Our English Adventure #7

The area surrounding Brandreth Rd in Plymouth was somewhat different to home. Apart from the long rows of houses, we saw, for the first time, the results of the bombing of Britain in World War II. Although it seemed like a long time ago, in the 60s the war had only been over for 20 years, and most of the bombed-out buildings remained exactly that - blackened ruins, piles of masonry and collapsed timbers. It seemed odd that they had not been cleared away, and I'm not sure if it was an economic thing or whether they were left as a reminder of the hard times. Although South African men of eligible age fought in Europe for Britain, the war had not reached our shores - at least not in the form of bombings - and these stark reminders gave us a glimpse of what we had been lucky to have missed.

Behind us, on the other side of the narrow lane at the rear of the row, was a disused tennis court with an abandoned clubhouse. We used to go in there to explore, but the sense of foreboding and general uneasiness soon chased us back out into the lane. It was probably quite dangerous due to the poor state of the building, but that is not something children usually think about when exploring.

On the other side of the road, in the front, were individual houses. One of them was also abandoned - quite a large house - and we went in there too. There was a staircase going upstairs, but I don't think we were brave enough to go up. For some reason, I seem to have a recollection of a dead horse, but perhaps that was just a story to scare us. I have absolutely no recollection of any other children in the area and assume that we just amused ourselves. 

Gillian tells me that we had to walk through a cemetery on the way to and from Hyde Park school, another thing I don't remember, so it couldn't have bothered me!

In 1964, Petula Clark had her great hit, Downtown. It was on the radio everywhere we went and for all of us, our clearest memory of Plymouth is of going to the high street one dark and wet winter's afternoon (were there any others?) on a bus, with the lights from the shops reflecting on the wet streets and the song belting out in the background - to this day none of us can listen to Downtown without being instantly transported back to that afternoon.