I'd imagine that the accompanying photos won't be of much interest to most Crivs, but for GERRY, who works in HAIRMYERS HOSPITAL, they'll be a trip back in time, as the buildings here (with one exception I think) are all now demolished. I believe the new hospital (which looks a bit like a factory warehouse) was built nearby first, then the old one was razed to the ground and new houses were built in its place.
The first two photos (taken in '88, a few years before the others) show the stumps of trees that, back in the '60s, were the source of conkers to me, my brother, and our neighbourhood pals, who would trek along to the area and fill our pockets with fallen chestnuts, sometimes even climbing the trees to retrieve them. If I recall correctly, the trees still stood unchopped well into the mid '80s, but perhaps Gerry can supply the precise year.
It's a shame things had to change, because the new Hairmyers just doesn't have the character of the original. It's a bittersweet experience looking at these photographs, as although I'm glad I was able to capture the area more or less as it was, they remind me that a piece of my childhood no longer exists.
Gerry, the sequence of these photos (and the previous ones) probably isn't entirely accurate, so if you can arrange them in better order, feel free to do so. If you save them, you'll see that each one is numbered, so if you have the time or the inclination, could you list the numbers to represent a circular tour starting from the hospital shop and working its way around? (From either right to left, or vice versa.) I'd appreciate it.
