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Were did you play

What did you play

who did you play with.

Or werent you allowed to play out with us hooligans.

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When we lived in Arnold - the most common places were in front of our house, and the fields next to it! Our house was at the end of a (then) unmade road (Lodge Farm Lane). What is now a new housing estate was fields. My dad once had a ton of sand dumped in front of the house - to build a terrace in the back garden - but it provided endless fun for one long summer! Further afield - we would walk up "Redhill" to the bridge at the top - and sometimes further north to where there was a spring at the side of the road.

In the winter - we would wait for the sand truck to spread sand on Derry Hill Road - then "borrow" our parents yard brush to sweep it off again! Then we would toboggan down the hill!

Favorite haunts in Long Eaton - West Park, Trent Lock, Dockholme Lock - the Erewash Canal all the way from Sandiacre to Trent Lock, and the abandoned Derby Canal from Sandiacre to Breaston. Bostocks Lane and up to Dale Abbey - before the motorway - and Stony Clouds in Sandiacre!

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Down the Medders - the tips on Hawthorn Street; the 'cricket' - the swing park on Kirkewhite Street; the Embankment - 'down bank';

on the yard, avoiding any washing out; just on the street - by the lampost; over the bridge to Fairham Brook - paddling then playing on the grass while yer feet dried.

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We played with all the kids on the street [and there were a lot of them] either on the street, on the playing field over the back fence, or Broxtowe Woods. We played street games, marbles, hide and seek, snobs etc, or cowbugs and injuns in Broxtowe Woods, [and built dens in the bushes] cricket etc on the field, or went fishing in Fowler's Pond, over the wall from the number 41 trolley bus terminus. Out first thing of a morning and back home as it got dark. But usually out again after eating dinner, just hanging around the lamp post.

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Bulwell Hall Park, Bulwell cricket club ground (used to get chased off the wicket)..Farmers orchard (which is now covered with houses)Bulwell Lido...Ater 11 yrs old it was with my school mates in Basford...Vernon avenue, Vernon park, Billy Bacons...We used to play all games and get up to allsorts just like kids should do, sadly they dont today!!! There werent many fat kids around in those days, we used to burn it off!!

!yada!

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Further afield - we would walk up "Redhill" to the bridge at the top - and sometimes further north to where there was a spring at the side of the road.

Where was/is that spring, Eric?

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Stu - I believe it was close to the junction of the A614/A60 - now a large roundabout. Memory says it was on Mansfield road, on the right heading north, just before you got to the old roundabout. However, it has been about 55 years since I was there, so the memory may be a little questionable!

I remember it being a concreted opening that only flowed at certain times of the year. I have no idea how we knew it was there, but we would typically trek up there a couple of times every summer!

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Cheers Eric, that's ringing a bell. Do you remember Hawker's Garage on the right there at the junction? Maybe near there. Maybe you might recall two more Gadsby's ponds which were over to the left of the junction and used for irrigation? Maybe yer mam wouldn't let you stray that far though!

Also do you remember the old (A614) road as was? It came straight off the junction and headed slightly uphill. It still sits there in part to the east of the present A614. I pass through there sometimes on foot (there is no vehicular access) and it feels quite strange. Where the white lines were can still be seen from what must be over forty years ago. I can never figure what year it went out of use but I certainly remember when the present road was 'new' with brand spanking embankments either side of the road.

(PS. I can see your email but I can't read it as Yahoo is down today. Will get back to you).

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LOL - the only Gadsby's pond I remember was the one at end of Lodge Farm Lane (plus one field). - It was at the back of the old farmhouse and yard. I remember it very well - mostly because I fell in it!

If you look on Google Earth, you can still see the old A614 as you mention - there was also a road leading directly East, but my memory isn't good enough to remember. Hawker's Garage rings a bell though!

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Eric - it was a rite of passage as a kid in Redhill to fall in Gadsby's pond - usually fishing for newts. I think at one stage we were queueing up to do it! That road due east you mention is still there, it's called Lime Lane and heads over Dorket Head crossroads directly into Mapperley Plains.

Den - yes I remember that cafe too. Latterly in the seventies onwards there was a separate building behind the garage which became a Little Chef for some years. That same building is now an Indian restaurant 'The Banyan Tree'.

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What we didn`t tend to do when I was a kid was play in each other`s houses - and certainly never in the bedroom.

