Neighbours

Our neighbours next door, was Forge Farm, the home of Jim and Mary Brookshaw. Jim was the tenant farmer holding the farm from Lord Barnard. He had farmed the land for some time, his father Leonard before him. Leonard used to frequently watch the construction work on Glebe Cottages throughout the summer of 1974 from his wheelchair positioned just inside the boundary between the two properties. He must have died shortly afterwards.

At about the same time Pete and Merle James bought what had been the vegetable garden of Castlehill on which they built a single storey house. Although Peter was a Civil Engineer, also employed by the Telford Development Corporation, I didn’t see much of him at work. My first memory was of the tall stone chimney emerging upwards with Pete building it himself. He still refuses to say how on earth he managed to raise a huge stone up, well above head height, now visible from inside the living room. In a previous life he was probably an Egyptian pyramid builder.

Bikini Girl on the Roof

When their house was roofed, I was outside talking to Cyril. Looking across the road we saw a strange sight, one which dumbfounded Cyril. Merle appeared on the newly completed roof with a hosepipe attired in a green bikini and wellington boots. She proceeded to thoroughly wash the roof, according to, what she said later, was Pete’s instructions. All that Cyril actually said was, ‘well, I dunno think I’ve ever seen anythin like that afore’. 

A Black Limousine

There were more aftershocks for Cyril. Again I remember being with him sometime later at the front of the house when a long very expensive looking limousine slid effortlessly down the lane slowing to a stop. The tinted window was lowered to reveal a strikingly attractive black female chauffeur. She asked for directions to I don’t know where and slid off effortlessly further down the lane. Cyril, once again frozen in disbelief said, ’I think her’s lost her road’.