Sentimental stroll

Connection with one's past, connection with spirit of place; a break in the weather was forecast so I made the most of a sunny spell to return to the house in which I grew up. The stroll, from West Ealing to Hanwell, a reverse recreation of our house-move almost 50 years ago.

Below: as I turned the corner into Highview Road, the sky was still threatening to produce further rain. Huge puddles all over the place.

Below: by the time I got to Jacob's Ladder, the footbridge over the Great West Railway between West Ealing and Hanwell stations, the sky had cleared. The footbridge traditionally linked the more affluent neighbourhood to the north with the less affluent neighbourhood to the south. Our family made the move north in 1970.

On the way, into Hanwell now, Grosvenor Road and the site of the former shrine to classic British motorcycling, Reg. Allen. The shop closed in the summer of 2018; when I passed it this summer there were still boxes of spare parts, posters, calendars, helmets etc lying around - all gone now, and awaiting the developers.

Here it is - the end-terrace house on Croft Garden, where I grew up, spending the first 12 years of my life. The garages that my father built in 1967 (for our house and for the neighbours) is still standing, along with the up-and-over doors, although I doubt that today's generation of family cars could squeeze in any longer.

[My parents bought the house in 1955 for £600, at the time when my father (according to a graph he made plotting his income as a civil engineer from 1951 to 1978) was earning £626 a year (net, after tax). So the house cost a multiple of less than one annual net salary. In 1970, my parents sold this house for £6,000 and bought Cleveland Road for £10,000, at a time when my father was earning £2,049 a year - a multiple of five times net earnings. Our Cleveland Road house has been valued at £900,000 today, while a civil engineer specialising in piling with 19 years' experience can expect to be earning around £45,000 gross, which is £34,135 after tax  - a multiple of 26 times net earnings.]

Left: the same house, the same garage, 1 September 1969, my first day at Gunnersbury Grammar Roman Catholic School for Boys. My father's dove-grey Morris 1100 fitted in the garage without difficulty.

Below: before Gunnersbury, there was Oaklands Primary School - my short (350m) walk to school, just round the corner, just one road to cross, would yield this view each morning. My mother would take me to school in my first term, then my brother was born and I'd walk to school on my own - as a five-year old. The school weather vane rising over the Victorian terraces of Oaklands Road gave me flashbacks to another time, another place. "Fox Hall" came spontaneously to my mind. But where? When? I had that self-same emotion when I saw the weather vane today.

Below: the Infants School. Mrs Constance, Mrs Balch and Miss Debonaire  were my teachers here. Mrs Golding was the headmistress.

Below: the Junior School. Miss Hazan, Miss Penn, Mr Vale and Miss Innes were my teachers here. Mr Beckford was the headmaster (he moved to run St Gregory's primary school in 1968 and was replaced at Oaklands by Mr Warden).

I liked my primary school, got on well there and passed my 11-plus exam, one of only three children from my class of 36 to do so. Much of this was down to my mother drilling me every evening with books bought from W.H. Smith with mock exam questions.

That was 1969; all was about to change. In September I started Gunnersbury; in May 1970 we moved to Cleveland Road, we got a colour TV, my father was promoted to a position with a company car (a Ford Corsair 2000E in silver with black vinyl roof), the '70s were quite different to what had come before. My stroll today was a reconnection with those older times.

This time last year
Streets of my childhood
[I did the same walk exactly a year ago!]

This time two years ago:
Jeziorki - swans and bonus shots

This time four years ago:
A conspiracy to celebrate

This time five years ago:
The Mythos and the Logos in Russia

This time six years ago:
Going mobile - I get my first smartofon

This time seven years ago:
The world was meant to end today 
[It may not have ended, but this was a tipping point in history.]

This time eight years ago:
First snow - but proper snow?

The time nine years ago: 
Dense, wet, rush hour snow

This time ten years ago:
Evening photography, Powiśle

This time 11 years ago:
The shortest day of the year

This time 12 years ago:
Bye bye borders - Poland joins Schengen