FROM OUR CHIEF CORRESPONDENT

Hello Jean
Enjoyed your comments on my last piece. Occasionally I had to have the Pinkun but it was a poor substitute for the Greenun. Yes, I think it did contain a lot of racing.
I liked the photo of Tony White's grocery shop. I hadn't realised it had a cafe too. Don't remember one when I worked for Tony. Me neither. What good eyesight you have, What are all the people waiting for outside the shop? Was it a bus trip? Probably a trip up to STC for a party.
More Ilminster shops:
Bradburn's newsagents Market Square. I did two paper rounds here, a large morning one and a very short one in the evening.

Was it the shop with the awning above? I remember getting pens and stationery from there.
Mr Bradburn, a Yorkshire man, gave me a bike for the rounds. This was necessary because the morning round was all over Ilminster: Court Barton, New Road, Higher Beacon, Station Road, Winterhay,etc. I remember getting badly bitten once by a snappy Jack Russell in Higher Beacon; never liked delivering there after that!  But the worst incident was during my evening round of just five papers - Ditton Street, Lister Hill, Station Road, Winterhay and the top of East Street (was it called Bay Hill?). Anyway, I was delivering to a house there and I parked my bike against the pavement whilst I popped the paper through the letter box. When I turned round disaster struck! A car had run over the bike and completely buckled the front wheel. What should I do? I was too scared to tell Mr. Bradburn what had happened, so I took the bike home and parked it in the lean-to where it stayed for ages. After this I had to walk the round, which took so much longer. I couldn't afford to buy a new wheel at Hurlstone's and I never did. Eventually, when I gave up the round, I was pleased when Mr. Bradburn said nothing about returning the bike and I never did either!
Bakers.  I remember one in Ditton Street and one somewhere along the High Street, I think, on the Summervale side. We used to go in the Ditton Street bakers after school for cheap hardbakes (overbaked or yesterday's rolls). Were they two a penny?

Yes, I mentioned this in my piece about Brownies.
The other bakers was for serious treats, e.g. cream buns! We only got these very rarely but they were delicious. I remember at the Secondary Modern a tray of these goodies would be delivered to the school (daily?) and placed at the side of the stage for the morning break. You had to get there fairly quickly if you wanted to buy one! They were always snapped up quickly!

The Bakers at the top of Summervale was Tolleys. Mum would send me there every Saturday morning to get a dozen finger rolls which, of course, was 13. They were delicious and still warm – yummy. The start of bad eating habits!!
Mike Smith and I have just had a very long phone call (78 mins) reminiscing about Summervale days and Paignton too. We haven't had any contact since the 1960s, so it was great to catch up with all our news.
More about this in my next report!

Great News!
Best Wishes
Peter Westmacott

FROM OUR CHIEF CORRESPONDENT

Hello Jean
Enjoyed your comments on my last piece. Occasionally I had to have the Pinkun but it was a poor substitute for the Greenun. Yes, I think it did contain a lot of racing.
I liked the photo of Tony White's grocery shop. I hadn't realised it had a cafe too. Don't remember one when I worked for Tony. Me neither. What good eyesight you have, What are all the people waiting for outside the shop? Was it a bus trip? Probably a trip up to STC for a party.
More Ilminster shops:
Bradburn's newsagents Market Square. I did two paper rounds here, a large morning one and a very short one in the evening.

Was it the shop with the awning above? I remember getting pens and stationery from there.
Mr Bradburn, a Yorkshire man, gave me a bike for the rounds. This was necessary because the morning round was all over Ilminster: Court Barton, New Road, Higher Beacon, Station Road, Winterhay,etc. I remember getting badly bitten once by a snappy Jack Russell in Higher Beacon; never liked delivering there after that!  But the worst incident was during my evening round of just five papers - Ditton Street, Lister Hill, Station Road, Winterhay and the top of East Street (was it called Bay Hill?). Anyway, I was delivering to a house there and I parked my bike against the pavement whilst I popped the paper through the letter box. When I turned round disaster struck! A car had run over the bike and completely buckled the front wheel. What should I do? I was too scared to tell Mr. Bradburn what had happened, so I took the bike home and parked it in the lean-to where it stayed for ages. After this I had to walk the round, which took so much longer. I couldn't afford to buy a new wheel at Hurlstone's and I never did. Eventually, when I gave up the round, I was pleased when Mr. Bradburn said nothing about returning the bike and I never did either!
Bakers.  I remember one in Ditton Street and one somewhere along the High Street, I think, on the Summervale side. We used to go in the Ditton Street bakers after school for cheap hardbakes (overbaked or yesterday's rolls). Were they two a penny?

