Tags
Barton le Clay Bedfordshire, Bromley Kent, Burnt Ash Primary School, changes, Forest Hill London, homes, houses, memories, New Eltham London, Ravensbourne School for Girls, schools
I have been considering how much and how quickly our lives have changed recently; as no doubt most of you have, too. I am hoping that some of the positive changes we have witnessed in our communities will continue and flourish ‘post-corona’. I am not going to discuss the pandemic here as I have nothing new to add and frankly, it just gets me worked-up and anxious just thinking about it. I will be mentioning it, no doubt, in passing in other posts, as it affects my day-to-day life.
After thinking about current changes, I then began recalling some of the big changes and events in my life. Moving house is a major upheaval whenever one does it and at whatever age. Big events for a child are going to school or changing schools. I was fortunate in that I lived in Bromley in Kent all the time I was growing up and attended just two schools in that time. My Primary School was called Burnt Ash and had an Infants School and a Junior School in the same building.
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Above is a school photograph of mine taken during the summer term of my first year in junior school. (I am of an age where class photos were all done in black and white!) This must have been in May or June 1967 and I was eight years old. I am in the front row, third from the right. I had my hair in plaits with red bows and the two girls either side of me were both called Julie. The school I went to was built on the edge of an enormous housing estate. Some of the pupils were extremely poor and Rosemary (second from the left, front row), Shanie Edwards (forth from the left, front row) and Michael Collins (furthest right, back row) in my class didn’t own proper shoes and didn’t have coats, either. I liked Rosemary (Porter, I think her surname was)because she was quiet and Michael too. His hands were very hard and rough, I remember. Many fairly affluent families lived in houses close to the estate and the school, being the nearest one to where they lived, was the one their children attended as well, so we had some girls and boys in the class who were quite comfortably-off. Bullying went on, as it did in all schools and still does despite all the ‘we don’t tolerate bullying’ hype, but I don’t think anyone was picked on especially for being poor or wearing ragged clothes. We all played together and learnt together and we all liked our lovely teacher, Miss Gloria Hitchcock, very much. Isn’t she gorgeous!
Below is another school photo taken about eight or nine years previously.
The boy who has been highlighted is, of course, David Bowie or David Jones as he was known then. As you can see from the photo, all school pictures were taken in the exact same place; just in front of the veranda. Click on the link below and you will see what my old school looks like now. They have enclosed the verandas and have made the classrooms bigger. At present the school is closed temporarily because of ‘you-know-what’.
Going back to my school photo; look at the blonde girl, third from the left on the front row. Her name was Vanessa Jaye and her father was Bobby Jaye, a radio producer who became Head of Radio Light Entertainment at the BBC. Vanessa was a friend of mine and I went to tea at her house. I remember she had a crazy cat that sat on the stairs and leapt on people as they passed by. Absolutely terrifying for me! I had no idea at first that her father was well-known but eventually she spoke of her family knowing Peter Glaze who presented Crackerjack! with Leslie Crowther. I was never keen on Peter Glaze – he annoyed me.
The girl standing second from the right in the middle row was Samantha Parry. She was another friend and I and my brother and sister went to parties at her house. Her brother Andrew was in the same class as my brother Andrew and her brother Benjamin was in the same class as my sister Francesca. We all trooped off to their house and played party games, had tea and then listened to their dad, Gron (short for Goronwy) play guitar and sing songs. He always sang ‘Little Boxes’ as far as I can remember. Sam’s mum was Alison Prince who, until she died last October wrote lots and lots of books for children. She also wrote the animated series’ Trumpton and ‘Joe’.
I was aware of all this at the time but I didn’t think about it much; most children take life as it comes and accept it (though don’t always like it) good or bad, interesting or boring, calm or frightening. The fact that some of my friends were very poor and some well off didn’t occur to me at the time. That some of my friends’ parents were well known or had written books was no more interesting to me than the knowledge that my mother had been a Woman Police Officer in the Metropolitan Police Force in the early 1950’s and that my father had joined the Friary near Cerne Abbas in Dorset after he came out of the Air Force where he had done his National Service. I just though of all these children as class-mates, some of whom I liked and the reason I didn’t like some others was mainly because they enjoyed calling me names and making me cry.
