THE STAIRWAY TO 'HEAVEN' LEADS DOWN, NOT UP (UPDATED - AGAIN)...

The middle building sits on what was once part of the garden.  An annexe hut was just
visible behind the edifice on the right.  The stairs of the manse on the left have been
replaced, the originals being well-worn, and with a wall instead of a railing

As a teenager, I went through a phase where I developed an interest in religion.  Y'know, the full "who am I, where did I come from, why am I here, where am I going?" bit.  Consequently, I attended a couple of church youth clubs with some pals, who weren't quite so interested in religion, but were interested in the girls who frequented such establishments.  We were regarded as 'neds', not because we were (not real neds anyway), but because, compared to our fellows (all saintly-minded believers who saw Jesus as their 'personal Saviour' and who were liable to break into a chorus of 'Kumbaya' - with guitar accompaniment - at the drop of a hat), we were seen as 'rough boys' to be pitied and avoided if we couldn't be 'converted'.  (Not in the recent Doctor Who way, I hasten to add.)

The basement fire exit.  Members came and went through here to
and from the garden.  The barred window on the left is the one seen
from inside the basement's main room in the next photo

One such club was held in the basement of what used to be the manse, within the same grounds as the church itself.  The last time I recall being in that basement must've been around 1979 or '80 - almost 40 years ago.  Wow!  That's a hard one to get my head around.  At the back of the church once stood an annexe hut, which was replaced with a large extension a good number of years back, housing a cafe and various other things.  I was in there yesterday for a coffee (first time I've used the place), and after I'd finished, I took a wander into the former manse and visited the basement.  It was pretty much as I remembered, though it looks like the kitchen has had a refit, and what was once a window-sized opening into the kitchen from the staircase has now actually had a window fitted.

If I recall rightly, an old radiator was affixed to the wall under the window, and the
seating was previously oblong wooden box-like structures with square cushions on
top for comfort 

As I stood looking around and drinking in the memories of my teenage visits to the place with my friends (one of whom died some years ago), I was struck by just how recent it all seemed to have been.  Hard as it might be for you to believe, I was regarded as what we Scots call the 'leader-aff' by my group, which was probably a good thing as I tended to rein them in a bit from indulging in the full catalogue of youthful 'hijinks'.  Had all those years really elapsed since I'd last stood in these low-ceilinged vaults?  It hardly seemed possible.  I was both cheered and saddened by the occasion, and returned this very afternoon with my camera and snapped a few photos for posterity.  However, yet again I'm reminded of just how fleeting the years are, and how quickly events of the present become mere echoes of the past in the haunting halls of memory.

I remember sitting in the room through the doorway back in the '70s, but can't recall
if it housed a pool table back then.  I dimly see a table tennis table in my mind, but
could be imagining it 

It's strange to think that what was once a very familiar place to me on a weekly basis (perhaps even twice-weekly, as there may've been a Wednesday meeting as well as a Sunday one) for a couple of years or so, faded from my mind once I'd left it behind.  (I simply became too 'old' for a 'youth' club.)  However, I think there's a difference between not thinking about something and truly forgetting it, and all it takes is a sight (or a scent) of something familiar to bring it all back to the forefront of one's thoughts as if it were only yesterday.  Ever had a similar experience while revisiting a place from your far-away youth?  Then feel free to share your reminiscences with all your fellow Criv-ites in the comments section.

A view of the garden - the building on the left once wasn't part of it,
and there used to be a huge tree roughly in the middle of the lawn

Taken from roughly the same spot (or near it) back in the 1970s.  If
you look really closely, you can see my Coke can to the left of the tree.
The last tree in the row may be the one in the above photo.  If not, it'll
be one of the ones in the background

In case you're interested, below are some more photos.  If I can find ones I took back in the 1970s, I'll add them for comparison.  (Now done, but I'll add any more I find at a later date.)

The front of what  used to be the manse.  The extension on the
left sits on what was once part of the garden, as was the car park

The church (Baptist) building itself.  It's reported that the 'pastor' from my time later
'moved on' after having affairs with women in his 'flock'.  Don't know if he left the
ministry, but this was a man who spoke to me like something he'd scraped off his shoe

This photo was taken from the bowling green on the other side of the church in the
above photo (that's it on the left).  You can see part of the annexe hut to the right,
which is where the extension now sits...

...as you can see from this recent photo

The Old Village Hall across the road from the church
was being transformed into a theatre at the time... 

...and here's the same view nearly 40 years later

The stairs to the basement

Basement seen from the doorway

View from inside the pool room

View of the main room from pool room doorway

The kitchen is situated around to the far right

This closed-off stairway is situated between the previous scene
and the next one.  It was thus in my day too.  Teenagers used to
sit here chatting

The stairway in the previous pic is to the left of the doorway

The kitchen looks surprisingly smaller than I remember it, but I
 don't think it had so many cupboards and stuff as it does now 

The window on the right was once just an open frame, through which
members would take a shortcut into the kitchen from the staircase

Back around to the main room...

...and up the stairs to the outside world.  Our
visit's over, so "Th-th-that's all, folks!"