"What's for dinner Dad?"

"Shit and Sugar!"

In loving Memory of John Crow

03.05.1943 - 25.11.2016

Three years ago today we said goodbye to the funniest, bravest, big-hearted and popular man you could ever wish to meet.  Family was everything to him and in truth, none of us can believe he is gone even now.  He had the greatest sense of humour, most of which would be considered non PC these days but he could keep a roomful of people in stitches until their faces ached!   Having seen them recently, I am glad to say his children have definitely inherited his humour - he would be so proud!

Last night I had the weirdest dream - it felt like more than a dream and I know it came from him.   We were all at a Memorial Service for him but it was complete and utter chaos!   I was standing in a pew, shoulders heaving with sobs but cringing with embarrassment because I was only half-dressed!!  I had a suit jacket on but had forgotten to put on the skirt.  I was mortified so put on a fur coat to keep myself covered so no-one could see my knickers.  Someone said "You can't wear that coat these days - don't you know that it's not PC to wear fur anymore,  take it off!"   Of course, I couldn't and as I turned around to tell them to mind their own business, I noticed a group of Gospel singers at the back of the church dressed in purple satin robes with funny wigs on and those big 'Kenny Everett' hands that he used to wear in his sketches. Turned out it was my sister-in-law and my nieces and nephew who had decided to lighten up the proceedings with a bit of Crow humour.   I awoke with a wet face from crying, a full heart and his voice in my head saying 'not to take life too seriously'.  He's doing OK my big brother, alive on some other dimension, and still making people laugh.  He is missed so very badly but I know we'll meet again some day.  There's a song about that isn't there?

John remembered far more than I about the old days in London.  To honour him,  I'm sharing today some of those memories, written by him many years ago to keep Lambeth history alive for his family:-

"We had parks such as Kennington Park, near the Oval Cricket Ground and Bishops Park near Westminster Bridge.  The park at Kennington was the site of an air raid shelter during the blitz and received a direct hit by either a bomb or a doodlebug which basically was a flying bomb launched from the coast of France.

There were fifty people killed that night in that shelter.  They couldn't get them all out and the shelter was filled in.  A Memorial stands in the park to those who died.  

The park also had a swimming pool, which even in the height of summer was always freezing.

Another place Dave and I often went to was the Imperial War Museum.  The museum was then full of all types of tanks, aircraft and even a mini submarine.  There was a Lancaster bomber cockpit you could sit in and machines you could actually use, sit on, look in and climb over.  Now, it's not the same but it's still well worth a visit - rules have been applied and the place has been revamped.

There were park keepers in those days, men and sometimes women in light brown suits and hats. They displayed a badge on their lapel and were very proud of their duties.  Their job was to simply keep you off the grass, stop you lighting fires and make you pick your litter up.  All of these were often accompanied by a clip around the head, which we would never tell our parents about, for fear of getting another one from them.  How times have changed.

Each park had a play area usually with a set of swings, a slide and a big umbrella roundabout which, if it was going too fast, could make you sick.

Tracey Street was only about 2 miles from both Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge.  In fact you could see Big Ben from Mum's bedroom window, ignoring all the chimney pots.  There were times when that was the only way we told the time.

With some of the mates from school, we would go up to the Thames Embankment and get up to all sorts of mischief, a bit of nicking when we could from the back of the food shops in the Walk and we had a picnic up and running!

We used to have 'dares' - one of which was running along the wall of the embankment that runs alongside the Thames.  It was only about two feet wide and you had to do it when the tide was high and fast flowing.  I recall both Dave and I did it several times without falling into the river but I don't know how.  I remember once walking across Westminster Bridge on the parapet from one side to the other but just before I reached the Houses of Parliament, the Old Bill dragged me off and I got a warning, a bollocking and a clump all rolled into one.  The early years at Tracey Street are remembered with great fondness.  Despite the cramped conditions we loved the house and its location.  We were minutes from the West End.  We had two underground stations within easy reach and trams and then buses went along Kennington Road.  We had a big Granada cinema we called the Flicks, where every Saturday morning we would join hundreds of other kids to watch Roy Rogers, Rin Tin Tin, Zorro, Flash Gordon, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.  It had a massive pipe organ that rose out of the stall orchestra pit with the organist sat on the stool playing it like a man possessed.  It was all lit up and rose slowly from the pit like a Time Machine.  You could also have a sing along on a  Friday night where you had to follow the bouncing ball  as it bounced above the words in turn. The very early form of Karaoke!  I think it cost about tuppence to go there in those days.

When Dave and I were in the 8-11 year age bracket, we all used to walk to the Elephant & Castle on a Saturday night, all the way down Kennington Lane and then catch a bus to Aunt Ede & Uncle Ted's pub in Bermondsey.  Dad would have a few, play the piano for the pub and us kids had to be content with playing upstairs and looking after my kid sister Janice.  To be fair, we always got a bottle of Vimto and some water biscuits and crisps!  On closing, we'd walk back to the bus stop to catch the last bus back to the Elephant & Castle then face the long walk home.  I'm probably wrong but Mum & Dad always had a row on the walk home from the Elephant.  I have this vision of Dad carrying my sister on his shoulders and me and Dave walking alongside them while they were shouting at each other.  (Note from kid sister:  He wasn't wrong - I remember it well!)

We had everything to hand in Tracey Street.  There was The Greengate Fish and Chip Shop a hundred yards away that sold a pennyworth of crackling, Shannon's was a sweet shop just a bit further up in Ethelred Street with old mother Shannon running it.  Mrs Shannon had several sons, one was named Johnny who was a street bookie carrying out his trade from the entrance to the flats where Ted Rogers lived.  Johnny later became an actor after getting a role as a villain in the film "Performance" with Mick Jagger.  He later also played a part of a salesman in Fawlty Towers who gave Basil the name of a race horse to back. (It was Dragonfly, as I remember.)  

My Aunt Mary lived in Wake Street, which was a cul-de-sac off the Lambeth Walk.  Granny Rapley also lived there, as did Aunt Polly who was my Nan's younger sister.  These days she would be described as having learning difficulties but she was a lovely old Auntie and like all of the Rapley family, never failed to give us kids a few coppers when we saw her.  She passed away in 2005 in her nineties whilst living in a home - God Bless her."  

I'm so grateful that John took the time to write down his memories of which these are just a few - they are especially important in these days when so many people unfortunately suffer from dementia as we live longer.  This is the reason Jimmy's Lambeth came about -  my Uncle Jim used to say 'a photo is not enough, we need words written down on paper, this is our history!'  

I hope these memories that John wrote down so long ago, encourage other people to do the same with their family history.  He would be pleased to have been instrumental in that.  And remember his message in my dream - to not take life too seriously.  We need more laughter in this world.

If you are too young to remember the Kenny Everett hands - you can find them here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E39htndsmA