Click on the link below and you will see the house I was born in. It has rose bushes in the front garden. Mum and Dad bought a newly-built house in Barton le Clay in Bedfordshire shortly after they got married in 1956 and lived there for just under three years. Despite me being Mum’s first baby she gave birth at home because the house had a bathroom and a water supply. I remember absolutely nothing of this house. Mum and Dad decided to move back to Bromley as Dad had another job there. They would also then be nearer to their parents. Mum was eight months pregnant with my brother Andrew when we moved and I was approaching my first birthday.
Click on the link below and you can see where I lived from 1959 for eight years until just after that school photo was taken in 1967. Our house was the one with the pale silver-blue-grey car in the front garden. When we lived there we had a front fence with a gate, a front path with a flowerbed alongside and a little bit of grass where that car is now parked. The house had black paint on the door and window -frames and there were steps up to the front door. It was a very small house with a small back garden which was made smaller when Dad built a garage and an extension to the house. There was a back lane behind the houses that we children loved to play in when we could and an area of waste ground called ‘the dump’ – I don’t know why it was called that – and at the top of the road a fenced off hill, or what I thought was a hill but was in fact a reservoir with grass over the top. The house next door to us on the right, as you look at it – number 137 – used to be the last house in the road on that side and had a large garden. This has now been built on, I see, and another house added to the road.
We moved in September 1967 on the day before my ninth birthday to a much bigger, detached house with a much larger garden. My sister decided to take her beloved collection of garden snails with her in a bucket. Dad found this in the boot of the car when we arrived at the new house. We over-looked the churchyard at the back of the house which had an enormous copper beech tree in it and crows nested in it every year. We used to get lots of different birds in the garden and Mum was able to enjoy gardening, though she never liked the house and Dad built a workshop. The house was haunted, though I never saw or heard anything. Dad saw the woman a couple of times; dressed in a crossover apron, she stood by the kitchen window and stared at him. She seemed sad, or so my father thought. My sister heard someone clearing the grate in her bedroom; she heard it a couple of times, I think. Click on the link below and you will see our second house in Bromley. It was nearer to the town centre which as a teenager, I really appreciated.
Click on the link below to see the building that once housed the school I attended from 1970 until 1977. It had been called Bromley Grammar School for Girls until just before I joined it when it changed its name to Ravensbourne School for Girls. I think the only well-known woman to have belonged to the school when it was known as Bromley County School,was Dora Saint, or as she is better known, ‘Miss Read’ who wrote the Fairacre and Thrush Green series of books. The two Ravensbourne Schools (the girl’s school and the boy’s school) amalgamated many years ago and now occupy the building that was once the boy’s school. My old school building has been used for many different purposes since then and by different groups of people.
Here is my form at Ravensbourne in 1975. Two girls were off sick that day. I am in the middle row, fourth from the right. My dear friend Wendy, is in the same row on the far left and our form mistress, Mrs Shoubridge is on the far right. She was a lovely lady and taught mathematics and rode to and from school on a motor scooter. We were all just about to take our O’ Level exams and eight of the girls, including one of the absentees were to leave school in a couple of months time. I and the rest of the form were to carry on into the sixth form and the pleasures of A’ Levels.
Mum and Dad moved from Bromley in 1987 to the house Mum still lives in, in Suffolk. By that time all three of us children had married and moved out; click the link below to see my first home with my first husband. The large Victorian house in Forest Hill in south-east London with the black iron gate and the holly trees in the front garden had been converted into four flats; a basement flat, the ground floor flat, the first floor flat (where we lived from 1982 until Christmas 1984) and a top floor flat.
My marriage fell apart in 1985, just after Alice was born. I lived in New Eltham, where her father and I moved to from Forest Hill until the summer of 1988 when Alice and I moved to Suffolk a year after my parents had moved there. Click on the link below and you will see my house in New Eltham; number 54.
A very long post, I’m afraid but I thought I would put all the house moves, pre-Suffolk, together. Sometime, I may go on to talk about what I had wanted to do with my life and what I ended up doing instead. I may show you the houses I’ve lived in in Suffolk and the short 18 month move to Somerset between 2004 and 2006. We will see.
unionhomestead said:
I love this post…I feel I really got to know you! Oh and mention of David Bowie and Miss Read!! Favourites of mine, both. Life is funny, isnt it. I often say to my kids, both who are infinitely more sure and confident than I, how I am still waiting to work out what I want to do when I grow up.
