Craven Vale Community Association

Heritage Lottery Project Pride of our Valley

Interview with Margaret interviewed by Ruth - 18th January 2013. R. Im just about to interview Margaret, who has lived in Craven Vale for a few years now. Do you remember what year you moved into Craven Vale, Margaret? M. Yes I moved in 1964, September. R. Can you tell us a little about where you were living before and why you chose to move to Craven Vale? M. Well I was born in the Kemptown area and this is very much part of my square mile. But I did live for a while after I was married, in Hove and then in Woodingdean. But the police house in Woodingdean, which we had hoped we would get one in Craven Vale, there were six at the time, but unfortunately we didnt and we settled ourselves down in Woodingdean and then my husband came home with the key one day and said One of those houses are vacant again, would you like to move? And wed just decorated but I had a big pull, because my sister, who was also married to a policeman, lived in a police house at the bottom of the hill. and my mother had just moved from where they had demolished the houses in Kemptown to Hadlow Close. I also had an aunt, who later moved into Hadlow Close so we had all our extended family within hands reach, which was very nice. When the children were small and the cousins got together and played on the estate and went to cubs and scouts which were held in Bute Hall at the time and of course the school being so near and Queens Park and at the time everything was within walking distance of the main part of the town so I was very pleased to be here. R. What were your first impressions of Craven Vale? M. Well I was used to visiting because of my relatives being here and I just thought it was a nice place to live. Lots of lovely views and green space everywhere and quite safe really, for the family, so I was quite happy. R. And do you remember anything about the type of heating that was in your home when you moved in. M. Yes I do. We had quite a large living room and we had a Rayburn heater, solid fuel heater that used to go out. We had oil heaters, which we placed strategically, place, around the house, but I do remember that one of the bedrooms when we moved in we couldnt use because there was so much condensation. The wall were all damp so we had to cram into one bedroom until we got that sorted out, and at the time policemen were allowed a certain amount of money to decorate their own houses so we had, what was in those days, an innovative thing called warmaline which we put on the walls to stop condensation and that was fine, And then when Sussex Police took over Brighton borough they werent allowed to do that themselves any more so in the winter usually, you had to have half of the house done at the time and it was usually when it was freezing and you had to have the windows open, and also I think they were quite surprised when the money that they had spent people to redecorate went up dramatically because they were using outside labour. And so I was more that happy to have it done in our own time and in our own way, not be taken over. 1

R. We take lots of household appliances for granted nowadays with fridge and washing machine that kind of thing. Can you remember how you managed when you first moved? M. We had a lovely larder with a cold granite slab. Kept everything cool. I had a fridge and a washing machine, but I used to have one of those lovely kitchen units with a drop down leaf and the cupboards at the top and the cupboards at the bottom, and I really regret having got rid of mine because it was very useful for storage, and then we had some new cupboards fitted. When we had a new boiler I had to have the larder wall knocked down and this huge granite slab taken away and obviously we had more space because we had units fitted so pretty basic. I think we had spin dries in those days as well, which we relied on, but most of the things that were around in the sixties, I had. R. And what of your appliances would you say you value most today. M. The washing machine. R. Very popular choice. Craven Vale Estate is built on a hill and has steps and slopes. Has this ever been a problem to you? M. Not until recent years when I developed polymyalgia, which meant that it was quite difficult to use core muscles, so I had a rail fitted, and obviously depend on the bus more than I did in the past. I think Im very lucky to have a bus route right outside. I dont know what I would do with out it but thats the only physical thing Ive found, the steps and climbing the hill but apart from that it is very convenient. R. Talking about bus service, what was the service like when you moved in? M. I seem to remember they used Freshfield Road, as well as the Queensway and I think there was a 2 and a 2a. One went on one route and one the other, I cant remember which was which. And I think they were every 20 minutes, about the same frequency as they are now. R. I was going to say have they improved since then. What do you think of the service now? M. I think its s very busy. I also remember that they used to have a race hill bus for people who only wanted to come to this area and the people from Woodingdean would have more chance of a seat. I think that was the only difference. They definitely had a race hill only bus in those days. R. The way we keep in touch with one another has changed over the years, letter writing, telephones, and now weve got email and that sort of thing. What sort of changes have you noticed over the years? M. I still write letters. I still prefer to talk to people on the phone. Email has its uses; when my daughter was working abroad and I had my granddaughter living with me. She was about 11 and when my daughter came home she said, I think that nowadays we all need computers. Ill set one up for you and that way you can email me so I mustnt decry it for those two reasons; it was a good thing to have but I still prefer to talk face to face or on the telephone. R. Yes I can appreciate that, so do I. Do you remember the old prams and pushchairs we had in the 50s 60s 70.s

