Loughborough, Baxter Gate c.1950

Photo ref: L197002X

My father would take me to watch the Brush football team play at home matches, one of my relatives played for them; his name was Stan Hodges. The ground was behind the Queens Park, I remember a narrow foot to the entrance where it opened out, near the turnstile to get into the ground. Years later it was closed and a leisure centre was put in its place.

This was a wonderful delicatessen (although it would have described itself as "general provisions" or something like that, It had huge cheeses and whole sides of smoked pork and giant hams in the window. It had a unique smell - a mixture of spices, coffee, smoked meat and cheese. NO modern deli comes anywhere near it - apart possibly from Volpetti in Testaccio, Rome.

In my final year at Mountfields we were led up to the swimming baths in a long crocodile to be taught how to swim, if we couldn't already. I'd just about learnt to swim the previous summer holiday in Wales, but it felt much easier (& a lot warmer) in the swimming pool. The changing areas were quite primitive. Some of us used to go swimming here on Wednesday afternoon when I was at Loughborough Grammar School (when we worked Saturday mornings, but not Wednesday afternoons).

Clemersons was a great toy and model shop. I used to go in the 60s upstairs to their model section.