It was - knock on the back door (never the front!) - 'Is your Carol coming out?' - and either, 'No' or 'Yes, wait on the yard.'

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That's a right old memory jog there, "Back door company" as my mum would have it!!

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as a kid in the early 70's my playground was the abandoned railways around our estate (gayhurst green) it was all parceled up in that, each estate/street had their patch leading to many "border disputes"! our bit was the part called top banks tht was at the back of basford hospital. you could more or less run wild on these abandoned cutting and embankments. one thing i remember is that we got a huge cardboard box that someone had a washing machine delivered in, we put it in the middle of the cutting near the footbridge at the top of the estate, put some paper in, then set it alight. we closed the box up, and ran to the footbridge to watch the fun.at this point a bloke walking his dog comes along, as he approached the box a whisp of smoke began to blow towards him, helped by the fact that the cutting was acting as a wind tunnel! as he then walked level with it it burst into full flames, the look on the blokes face was priceless!

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There was a big open area, a former pig farm alongside the GCR from virtually Perry Rd to Haydn Rd, ideal for trainspotting, 20 a side all day football and cyclecross (not then known as such) plus there was a field where DSL is now on Nottingham Rd, great for war games, esp when the footings were dug for Cheshires of Nottingham factory , plus there was always the mushroom farm to invade

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!englandflag! When I lived on Minver crescent (Aspley) we'd play anywhere around the estate, after 5 o'clock we'd climb the gates into William Crane school & go scrumping in the orchard they had..........sometimes the caretaker would still be around & chased us off,

moved to Aspley Lane in 1962, so would go to Melbourne or King Georges parks, also Beechdale woods, which were then both sides of the road just below the Bus Depot...........there was a big hole, all grey clay, we used to call the Eagles nest.......we'd go new-nutting in the woods & get bellyache 'cos they weren't ripe!!

I can remember being out until it was getting dark in summer.........me mam would give us bread & lard or sugar sandwiches & a bottle of water (tap)to keep us going through the day, in school holidays...... !rotfl! What a life!!

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We played on "Cavo road rec" (Cavendish road recreation ground) there was a fantastic piece of waste ground in there that was full of 'Dens' (and I don't mean you Mr Shaw) I found and old (Still working) BSA Bantam in there once, I used to leave it in there , then somebody else 'found' it and it went 'walkabout' this has all gone now and is part of the Cemetery. We used to play 20 aside football on a Sunday afternoon on there up until about 1980!!

There was some waste land at the back of our house on "Garden City/Foxhill Road" this was also full of 'Dens' ( Again not you Mr Shaw, but then again , I knew I'd seen you some where before!!! put it away young man, 'yowl catch yer death a cowd') Foxhill road park , again 20 a side footie, then the longer treks came in as we got older, a long walk up into Colwick woods , climbing trees and riding the swing that went out over the railway line. A wander down to the old sidings and ash tips. I also did a lot of fishing down a the back of Trent concrete. Cycling to Shelford to go Strawberry picking.

Happy Days( he wipes away a tear)

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  • 6 months later...

One thing hits you when reading this thread - we all have memories of going off for several hours away from home, and our parents didn't bother or worry about where we were.

I remember when I was around 10/11 years old and I was beginning to discover girls, :rolleyes: and during the long summer holidays one year, I used to spend most of the day hanging around the house of a particular set of twins. It was a five minute bike ride away for me, and I don't think anybody on our road knew where I got to - but nobody cared. My mum wasn't going frantic, even though I was only coming home for my dinner then going straight off out again. She didn't know if I was in the house next door, or on the street 5 minutes away, or down Clifton Grove playing up and down the banks near the river.

Nobody worried about what kids did or where they did it. Is that a good thing, or was everybody just naive?

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I don't pretend to know the answer Cliff, all I know is how I felt when my two went missing for an hour and a half a couple of weeks back!! It transpired that the girl they were playing with does exactly what we did at that age and her parents don't mind, in fact they positively encourage it !! they give her some money to walk to Mc Donalds on her own to get her dinner. Now I'm not saying that that is wrong, but it entails crossing two busy roads (with no Pelican crossings on them either) and it's that far away that if I were going , I would take the car.

Maybe we do wrap them up too much in cotton wool , I really wish we shouldn't have to, but I'd rather know they're safe , than hope it .

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  • 3 months later...

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