And as for bullying…you are so right. It doesnt matter what policies are introduced, it just is.
Your school photos look very similar to mine😊
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much! I felt the urge to write about myself and where I’ve come from. I wasn’t at all sure whether I was being self-indulgent or not or if anyone would like what I had written about.
Schools don’t change much, do they? They are just a means for forcing an education into large groups of disparate young people. Some children thrive and others definitely don’t. Most just get through it.
I remember seeing David and Angie Bowie in Bromley where I used to live; they had decided to live there for a while. Miss Read wrote us an account of what it was like to attend our school. A friend wrote to her to ask if she would provide something for a school magazine in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Year.
I hope you and your family are still well and keeping safe. 🙂
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Meg Owen said:
Clare, such an interesting post. I loved it all. Can I claim your connection to David Bowie as my ‘brush with fame’?
You combined your history so beautifully with houses and people – can’t wait for the next installment.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Meg! Of course you may use my passing connection with David Bowie as your brush with fame! 😀
I hope you are keeping well.
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H.J. for avian101 said:
How nice that you are writing your biography. I always wonder about you, being so kind, nice at the same time. We read our blogs all the time and we are doing it for a few years. Now I have a chance to know more about you. Take care, my dear friend. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
How sweet of you, HJ! This strange world we are living in at present has made me think very deeply about myself and my family. I felt I had to write about it. I hope you take care too, dear HJ! 🙂
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Lyn said:
I love seeing old school photos! Your junior school photo isn’t all that much different to my own – although I had short dark hair, but the “look” of the photos are so similar. Thanks Clare, for sharing this post with us. It’s a lovely break from all the Covid-19 stuff on TV and radio. Bless yoy my friend and stay incredibly safe 💕
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lyn. School photos don’t change at all, no matter what country or what year they are taken in. I have given up reading most of the Covid news; most of it tells me nothing I need to know!
Take care and keep safe and well, my friend ❤
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Liz said:
What an absolutely wonderful post, Clare! So fascinating to read the story of your early life and see all the different houses. And the school photos are adorable. I laughed when you mentioned ‘the dump’ – did we all have one of those? I certainly remember there being some waste ground near our house that had the same name. Please do continue the story when you feel up to it. I grew up in Somerset, so am looking forward to hearing about your experiences in that neck of the woods. Xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Liz! I have been wondering about ‘the dump’ recently and why it was so named and the only conclusion I have come up with is that it was the place the house-builders put all the excess soil and rubbish. The ground was terribly uneven and loved by all the boys on their bikes! Take care, my friend xxx
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Liz said:
That sounds very plausible – and very much like my memory too! xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
❤ xxx
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Retirement Reflections said:
I love each of these photos, Clare. Thank you so much for sharing them. The first one is my absolute favourite. You look so adorable!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Donna! I’m not so sure I was adorable at eight years age but if I *looked* it then that must have been okay! 😀
I hope you and your husband are keeping safe and well.
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margaret21 said:
You must do this kind of post more often, Clare. So fascinating to get this glimpse of your past. The connection with fame I’m most jealous of is your knowing the writer of Trumpton. I loved that series. A blessed quarter of an hour of post lunch time peace with Tom and Ellie when they were little, and with Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew et al.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Margaret. It was a wonderful series and a fabulous time for innovative children’s TV. I was too old to watch it when it was first aired but my sister liked it, but not as much as Thunderbirds!
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margaret21 said:
I wasn’t too old. Having pre-school children provided the perfect excuse!
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John Bainbridge said:
Thank you – brought back so many memories of my own schooldays.
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, John and thank you for commenting.
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susanpoozan said:
A mot interesting post, thank you for the time and effort you must have put in to writing it.
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Susan and thank you. I have been adding to it over the past few weeks in my spare moments.
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Andrew Petcher said:
A great slice of history. Things change but those Burnt Ash Junior School haircuts are back in fashion!
