WEST DERBY
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FREE Issue 78 West Derby & Croxteth Park December 2012
The monthly independent advertiser 15,000 copies 12,000 into Homes 3,000 into Businesses
For Advertising and Leaflet Drop Service See page 2
CHRISTMAS PAST by Stephen Guy, West Derby Society
The noisy green bus was a lifeline when ice and snow made travelling difficult and even visiting nearby
relatives could be an ordeal. It is 1955 and the 61 heads south along Leyfield Road,
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passing Blackmoor Park School on the left (pictured). Earlier the gritters had been out - not the vehicles we have today but open wagons carrying men busily shovelling rock salt on to the roads. The 61 was a frequent service launched about 1939, linking Seaforth with south Liverpool, but a growing number of people had cars. Many of our neighbours in Lisleholme Crescent had
motors which were regulation black. One young man had a red sports car which earned him the name Killer. Another defied convention with his bottle-green saloon. In those days Christmas came quickly. There was no massive build-up in the shops from the autumn although one family in Deysbrook Lane put their tinselled tree in the window in October. Post war austerity put a brake on fes-
tivities. Money had to go a long way and luxury was having an orange in your Christmas stocking. Coal fires roared in sooty grates causing dreadful smogs on days when no breeze shifted its ghostly presence. Visits to Santa at Lewis’s or T J Hughes’s were highlights and lowtech toys such as Hoop-La and Snakes and Ladders the rewards. On Christmas Day Dad and I walked to St Mary’s in the Village while Mum did the turkey. Gran and Granddad came for tea – grandfather had a separate portion of
Christmas pudding without the brandy as he was teetotal. We would get the 61 to visit Auntie May and Uncle Eric in Taggart Avenue on Boxing Day – the bus stopped conveniently outside their door. Uncle Eric did hilarious impressions which put us in stitches. We would get the bus home clutching our presents, avoiding the open rear entrance where the chill air wafted into the over-heated interior. Our British-made Ekco television was rented from Stuart & Dorfman’s on Mount Pleasant. The tiny screen was
set in a highly-polished wooden cabinet. Christmas meant variety shows offering such popular acts as harmony singers The Stargazers, relaxed Liverpool crooner Michael Holliday, the rowdy Billy Cotton Bandshow and a talented young Australian called Rolf Harris. • Join the West Derby Society at its next meeting 7.30 pm on Wednesday 19 December at Lowlands, 13 Haymans Green, Liverpool L12 7JG.
If so...call Paul Crowley & Co Solicitors NOW IN WEST DERBY • 0151 226 2020 • www.paulcrowley.co.uk We’re here, we’re local and we’re waiting to help… Why choose anyone else?
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