Yes, I mentioned this in my piece about Brownies.
The other bakers was for serious treats, e.g. cream buns! We only got these very rarely but they were delicious. I remember at the Secondary Modern a tray of these goodies would be delivered to the school (daily?) and placed at the side of the stage for the morning break. You had to get there fairly quickly if you wanted to buy one! They were always snapped up quickly!

The Bakers at the top of Summervale was Tolleys. Mum would send me there every Saturday morning to get a dozen finger rolls which, of course, was 13. They were delicious and still warm – yummy. The start of bad eating habits!!
Mike Smith and I have just had a very long phone call (78 mins) reminiscing about Summervale days and Paignton too. We haven't had any contact since the 1960s, so it was great to catch up with all our news.
More about this in my next report!

Great News!
Best Wishes
Peter Westmacott

SHOPS IN ILMINSTER

Hello Jean
Shops in Ilminster:
Tom Clapp's sports shop. After watching Ilminster play football on a Saturday afternoon in the Rec. we used to go  to Clapp's early evening to pick up "The Green un", the Saturday sports paper.

JJ says - ( I remember my Dad had the Pinkun, what was the difference? He was a bit of a gambler so his might have been horse racing and the Greenun – football?)

On the way home we would pick up some chips and a bottle of Vimto in the fish & chip shop, then I'd read the paper cover to cover in the evening. I think it was Mike Smith who introduced us to the Vimto!  Can you still buy that stuff?

Did Mrs Carbin run the fish/chip shop?

JJ says - (Yes, she did and looked like she lived on it too! 3 pence for a large portion of chips and 1 pence for scribblings – those little bits of batter)
Mr Giles' shop on the corner of Wharf Lane. I think it was a newsagents/stationers but we used to spend ages in there looking at postage stamps and occasionally buying them. Old Mr Giles would get fed up with us sometimes and tell us to get a move on. Clive Williams and Cliff Hargest would go in with me sometimes. Was there anybody else?
Tony White's grocery shop, High Street, top of Summervale.

( the little girl in the front sucking her thumb is me)

  I used to work there on a Friday evening after school. Firstly I had to help Tony and his wife fill up the order boxes then I had to deliver them around the town on my special bike. Sometimes Tony would  give me some broken biscuits or cheese to take home. These were always appreciated at home as we were fairly poor in those days. I think we were the only single parent family in Summervale at the time.

JJ says ( Whites – loved that shop always full of lovely smells. Tony was a big smiley man and very friendly. One Christmas he asked me to draw the raffle and I was very honoured. However, I think we won 4 or 5 prizes – coincidence Gov – honest!)
Irwin's greengrocers - Silver Street, near top of Summervale. I used to go shopping sometimes for my Mum (remember she was at work at STC from 8a.m. to 6 p.m. ) and so we had to do a lot to help her. I always liked it when Mrs Irwin said "And here's an
extra one for you" (usually an apple).
More to follow!
Best Wishes
Peter Westmacott

Terry Pell

Hi Jean.

Just had another look at your blog (which continues to get better and better)and looking down the list of Summervale inhabitants  I notice that I have failed to inform you that my Brother Ronny Pell is deceased having been instantly killed while on duty as acting sergeant in a Police car involved in a road traffic collision in London on December 26th 1969. He was only 39. Would you amend his listing accordingly please.

Keep up the good work.

While it would be nice to see some entries from people I knew during the wonderful time that I lived there  I do realise that I am pushing on age wise (very close to 76) and obviously those still surviving  would be roughly the same age. Fingers crossed someone will appear.

That’s a sad tale about your brother Terry and the list has been amended.

I have one photo of you “older” boys and girls and I wonder if you or your brother are amongst them. This was Iris Hewitt’s birthday and my brother ( now 75) is there along with Peter Mason, Shirley Hewitt ( always so pretty)  Margaret Mason , Irene Forbes, Joyce Stock and her brother Alan.

Who is the boy next to Shirley with the curly hair  Could it be Tony Macey? And the other boy next to Peter Mason with a striped tie?

Help me out someone.

THE OLDIES

I have just sent this photo to Peter Westmacott as it shows his grandparents and my parents and I have named those I can.

JJ

Going to The Pictures

The Plaza, more or less next to Dyers and, if my memory serves me right, the last time I was there it was  the furniture department of Dyers. It was a total shambles and looked  O So  Small.

