On 15th February I went back in time, well sort of anyway.
Until the age of nine, I lived in Bletchley, Milton Keynes. Moving to Hitchin in 1980 was a major blow for me. The upheaval and sense of loss was the hardest thing to process in my young life to that point. Losing all my friends and having to move to a completely new primary school was really tough. It didn’t do me any harm in the long-term, but it was difficult at the time.
Having left Bletchley more than 40 years ago, it was fascinating to go back and have a wander through my childhood world.
I walked around Hunter Drive, Celina Close, Tiffany Close, Magenta Close, Cornelia Close, the Lakes Estate and made it to the Blue Lagoon too. I found my old primary school “Eaton Mill”, now the “Premier Academy”, and wandered down Water Eaton Road until I got to the local shops.
A few things surprised me, one was that even after all the elapsed time, I was able to follow my nose and make my way around without getting lost. Another was that my whole world was really rather small, nothing was more than half a mile from my old doorstep.
Some of the street names I had forgotten but reading the name plates instantly brought the memories flooding back.
While some things were different, much of the landscape was unchanged and instantly recognisable. One thing that was very different was a wetland area behind Hunter Drive and before the Barton Road Industrial Estate. When I was a lad, there was a reasonably sized gravel pit where I used to go and catch newts and frogs, forty years later the area is still wet but completely wooded. There wasn’t a single tree in my day, just rushes.
I took photos as I went to share with my wife and kids, but when I looked at them later, they were just non-descript pictures in a housing estate and they didn’t convey any of the joy I felt when I was taking them.
Until the age of nine, I lived in Bletchley, Milton Keynes. Moving to Hitchin in 1980 was a major blow for me. The upheaval and sense of loss was the hardest thing to process in my young life to that point. Losing all my friends and having to move to a completely new primary school was really tough. It didn’t do me any harm in the long-term, but it was difficult at the time.
Having left Bletchley more than 40 years ago, it was fascinating to go back and have a wander through my childhood world.
I walked around Hunter Drive, Celina Close, Tiffany Close, Magenta Close, Cornelia Close, the Lakes Estate and made it to the Blue Lagoon too. I found my old primary school “Eaton Mill”, now the “Premier Academy”, and wandered down Water Eaton Road until I got to the local shops.
A few things surprised me, one was that even after all the elapsed time, I was able to follow my nose and make my way around without getting lost. Another was that my whole world was really rather small, nothing was more than half a mile from my old doorstep.
Some of the street names I had forgotten but reading the name plates instantly brought the memories flooding back.
While some things were different, much of the landscape was unchanged and instantly recognisable. One thing that was very different was a wetland area behind Hunter Drive and before the Barton Road Industrial Estate. When I was a lad, there was a reasonably sized gravel pit where I used to go and catch newts and frogs, forty years later the area is still wet but completely wooded. There wasn’t a single tree in my day, just rushes.
I took photos as I went to share with my wife and kids, but when I looked at them later, they were just non-descript pictures in a housing estate and they didn’t convey any of the joy I felt when I was taking them.
Because I was young, had no responsibilities and didn’t really have a care in the world, I remember my time in Bletchley with fondness. I hadn’t been back in so long that the whole experience really did feel like time travel. Weird but very pleasing.
Mrs Baldwin totally gets the time travel sentiment. Last October she took our daughter on a road trip to Hull (which is where she grew up) so she could show her all the places that were important in her childhood. Mrs B. returned with similar photos to those I took in Bletchley.
During my wanders I was on my own, the weather was rubbish, and I was wearing the wrong shoes, but I had a really good time nonetheless.
I plan to go back in time again soon and either take the family or see if I can meet up with one of my childhood friends instead.
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Mrs Baldwin totally gets the time travel sentiment. Last October she took our daughter on a road trip to Hull (which is where she grew up) so she could show her all the places that were important in her childhood. Mrs B. returned with similar photos to those I took in Bletchley.
During my wanders I was on my own, the weather was rubbish, and I was wearing the wrong shoes, but I had a really good time nonetheless.
I plan to go back in time again soon and either take the family or see if I can meet up with one of my childhood friends instead.
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