b'(where we were shown round by the Hon Richard Wood, later to be Lord Holderness), Regents Park and the Zoo. It was the first time some of the children had been away from home. It was very exciting and great fun. He organised school concerts which usually ran for three nights in the Village Hall. One year we did an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice. From him we learnt about the Brontes and Jane Eyre, singing and dancing.We had a village cobbler called Charlie Cullum who mended shoes in his little tin hut. I remember he had a moustache and smoked Woodbines right down to the end, which meant he had a permanent scorch mark. He lived next door to Benny Wilkinson (moustached likewise) who trained gun dogs. I remember them selling bags of apples for one penny. We didnt often have to buy them for obvious reasons.The village shop was always busyit was owned by the Co-op, who also had a butchers cart which toured the villages; without refrigeration, we hoped he came to us early in the day! The post office was a separate shop which also sold everything from sweets to shoe laces, shampoo to stockings, sticks of kindling to newspapers. A man called Allan Ripley had a bicycle repair shop at Wembley (the corner of what is now Park Lane). He also sported a moustache, but his was waxed at the ends. He was another character and could tell a good tale.Hubert Hesslewood in action There were village joiners and painters and men who worked for the Garrowby Estate. They cycled to work, and on returning home they had two logs hung round their necks, obviously a perk of the job. They also got pheasants and rabbits after a shoot.Family life in the fifties was very different too. A lot of houses were rented and repairs were kept to a minimum. I remember at No 5 if the wind was either northerly or southerly it seemed to blow straight through the house. We had a privy (earth closet) at the top of the garden and an ashpit, both of which were emptied regularly, and taken to the allotment usually by horse and cartreally organic! Needless to say, my father grew vegetables which fed our family and a few more besides. We kept hens, as most people did, and I had pet rabbits and Judy & Christine Horner on a haycock along theseveral cats. The cottage I lived in had a front room, road to High Belthorpe a kitchen/scullery and a dairy, and upstairs three small bedrooms2 with sloping ceilings. The only started in 1950 - Mr and Mrs Iredale, and Mrs Fisherhot water was from a boiler in the kitchen range filled the Infant Teacher. I was frightened of them all,from the water butt, which was used for washing especially during the first year when they tried to makeand bathing, in a tin bath. Outside we had a wash-me write with my right hand. It didnt do any good as Ihouse which had a copper boiler heated by a fire reverted to my left as soon as their backs were turned.underneath. On Monday morning when the copper Afterwards I loved the school life, and my favouriteboiler was bubbling, the Christmas puddings, securely teacher was Mr Owens who introduced us to drama,wrapped in muslin, went in first for approximately half music and the theatre. He took us to the Eisteddfodan hour, then soap flakes and soda were added and in Llangollen, and on a two-day visit to London to seethe whites were boiled, followed by other clothes as the Royal Tournament, visit the Houses of Parliamentthe water cooled. Then all the clothes went through 100 BULLETIN 7'