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Clare Pooley said:
Haha! Yes they are! We’ll all be needing the services of barbers and hairdressers after all this, won’t we?! Thank you for your comment, Andrew.
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derrickjknight said:
This is a fascinating description of an era – such memories are so worth sharing. One of the changes your photographs document is the rise of the motor car and its theft of front gardens.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Derrick. Yes; there were many fewer cars when I was young and everyone was proud of their front garden, no matter how small it was.
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derrickjknight said:
Me, too.
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Jill Weatherholt said:
What a wonderful post, Clare. I can’t express how much I enjoyed learning more about you. I loved the photos, too! You were absolutely adorable and your mother looks beautiful and so happy in that photo. Thank you so much for sharing this! ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Jill and thank you so much for your kind comment! ❤ ❤ I'm not sure that I was really adorable, but I could look it, which is the main thing! 😀 Mum loved her time in the police force and enjoyed the work very much. Take care, Jill xx
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Jill Weatherholt said:
What a wonderful profession your mother chose. I work for the police department, but not in a sworn position. ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Jill. She surprised her family by choosing to be a police officer and she found it a life-changing profession. She had had a very protected up-bringing, despite having to live through the war, and some of the things she had to deal with were quite surprising and shocking. Her main duties then were the care of women and children but she also patrolled the street on foot and in cars. She dealt with prostitutes and abandoned children, directed traffic and helped out the CID doing plain-clothes work. She had never heard of homo-sexuality or lesbianism before joining the force. What a shock it was, at first! My brother was a police officer as well and stayed in the force for thirty years.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Wow, that’s wonderful, Clare. Thanks for sharing! ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
❤
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Dina said:
I absolutely agree with you, Jill and couldn’t have expressed it any better, thank you both 💕
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Dina ❤ ❤
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Wendy Seal said:
I absolutely loved reading your post, Clare. What a wonderful insight into life before hair straighteners! Being an old friend, I thought I knew all about you, and yet I have learned so much. What a privilege to go down memory lane with you. Please don’t keep us waiting too long before you write about all the things you mention in your final paragraph. Lots of love, Wendy x
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you my dear Wendy xx I also notice I had dyed my hair very inexpertly indeed! It is surprising what we don’t know about even the closest of friends, isn’t it? Looking at that photo of us all rather wind-swept in the school grounds made me wonder where all those girls are now. I’ll be in touch very soon,
Lots of love, Clare xx
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clivebennett796 said:
What a fascinating post. Please do write more. I’m Somerset born and bred – a little village near Bath – so I’d love to know where you lived when in Somerset.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Clive. I loved visiting Bath when we were in Somerset, though we weren’t in the county for very long. I will be writing a part 2 very soon.
Best wishes, Clare
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Peter Klopp said:
This post is a wonderfully written and documented tribute to your family, Clare.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Peter. I suddenly felt the urge to write about my past and to look to see what my former homes look like now.
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Laurie Graves said:
How I enjoyed this post! Changes is one of my favorite songs. As I read this post, I listened to the song. When I clicked on a picture or link, the song stopped. No matter! I just listened again. From David Bowie to Miss Read—both of whom I adore—your country has it all. Even though I am of French descent, my heart belongs to England. Finally, your observations about poverty were striking. Food for thought, that’s for sure.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Laurie. I’m not sure that I know how to enable the music choice to play continuously. I have the same problem when reading other peoples’ posts. I am so pleased you enjoyed this post; I enjoyed writing it and looking to see what my old homes look like now. I’m afraid poverty is still with us and many people are suffering terribly at the moment, unable to get enough to eat and pay the rent.
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Laurie Graves said:
No problem at all! I expect that’s just the way it is. I, too, have had the same thing happen with other blogs. Having to click on that wonderful song more than once didn’t bother me one bit. As for poverty…yes, sigh. It is my feeling that there is enough to go around so that people can live simply but well, but those at the top are so darned greedy. They. Will. Not. Share. All right. Time to get off the soapbox.
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Clare Pooley said:
I’m here cheering you on, Laurie.
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Laurie Graves said:
Many thanks! I knew you would be!