M . Yes I do. I remember having a pram that was quite well sprung. I think the babies were more comfortable in those days. And you also had a gadget called a pram seat that you used to put the next one up on the pram seat that was very useful. And also when they got to toddler stage we had quite a basic pushchair that you could actually collapse and put on the buses. So we didnt have the facility of just pushing the pram onto the bus. Yes I do remember those. R. And do you think things have improved for young mothers nowadays, especially around the estate? M. I think so I think theyve got the convenience of having all of the shopping on the pram onto the bus without having to dismantle it all. I dont think bus drivers would appreciate it nowadays. R. No it used to be much slower didnt it. What do you remember about the schools around here? M. St Lukes was the one that my children went to initially, when they were four. In the term in which they were five. But my middle daughter she had a cousin who lived down the road, a little older than her and shed started school and she was so envious and the school knew that and one day when I was busy with my third little girl and the secretary came and waved a piece of paper and said, You can come to school now. Weve got a place for you. And I was thinking No! Ive just got a new baby and what happens in the first year of school is that they come home with coughs and colds. But anyway she was happy to go and so the next day I went down to St James Street, where we had more shops. We had a Woolworths and we had shoe shops. So I got all the essentials that I needed and when I came home my neighbour told me that shed walked all the way from St Lukes at break time because she thought it was home time. And she must have been confused because we used to collect my son, who was only three years older; we used to collect him for lunch. My neighbour had found her sitting on the wall. Thats what I remember about her starting school and then my son was the last year, I think when they did 11 plus so he went over to the grammar school in Dyke Road, which is now BASVIC, and my middle daughter went to Varndean but by that time it had become comprehensive and I think the age range went up from juniors when they were twelve. They had that extra year in the junior school. And the youngest one went to Stanley Deason, which was the old Queens Park School. And the of course I brought up my granddaughter so it was back to St Lukes and Ive often said if ever I go missing ill be going across Freshfield Road in my carpet slippers. And then of course she went through another change in the educational system and she went over to Longhill, which was so convenient because it was on the bus route, which I was quite pleased about. So they all did different things at different time. R. Well, thats interesting. Thank you. Where did your children play, and what are your memories of that time? M. Well we did have quite a large garden and we had a flat piece that I managed to create a cricket pitch, which wasnt very good really because there e were balls flying everywhere, but they use to play. My mother lived in Hadlow close where there was a spacious bit of green and my sister lived opposite and they used to go over and play there but now I notice that there are no ball games, nothing very encouraging for children to play out any more

but I think then they had more freedom. And I do remember taking them up to the top of the hill on race days just to watch the end of the races and the jockeys swearing at each other as they do and we also used to take picnics and have birthday parties and things up there. And when, my husband was in the police we had a wives group and we had bonfires that started off in my garden on November 5th and the dads used to love it with the fireworks and the kids were all scared. It got so large in the end that we had to go to the top of the hill theres a place that was used more or less for machinery, I think, so they gave us permission to use that and we put wallpaper tables set up and people used to bring their pressure cookers of soup and we stand there dishing up the soup and someone would bring something to warm us while we stood there. It was quite good fun so we did use the area quite a bit for recreation. R. That sounds really great. If someone in the family wasnt well, where did you have to go for chemist or a doctor? M. I think Islingwood road was the nearest chemist, and the doctors surgery was not that far from Freshfield Road. You could catch the bus down Elm Grove, which is where it was. So not too far. Not too inconvenient and, of course, in those days doctors used to pay visits. And we had health visitors so I dont recall anything being too difficult R. Do you think things have improved since then? M. No, I dont think so from the point of view of if youve got a young family and particularly if parents are on their own. And if they havent got the support of family or close neighbours I dont think it is quite as easy for them as it was then. R. Can you tell us a little about where you went for your shopping and how you got there? M. Well I think it was St James Street there were few quite well known (shops) Sainsburys was the first one that you could go round and use it like a supermarket and there were lots more individual shops we used to have a fish man who came round and also a baker and also in those days it was within in walking distance, so very often I could take the children to school, walk though the park and catch a bus home. So I think looking back that it was much easier than it is for young people today. They havent so much choice. There were more shops, just down bottom, which you would call local shops; I think they had a hairdresser, a laundrette. There was a lady called Maudie who had a shop. Which I think was where the Mulberry Stores is now, and she had everything in the back there and of course there is a pub, which is still there. No chemist is dont think there was a chemist down there. So it was used, and I think most people use the local shops now. R. And what about nowadays, have your shopping habits changed. M. Yes, I bus, but obviously dont need as much shopping as you do when youve got a young family. Again I'm quite happy to be on the bus route to go into St James Street, or further into town. And also I think the way of shopping has change, convenience foods and peoples way of eating has changed. Its different I think we had a pretty rigid menu that we got from our parents. Made things last. Nowadays you just get fed up with them if youve got too much of the same things. R. Was it easy to find work in the 50s 60s 70s.