Memorable films – Batman and Robin,

Charlie Chaplin, Old Mother Hubbard, Red Shoes (Norma Shearer) Easter Parade, Great Expectations,

Samson & Delilah

Lassie, Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger, et al. We would cheer when the cavalry arrived and stamp our feet when the film broke down which was a common occurrence. If Nosey parker wasn’t around we would open the exit door to let others in without paying.

JJ

More from Peter

I enjoyed your pictures of the railway station and your story, plus the Taunton swimming pool piece. Brought back lots of memories! Sometimes we would go on the train to Taunton to watch Somerset play cricket. We would dump our bikes against the
fence at the station then pick them up when we got back in the evening. Of course, we never locked them! Didn't need to in those days! And none ever went missing.
Taunton swimming pool. I can still see the dreaded moment when someone pushed me in, I sank to the bottom then came up      coughing and spluttering. As a non-swimmer a very frightening experience! And I never went in a swimming pool again. So to this day I am unable to swim. Who was the guilty one?  Was it you Clive or was it Mike Smith?
I liked Cliff Hargest's comments on the cinema. Yes, all very exciting for 6d a go on a Saturday morning. It was called the Plaza -
grand sounding name for a fleapit. I think Mr.Parker ran it: he was the projectionist, ice cream man, ticket seller and keeper of the peace all in one!

He also used to cut the grass on his sit-down mower in the Rec; many a time he disturbed our games of    cricket! Packed with kids,the cinema was a very noisy place especially when some rascals were firing paper pellets at your head with their catapults! You very quickly learned to slump into your seat with your collar up! Sometimes you had to get to the cinema early otherwise life could be very uncomfortable. I remember we arrived late to watch "The Dambusters" (about 1956?) and we ended up in the front row, very close to the screen. Talk about neck-ache! Very,very painful. It spoilt the film for us so we ended up going the next night.
By the way Jean, my mother (Joan) is still alive at 87. She lives in Berkshire with my brother Paul. He never married nor did David who lives in Leeds where he runs his own business, a garage.
Keep the blog going Jean. It's all very exciting!

REMEMBER THE STATION?

I came across this photo today of Ilminster Station

 

which evoked more memories.

Firstly, of being absolutely terrified as the enormous metal engine, spouting steam, pulled into the Station.

I would run into the waiting room and hide under a bench. I had a similar fear of Steam engines – good job I wasn’t a boy.

Secondly, I remember going to Taunton baths swimming, a group of us without any adult supervision.

Ron Dixon was there this day.

Those were the days of corridors which we would run up and down until the guard caught us . Also  that strong brown leather strap with holes in it which lowered the windows. Once on the train I loved it – the smell of the smoke and the repetitive noise of the train on the tracks.

Yes, happy days.

JJ

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Hello Jean – TV sets in Summervale.

Sorry about my error!  I probably should have said that the Williams and Smiths were the first on the eastern side of the estate!!
Your place on Coronation Day sounded very exciting!   

Not as exciting as the street party    

                                                                                            
Historians and others often talk about the 1950s as a "golden age" for children. When you look at life for children in many communities since the 1970s, I think there might be some truth in this.For example, in Summervale, we could play in the road with no fear of traffic,

we had the large green to play on and the "Rec" close by with safe access. We thought nothing of disappearing for hours on our own to Herne Hill

A POOR PHOTO BUT TAKEN BEFORE IT WAS STRIPPED FOR FIREWOOD!

HERNE HILL  IN SPRING – CAN YOU SMELL THOSE BLUEBELLS?

or the river near the Horlicks factory.

SADLY DERELICT SINCE 2001. NOT HOW I REMEMBER IT.

And we organised endless game of cricket and football at the Rec - all without any adult supervision. We divided Ilminster into 4 for the purpose of organising teams:Summervale, Winterhay, Blackdown and Town. And we all played each other. Does anyone remember this?
Happy days!
Best Wishes
Peter Westmacott

News From Peter Westmacott

23/01/2010

Hello Jean
Lovely to hear from you after all these years. Very impressed with your Summervale blog - keep up the good work. It deserves a wide audience. I was delighted to see the photos. The one of Clive Williams and myself I had never seen before. Was I really that much taller than Clive? I always thought we were the same height!
Re where people lived: I think the Kearneys lived at number 4; the Drivers definitely lived at no.8 and we lived at no.10. The Hodgsons lived at no.25 next door to my grandparents Reg & Ethel Durham.
Looking down your list of names brought back many memories for me. As soon as I saw the names I recalled them all though I had forgotten some of them.
Some early memories:
1. I did a Sunday paper round and covered all 50 houses in Summervale. I delivered the papers early then had to go back around 12 noon to collect the money. (Some houses had 3 papers; you wouldn't get that now!). As I moved around the estate all I could hear was "Family Favourites" on the radio. I could pick up a song at one house then hear the finish further up the road!
2. "Doctors and Nurses" in the tent in the Richards' garden. This was great fun in the summer months. There would be Carol, Wenda, Valerie Jolly, Joan Wakeham, me and my brother David. I'm sure it was all pretty innocent stuff!

