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| In the row of houses on the left of the pic, only the first one belongs to the same street as the other seven rows. The rest of that one row is designated as another street. Even my dog Zara thinks it's totally bonkers. I assume it was the result of some kind of oversight |
You live and learn. A staggering 54 years ago I moved into a house in a street that was comprised of 8 rows of 6 terraced houses each. Last night I learned that 5 of the houses in the first row fell under another street name - only the first house in the row belonged to the same street as the other 7 rows. Don't ask me why, as it seems completely arbitrary to divide up a row of connecting houses in this way, but that's what was done. If you lived in that first house (appropriately numbered 1), it meant your neighbours' gardens on the other side of the adjoining hedge or fence were in a completely different street. Or if you entered your back door through the narrow communal path between the back gardens, one row was in one street, the other row (aside from the first house) was in another. Crazy, if you ask me.
Anyway, I was along in that old neighbourhood tonight and ran into the brother of one of my brother's pals back in the '60s. This fellow doesn't live in the area any longer, but was visiting his elderly mother - and that's when I learned another surprising thing. Back around 1967 (this I knew because I still lived there), his family moved from the 5th row to the first row, which, up until last night, I'd always believed was in the same street. Then, around 1986, his mother moved into the house adjoining what had recently been her then current one (I only discovered this tonight), which she's now lived in for around 34 years, beating by far her 19 year stay next door.
Now, that won't mean anything to you, but it amazes the hell out of me. Any of you ever find out something surprising about a place you'd once lived? If so, let rip in the comments section.
Happy St George's Day, Kid (I'll pause while the monsoon of rotten tomatoes and worse fly at me from Jockland :-))!
ReplyDeleteSince I recently reconnected with someone I first met as a 4 year old, I've been hearing all sorts of things about my old neighbourhood, minutia that no one else would find remotely interesting, but which I absolutely lap up - so I totally get why your recent bit of news is so important to you...when I hear of someone from childhood who's died, it's so odd (as you mentioned in a recent post) that you can mourn or cheer someone's passing years after the fact, because it's new news to you...you've naturally just assumed they've carried on living alongside you, but separately...
What I'd like to ask the Criv community is this: I've noticed loads of weird coincidences recently, like texts received at the exact minute I've sent to that person, or finding out someone has thought something at exactly the same time I have? It's only very mundane stuff, but happening all the time - has anyone else noticed anything odd along these lines during lockdown?
No rotten tomatoes from me, 'cos I'm not anti-English, HS. Can't say I've noticed anything like what you describe myself (not recently anyway), or if I have, I've already forgotten. What I do find interesting is when I'm reading (or writing) something and someone on the radio says the exact word I'm reading or writing at the time. That always makes me sit up and take notice. After all, what are the chances?
ReplyDeleteYes, you're looking at the exact same word when someone on telly says it...and it's not like it's 'the' or 'and'...it's very specific words and most odd. I often have these synchronicities with my Ma, but I've noticed them happening with other people over the last couple of weeks, and it's not imagination...the best recent one was about a bag of chips so not exactly Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, but far more than mere chance. I wondered if it's anything to do with this enforced isolation?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that comes close was last night, when I ran into a bloke I knew in childhood after mentioning his brother to someone a few hours before. We were both in our old neighbourhood and neither of us even lives there anymore and haven't done for decades. (It was his mother who moved from one house to the other one next door, as I mentioned in the post.)
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