M. I didnt work until my eldest one went to secondary school and then I got a job in the school working at lunch times. And that was by work of mouth of a friend. I didnt go looking. I just filled in for somebodys holiday time and stayed there for about 12 years, so that was a long holiday for somebody, wasnt it. R. That was convenient. Did you ever have to work when your children were ill, and if so how did you manage for childcare? M. Well, I had my grand daughter during those twelve years and I was very lucky I had friends. That would take her for the couple of hours that I was working and also if I was really stuck I could take her along with me. So I managed to work her naptime into the time that I was working, and then the staff of the school would keep an eye on her outside. I consider myself to be very lucky it wouldnt happen today. R. No thats very good. Was there crime around here years ago? M. Not that we were worried about, I dont think. I guess there must have been but not to the extent that we were afraid of opening the door now if we are not expecting anybody. I think we are probably more aware now. I dont remember anything too alarming. R. And what about nowadays. Do you think things have changed? M. I think they have. Maybe its because Im now in a different age group to a lot of the young people who have moved in, but I dont think people are so open with each other as they used to be. I think there used to be more of a community feel but nowadays people want to keep themselves to themselves for whatever reason, but I wouldnt say that there was a lot of crime. There might have been petty crime but nothing that we could say that we ere living on a sink estate. R. And would you say you feel safe living around here? M. Yes, I do R. Youve talked a bit about the community of living in a police house, and so on but what was it like to be living as part of the community in Craven Vale? M. Well, everything was much easier communicating with people, we didnt have anything as you have now like a community centre. That property there that has been converted into a community centre is where my mother and other people all had cages. Each flat was allowed to store their extra pieces of storage in, so I always remember that building was where my mother had all the things she didnt want to part with when she came up from the house she that she lived in. I dont recall any major celebrations like the Jubilee party, I think in that way there seems to be a lot more community activities, and looking at the leaflets that come through the door there seems to be a lot for children and also weve got the Haven just at the top of the hill as well. There does seem to be much more in the way of organisation. Whereas before people were left to their own devices and made their own entertainment. But I dont think they felt as though they were missing out at all. I think this is al part of how the worlds changed. R. I was just going to ask you about entertainment. What about entertainment? M. I did belong to the local church and still do, albeit the church isnt there any more people have moved on, but l think the social things was that the children were in the choir 5

and there was the scouts that met down in Bute Hall. The guides. I dont recall that we had anything laid on for us. I think we made our own. As I say we had parties and picnic parties up on the hill, just general things that you would do of your own volition, you didnt wait for to be given entertainment. And the schools had football teams that played over the other side of the valley, where they used to practice. R. What about nowadays. Are there things that you like to go down to in Brighton? M. I dont tend to go out as much as I used to in the evening, for lots of reasons. I think Brighton has changed I think to go out in the evening now, it has to be something special. Whereas, before you wouldnt think too much of going to town; if there was something you wanted to see at the cinema you wouldnt think twice, you would go, but now if its what I call after hours. Its not very pleasant in Brighton at the moment. I know it is only in certain areas but I'm not all that keen on travelling around in the evening. R. When Craven vale was built it was surrounded by countryside grass and woods did you ever go up there M. Yes, I did because my father used to take us for walks on Sunday evenings. Where we lived in Kemptown, he would take us along Eastern Road, and we would walk up towards this area and I seem to remember there were goats and there was also a lady who used to come along our street collecting peelings and things, and there was a pig farm up here. I think she came from this area, and we used to call her the pig lady and she had a special bucket that had all the things I suppose we would call sops, and she used to trundle off, and always, in my imagination, I used to think she came up this way. I might be totally wrong but I always think of this being in the country, being stung a few times with stinging nettles and my father finding a dock leaf. So I suppose this area did exist in my mind but probably somewhere right out of where you would live. It was somewhere where things happened pig ladies and goats R. Right. Is there anything you want to add about anything? M We werent the first occupants of the police house where I live. There were two other occupants before I came and the first one built a garage in the garden and I think the four policemen got together and built a hard standing in the middle of the houses so that the all had somewhere to park their cars and also dug up the grass verge to make a run in to that, so I think probably people had better facilities for using their cars than they have nowadays. I think it can be a bit of a problem. Now were on the end of the parking zone and there are a lot of people who get the bus and ride. Thats about the only difference really. R. Well, thank you very, very much Margaret. That was absolutely great! That was wonderful. Thank you