Cyclists Touring Club. Their Southampton Section, as it was titled, organised weekly Sunday club-runs (rides), to a variety of destinations, always with afternoon tea booked at a venue.
These venues varied in type, from pubs that provided simple bread, cake and tea, meals, to the few cafes, or even a couple of farmhouses! [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Bikes, Boats, and Adventures (Part 10)
I think that my ‘awareness’ of motor boats probably came from the early days of our little family moving from London to Chandler’s Ford.
Dad used to take us to Southampton, on a Saturday afternoon, and would see motor launches on Southampton Water from the Royal Pier, and also from my favoured ‘window seat’ of Mayes’ restaurant, where we often enjoyed afternoon tea, looking out across the Pirelli factory towards the “New Docks”. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: My Passions with Bikes and Boats (Part 9)
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year 2016.
It’s the Year of the Monkey, my Zodiac Year of Birth, which is known as 本命年 (Běn mìng nián).
Traditionally a lot of Chinese believe that your zodiac year (12 years as a cycle) will bring danger and misfortune, so you need to wear something red.
To ward off evil spirits, apparently one has to wear red underwear too. [Read more…] about Welcoming Year of Monkey: 8 February 2016
What is the collective noun for migrants? Horde will not do it seems; swarm, bunch, multitude, gang, flock, there are plenty of words but then there is an army of people who will take offence whatever you say.
The problem is that they are all individuals with the same hopes, fears and desires as you and I. [Read more…] about Migrant Crisis: What’s Your View?
As a child in Chandler’s Ford, Christmas was a special time for my family and me, albeit mostly during WW2, as I was 5½ at the outbreak.
I was, to all intents and purposes, an only child (my sister, Jean, died from Scarlet Fever aged 7, 4 years before I was born), so, I guess, understandably, I was ‘spoilt’ (so I was often told). [Read more…] about Christmas Then and Now
Reading Andy Vining’s recent article, Farming in the Winter and Christmas at Hiltonbury Farm, sends me back to the 1950s and 60s, when my step-mother, Dad and I lived in the bungalows in the fourth service road (nowadays the third one!), on Hursley Road.
We looked from our back garden across the field to Hiltonbury Farmhouse where, in the 1960s, Andy was milking the cows and delivering milk. [Read more…] about Oh Happy Days! Fond Christmas Memories in Chandler’s Ford 1950s – 1960s
I am now going back to the 1962/3 before I was married, it was often very cold at this time of year. I used to get up at around 5.00 am to get the cows in for milking as we had yet to build the Cubicle House to keep the cows inside.
Sometimes when it was particularly cold and wet we kept the cows overnight in the cowshed but there was only room for thirty six of them in the cowshed so some had to stay under the lean-too to keep out of the weather, usually about 10 to twelve were the unlucky ones, usually the ones giving the least milk! [Read more…] about Farming in the Winter and Christmas at Hiltonbury Farm