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bitaboutbritain said:
Thanks for that, Clare. It was lovely, and absorbing; nice to get to know you a little. And, as someone else remarked, echoes of our own schooldays. Bowie is a bonus – I had Changes on 45 – must still have it somewhere!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Mike. It was amazing what I remembered once I started looking at the photos and then looking at my old homes. I hope you find that 45. Time to catalogue all those old records! 😀
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bitaboutbritain said:
They’re mostly on CD now, Clare, and thence copied onto my phone!
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Lavinia Ross said:
I always find old photos and history are both interesting and enlightening to go back through, and I enjoyed reading about your early life, Clare. Thank you!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lavinia. I suddenly had the urge to write about the places I grew up in. This enforced stillness has given me time to think about all sorts of things. Many good memories and some bad, just like most people, I think.
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John Hric said:
Thanks for sharing Clare. We are all a little bit the same and each a little bit different.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
You’ve certainly lived in some nice houses Clare.
One thing I discovered from this post is that all school photos look the same!
I also think that people, school children anyway, are the same everywhere.
Thanks for an interesting post. It took me back.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Allen. Yes. Children are basically the same the world over and schools, too. I found writing this post a satisfying thing to do and I remembered much more than I thought I would.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It’s amazing how it can all come back sometimes!
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes!
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Helen said:
Very interesting post, Clare. I think it is fascinating to see into the lives of others – part of the reason I’m a teacher 😊
Perhaps I wouldn’t have picked out David Bowie from the photo but you can see the adult version of him in the child, can’t you!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Helen. Yes, I can imagine you find out quite a lot about the lives of your students and their families. I find people endlessly fascinating, but I never wanted to teach.
You are right; the adult Bowie is obvious in the child.
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Richard Sutton said:
Thank you for sharing some of your past,Clare. Our own stories are always interesting.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Richard. This isn’t a usual post for me but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and remembering lately and this is the outcome of some of those thoughts.
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(Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! said:
Lovely blog post Clare, I’ve sent you an email with more about your post as I want to say something about it but I don’t want it to be made public (sounds so strange when I say it like that but it’s not lol).
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Cat and I understand completely! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Ste J said:
This is a fascinating post, I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane and would love more posts of this nature. Perhaps its in my nature to be nosy but other people’s lives are fascinating.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Ste J! I will see what I can do. I think we are all a little nosey because that is what humans are like. That is the most difficult thing about this lockdown; not being able to socialise as we want and need to do, to keep ourselves happy and contented.
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Jacqui Murray said:
It’s amazing you have those records. I might have them somewhere, thanks to my Mom. I love the order of the pictures. We’re all part of something important. Thanks for sharing these.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much for commenting, Jacqui. I only have a few of these old photos; Mum might have a few more but they are very precious to me.
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Lisa G. said:
How interesting this all was! And you were born at home! Was that common at the time? I liked seeing the photos of you as a girl. You have a good memory of your classmates, Clare. The detached home you moved to in ’67 is quite narrow! Do you know when it was built? (not that that would tell me anything) Your Miss Hitchcock reminds me of Miss Dion, my fifth grade teacher. She dressed like that, in the ’60s fashion, with short dresses, teased hair and she was very pretty, always made up. She would read to us every Friday, but the only one I remember now is Poe’s The Telltale Heart. Your father’s being able to see the lady is probably due to the fact of his spirituality, don’t you think? (although Mae West is reported to have seen spirits all around all her life, and I don’t know how spiritual she was!).
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Lisa! The detached home was fairly narrow, though I think it looks narrower in the google earth video than it actually was. I think it was built right at the end of the 19th century, in the 1890’s. I think many British houses are much smaller than most other countries mainly because we haven’t a tradition of living in apartment blocks or blocks of flats. Blocks of flats were built after the second world war to replace all the houses destroyed by bombs. Most people still want to live in their own house with a garden, if possible and that means having a very small house! The house went back quite a way with a long passageway from the front door to the back of the house. My father changed the layout of the house after we’d been there for a while by blocking off the end of the passage and making the kitchen at the back larger.
Both my father and my sister were/are sensitive people and prone to depression and enthusiasm. I always thought they would be more likely to see spirits because of their temperament. I never thought of my father as being particularly spiritual, though of course he had a very strong faith. He was an innocent and could never believe that people would behave differently to him and when they did it always surprised and shocked him. Dad saw the lady in the kitchen and my sister’s room was above the kitchen. It was a strange house and very cold all the time. I was happy there though.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
You have some fascinating memories and stories Clare, and there have certainly been a lot of changes, but I suppose that’s true for all of us when we look back!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Andrea. Yes, I think we all change in many ways as we grow and then age!