Yea Right!!

3. Girlfriends. I got interested in the girls quite early on (unlike Mike Smith who came to this interest much later on!). I think Mary Williams was my first, then there was Valerie Jolly and Joan Wakeham. I quite fancied her sister June but she was a bit older than me! After this I became very interested in Margaret Sibley but she came from outside Summervale. Traitor!

Mary Williams was very popular. Pretty girl with that red hair & freckles.

I fell in love with Clive at the age of about 4! Don’t know why I fancied him but it was unrequited love – Boo Hoo.

4. Television. At first there were only two TV sets on the estate: the Williams and the Smiths. I used to get invited to Clive's house to watch the Cup Final and to Mike Smith's to watch floodlit football matches (about 1955). All very exciting for a 13-year old  boy, mad keen on sport.

Umm, I think we were the first to have T.V. Dad got it from Scrivens and I still remember that “H” aerial.

We had it installed for the Coronation in 1953 and our little bungalow was full to  the gunnels.

5. Cars. I think the first cars on the estate were Ron Dixon's and the Hodgsons. It was  very safe riding our bikes on the road around the green or haring down the hill on our home-made trolleys. I can picture Ron driving around the green and holding Gloria on the running  board as he steered one-handed!

There are so many more memories. They can wait for another time. I'll try and find some old photos too.
I would love to hear from any old Summervaleans, especially Clive Williams, Mike Smith, Cliff Hargest, Alan Dixon,John Rogers,Mary Williams, Val Jolly, etc.  In fact, all of you!
Best Wishes
Peter Westmacott

PETER WESTMACOTT

 

-I have just heard from Peter via Friends Reunited ----- Original Message -----
Hello Jean
Do you remember me from Ilminster days? I lived there in Summervale from 1954-7. My grandparents, Reg and Ethel Durham lived next door to you. Looking at my baptism certificate recently, I see that your parents were my godparents when I was christened in Ilminster church.  I'm now living in Suffolk (28 years). Am married to Glenys (42 years). We have a son, Craig, 41 and daughter, Kelda 39. Craig has 2 boys  and a girl; Kelda has 2 boys. We moved to Paignton in 1958 and I worked at STC. When I was 25 I went to Nottm Univ and got a history degree, then became a teacher, firstly in Minehead  (10 years) then in Beccles, Suffolk from 1982 til I retired in 2002. We have been back to Ilminster many times and still like it. In fact  
we had thought about moving back there!!

Would love to hear from you Jean.

Best Wishes

Peter Westmacott

 

My Reply ----------

Do I remember you?  Yes of course and David and Paul and your mother Joan. It's wonderful to hear from you.
I have started a blog about Summervale and you might like to read it -
click here -  http://summervale1944.blogspot.com/ You will need to go right back to the beginning so give yourself some time. It will awaken happy memories I'm sure.

I have loads of old photos and in your honour I will go and post one of you and tell everyone I have heard from you.

Could we correspond by e-mail I find this print on here very small ( it's my age!). My email address is - jeanjeannie44@sky.com
and I look forward to hearing more from you and a good "chat" over the internet.
Love
Jean.

Let’s see what develops – exciting isn’t it? I have also heard from John Satchell who has threatened to tell me the story of his “Great Escape” with Kenny Laughton.

WATCH THIS SPACE

Were we ever that young?

I was just remembering that it is Carol’s birthday on January 18th and I decided to look through the old photos to see what I could find. Not many of her but I came across a photo of our brownie pack -

And this one -

And another

 

Lots of old familiar faces – how many can you name?

Umm, Brownies, can’t say I remember very much and I never went on to be a guide, far too rebellious.

There was a toadstool which you can see above but what was it’s significance? I guess we all danced round it at times the thought of which, 58 years later, has made me chuckle.

We were divided into different groups I think; pixies, elves and fairies? Am I right?

I do remember going into the Baker’s in Ditton Street on the way home and getting a hardbake which nearly broke your teeth. I assume they were rolls which had been left too long in the oven – were they?

come on girls, remind me what badges we got and why? Name some names and let me have your memories of Brownies.

JJ