London 1976

By shendyNo Comments
The other part of the summer holiday was a stay with my dad's sister in London. This involved meeting a new cousin (hello Mike!), a trip down the river to Greenwich and the Cutty Sark, London Zoo and a day trip to Brighton. It has to be said that what the young lady from the beach at Brighton is wearing would probably raise eyebrows now - 36 years later. Well, maybe not in Brighton....
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Bewdley 1976

By shendyNo Comments
Part of the summer holiday in 1976 was spent in a holiday cottage (actually a converted railway carriage) on the banks of the River Severn just outside Bewdley. Trips to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, the Severn Valley Railway (which had a stop just up the road) and West Midlands Safari Park. Mother had an interest in the Industrial Revolution for some reason, which probably led to the trip to Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and Blists Hill. I have a very vivid memory of being baking hot in the back of the car going round the safari park, sat in the boot - it wasn't a saloon I hasten to add!...
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Abington Park 1976

By shendy3 Comments
Some shots from Abington Park in the summer of '76 The wonderful Gallone's ice cream vans, still there to this day. Is the ice cream as good as it was? The council obviously had more money than it does now, and there were various entertainments put on in the park during the summer - these are some Belgian flag wavers and a Scottish band with a drum major (or perhaps minor judging by the size of her). These are the Celebrated Ratliffe Stout Band - I know the name, but really don't know much about them apart from the fact that they came from Northampton, were a folk group and were named after a Northampton beer. Very hard to find out anything about them on t'interweb. And one of me, probably eating a Gallone's. And yes, the top is home-knitted....
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Northampton 1976

By shendyNo Comments
The long, hot summer of 1976 - sat here writing this in the wet, crappy summer of 2012. This is The Brother on a slide at Midsummer Meadow pool, about to plunge through the ice into the frigid waters. OK, I exaggerate - but not much. Mind you '76 was so hot that they might not have had to employ the ice breakers that year. And a couple of candids from the Market Square...
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