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Jane Sturgeon said:
What a lovely walk down memory lane, Clare and I spotted you in that first photo, without cheating… 😉 We have crossed paths in places a few times in our lives, yet at different times. I love David Bowie’s music too. Thank you for this post and for sharing your memories. ❤ Xxx Much love flowing to you all. ❤ Xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you my dear Jane! I was looking as though butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth in that photo!Much <3<3 and lots of hugs XXxxXX
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Jane Sturgeon said:
❤ always ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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sietchjameseguin said:
Very nice post!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you James. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
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wholelottarosie said:
It made me very happy to read your story, clair!. How interesting and how nice that you are writing your biography. I love the old photos!
When i was seven or eight years old i had exactly the same hairstyle as you has on the Photo.. Two blonde braids – but i also had glasses and a blue girl- sailor-dress and white knee socks. 🙂
Greetings from Germany…
Rosie
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Rosie! How nice that you also had your hair in braids as a little girl! 🙂
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roughwighting said:
I enjoyed reading this so much – what history you have! You got me immediately with Bowie’s “Changes,” When the song first came out, I wasn’t sure I liked it. But now, I sing it in my head all the time. He was a genius. Your childhood history is fascinating and well written. Burnt Ashes has to take the cake as the worst name for a school. ;-0
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Pam! Burnt Ash is a very strange name, but the school was named after the area it was built in, I believe. There must have been a landmark burnt ash tree there at some time in the past!
Bowie went through so many changes in his life and his music changed with him, too. It took a while to get used to the new persona but it was usually worth it!
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roughwighting said:
When Bowie died, my dance teacher (a group exercise dance class) played all of his hits and we danced to them for over an hour Each song was so different, and thought-provoking as well as musically exciting. What talent!
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Klausbernd said:
WOW, dear Clare, Siri and Selma are over-excited that you sent to school with David Bowie. Our big change was moving from Germany via Finnland, Canada and the US to Norfolk. It was quite a change living in an apartment in Montreal and Manhattan and going from there to rural Norfolk. We had to learn quite a lot like lightning an open fire and caring for a big garden. Nevertheless, we soon liked living in a little village where you are known by all your neighbours. First, we were afraid of this social control and now it’s like a family for us.
Thank you very much for sharing your changes in life. We love seeing these old pictures of your school mates.
All the best, have a happy week
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Klausbernd! I must emphasise that David Bowie and I went to the same school but not at the same time!
You have lived in many different places and moved very far! It must have been very strange to be in North Norfolk after living in Montreal and Manhatten; village life takes some time to get used to!
Best wishes to you all 🙂
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Klausbernd said:
Dear Clare,
indeed, it was a huge change from city life to country life. Nowadays I wouldn’t like to live in big city but then I very much enjoyed it, especially living and working in Montreal more than five years, a city I really like.
Keep well
Klausbernd and the rest of The Fab Four of Cley
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Klaubernd, and you 🙂
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kevin cooper said:
What wonderful recollections. I do love the photos… Fabulous post, Clare. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Kevin. I quite enjoyed writing it!
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kevin cooper said:
I can imagine with all those wonderful emotions stirring. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Luanne said:
Clare, what a marvelous post. I love the photos, too! Thank you for taking my mind off the pandemic while I read this. And David Bowie! He looked the same as a little boy as he did as a man!!!!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Luanne! He really didn’t change much at all. That photo was taken in 1958 and I’ve just seen another school photo from 1955 and he’s still recognisable.
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Luanne said:
Isn’t it funny how some people change so much over the years, but others don’t?
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navasolanature said:
This is a wonderful insight into early growing up! I love the school photos and the brushes with fame! I think it is important to be able to write about ourselves and share. You make me realise that we grew up in the same era, you are a bit younger, and there is a sense of a shared social history. Those school girls and so many more all girls together schools then too. I agree about the social mix in primary school then as I experienced the same and yes, there could be bullying and name calling but overall our class group got on very well. Until 11 plus and we were divided up into grammar, secondary and quite a few went to private schools. I hadn’t really realised too much about different backgrounds then too. Just recently am in touch with a Primary school friend and she put me back in touch with ‘ the boy next door’! Great post as it brings back memories for me and gives a deeper insight into your life and times. Thanks very much for your donation too, greatly appreciated and will keep me going to support conservation charities.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Georgina. It is my pleasure to donate to such a good cause.
I think many of us have found old friends during this lockdown. So many people on-line with not much else to do!
I really appreciate your thoughtful comments on this post.
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quercuscommunity said:
Interesting autobiography. I moved round a lot as a youngster, as did Julia. She was taught by the mother of Noel Edmonds and went to the same school as Glen Hoddle. Nothing famous happened to me while I was at school. It’s funny how we end up. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
It is. I was attempting to point out that no matter how obscure one’s school/upbringing is there is often someone from a similar background who has made something of themselves. The post actually comes across as a bit needy! 😀
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quercuscommunity said:
I didn’t think it was needy, I thought it was interesting. I recognise the style of hair, uniform and building and it takes me back in time.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you. 🙂
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Dina said:
Absolutely wonderful write up, Clare❣️
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, again, Dina. I hope you are having a good week. ❤
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Shruba said:
This is so interesting. I have always found personal histories fascinating. It was a pleasure to look at the different houses too. Thanks for sharing this with us. ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
You are very kind; thank you, Shruba ❤
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Wow, Clare! What a remarkable post. Not only did you go back in time – you took me with you. I love the photo of you with your two braids – I often had my hair parted and plaited like that too. And how different you looked later on – your hair looked more reddish then, your face fuller.
As you can imagine, I love learning about the houses you lived in, seeing the photos of your class, and learning about the schools. How interesting too, to learn that your mother was a police officer and your father went to a friary.
And your father actually saw a ghost. I’ve never had the privilege of meeting or seeing a ghost though I’ve lived in old houses. I think they don’t like me, or I lack that sensitivity because my family members have seen them. I think I have a good enough imagination to write books, so you’d think ghosts would like me better.
Thanks again for a truly enjoyable and interesting post.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your interesting comments, Cynthia. Yes, I did change a lot as I grew. My hair got much darker and by the time I was sixteen I was experimenting with hair dye and being told-off for wearing make-up to school! I also led a much more sedentary life and it wasn’t just my face that got fatter!
I have never seen, heard or felt the presence of a ghost either. Both my father and sister were/are very emotional people and I think that might be the reason why they were aware of the lady in our house. I am much more prosaic and practical like my mother,though that isn’t to say that I don’t feel emotional at times, I just don’t let my emotions rule my behaviour.
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Interesting reply, Clare. I would say I was quite emotional and sometimes my emotions ruled. But I still never saw any ghosts! (haha) What I had were prophetic dreams, which were downright weird.
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Clare Pooley said:
Prophetic dreams must be extremely unnerving! Thinking about my reply again and the circumstances of the appearances of our ghost, I believe both my father and sister were suffering from depression when they saw/heard the lady and my father said he thought that the lady looked very unhappy. Perhaps that may be the key?
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Annabel Haylett said:
That’s a very interesting post, Clare. I was in your class at Ravensbourne, and I’m in that 1975 photo – front row 3rd from right. I still have that photo in my album. I remember you well. I was Annabel Harrison then, now Haylett. Best wishes!
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Clare Pooley said:
Hello Annabel! How lovely to hear from you and yes, I remember you well, too. What a long time ago! The only person from school I have kept in touch with is Wendy who is now living in Wales. Thank you so much for commenting on my post and do keep in touch if you can. Best wishes, Clare x
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Annabel Haylett said:
Thanks, Clare. Yes, it is a long time ago. Almost half a century! Interesting that you are still in touch with Wendy. I remember her well. I haven’t managed to keep in touch with anyone from school. I’m now living in Cambridge, which I love. You have a very interesting blog.
Best wishes,
Annabel
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Annabel. Cambridge is a lovely city; we don’t visit it often enough! Apologies for this late reply.
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Annabel Haylett said:
Yes, it’s a lovely city and great place to live.
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