Peoples Stories - Bevendean History Project
Amelia Scopes memories of Bevendean continued
I went to the local church
occasionally, but I used to like to go to St. Bartholomew’s that was my church.
We used to be very friendly with Father Chapman though. Father Chapman used to
come into Partridge house for his tea or coffee.
Heather Lodge used to have a mother's meeting, young wives they called it. The matron used to let me go there and cook a dinner for them once or twice a year, when they had a little celebration. I ended up being the cook there more than once at a weekend, if they were short. It was nice going around the homes you got to see the variety and how they all worked.
I've always done knitting and I've done all sorts of silly little things in my life. When my husband was alive he used to do printing at home, he had a little printing machine and he used to print cards and I would help him do that. We used to go cycling and do lots of things; I was usually out helping people.
We used the bus to get in and out of the estate I think it was 9d return and the bus only went as far as Knepp Close for a little while and then down to the bottom of the Avenue. So we had to walk all the way from Knepp Close round to the end where we lived, that was awful. The first week I was up here I had to go to the ear hospital at the top of Church Street I had a polyp. I didn't expect them to do it as it was a Friday afternoon. I went with my friend and all I had in my purse was 6d and I wanted a loaf and I wanted a bus home we didn't know what to do. I'm trying to remember how we did get home I think we went without the loaf and caught the bus. When I got home it was Friday afternoon and my husband had been paid I had to get some money from him to give to my friend so she could get home, she lived in Dewe Road.
The bus just went to Knepp Close we had a long walk round because we didn't know about the shortcuts then, because we had only moved in on the Monday and I think it was on the Friday of that week. I hadn't been out during the week and it was a long walk round because where I lived was right at the end, near to where Michael Short lives in the end house. I lived right at the bottom of the slope 157 Norwich Drive. I'm sorry now that I gave it up, but we lost our son we didn't want to go back into the house so we never went back. My boss said there's a flat going in Durham Close you can take it for 3 weeks or longer. It was in a really bad condition we had to have it done up, we lived with Jan in Upper Bevendean Avenue for 3 months while it was being done up. Mind you, it all wants doing again now, but I don't really care now it's just me I don't get many visitors and instead of staying 3 weeks I've been here since 1970.
When I was a Teenager
We always used to join the Guides and all things like that. When I was a teenager I used to go to Band of Hope on Mondays, Christian Endeavour on Tuesdays, Health and Beauty on Wednesdays something else on Thursdays and on Fridays I used to go to a prayer meeting for Sunday school because on a Sunday afternoon I used to take a class of 3 and 4-year-old children in the Hall at Providence Place. I don't know whether it's still there now it was at the back of the church. There was a big hall their where we used to go for Brownies and Guides. On Sunday afternoon we used to have all the little children come in, in little groups of 4 or 5, we had to be the teacher although we are only 16 or 17. We used to tell the children about Jesus, I did that then.
I never went on any camps but I've been on lots of outings, my husband and I like to go to Jersey, we would go 3 or 4 times a year sometimes. When we lived in Norwich Drive he used to grow cabbages and vegetables there, we had a good garden to provide food. We used to grow carrots and radishes and I wondered why the carrots and radishes didn’t grow to be very big. In the end we found out, I used to watch my daughter when, they got to be so big she used to go out and pinch them, wash them and eat them, so that's why they didn't grow.
Parties
We had a little round bit of garden and he used to plant it especially for her and he said you can eat them because we had a great big garden up at Norwich Drive, and he built a little pond up there. I was always having kids parties there. At the end of the war we had garden parties, the neighbours would all come round and say Mrs Scopes will do it, one would give me a bag of sugar and another a bit of margarine and they would help out.
We had a television it was a Pye, and there was a special show, I can’t quite remember but it might have been the end of the Coronation. Everyone wanted to come including Doctor Roberts and her boy and I said you can all come and they piled into our front room and I had to put food on for them. I laughed afterwards I was standing at the door supplying them with food and I never watched the television. In the evening we all dressed up and had a big party and dance on the green down here. We used to have some quite good activities and there were always people having stalls, they used to be quite good really with different people putting on different things.
As I say I've never had much education but what I have learned I learnt after I left school. I've never been a good scholar but I've always managed to add up. I've always worked hard I've done hundreds of buffets for weddings. You imagine in this tiny little flat in the tiny little kitchen I have prepared weddings for over 200 people sometimes.
I had to prepare the food here I had plenty of dishes, but I have given a load of the dishes away, I couldn't do it now. I make a few scones once a fortnight, I have to get the bowl and the tea cloth and come in here to mix it. I only do it for my granddaughter she likes to have some scones; I won't cook anything else now like the cakes I used to make. I used to do wedding cakes at Partridge house and we used have garden parties twice a year then I used to do all the cakes and we would sell them. I used to have to start a few weeks before to get it all made up and put them in the freezer. I've worked hard but enjoyed everything I have done and as I say it has been more or less voluntary. I have done it because I've enjoyed doing it; it might sound like I am bragging a lot. I have never liked taking money from anybody and what I've had I have had to work for, you appreciate it then.
Heather Lodge used to have a mother's meeting, young wives they called it. The matron used to let me go there and cook a dinner for them once or twice a year, when they had a little celebration. I ended up being the cook there more than once at a weekend, if they were short. It was nice going around the homes you got to see the variety and how they all worked.
I've always done knitting and I've done all sorts of silly little things in my life. When my husband was alive he used to do printing at home, he had a little printing machine and he used to print cards and I would help him do that. We used to go cycling and do lots of things; I was usually out helping people.
We used the bus to get in and out of the estate I think it was 9d return and the bus only went as far as Knepp Close for a little while and then down to the bottom of the Avenue. So we had to walk all the way from Knepp Close round to the end where we lived, that was awful. The first week I was up here I had to go to the ear hospital at the top of Church Street I had a polyp. I didn't expect them to do it as it was a Friday afternoon. I went with my friend and all I had in my purse was 6d and I wanted a loaf and I wanted a bus home we didn't know what to do. I'm trying to remember how we did get home I think we went without the loaf and caught the bus. When I got home it was Friday afternoon and my husband had been paid I had to get some money from him to give to my friend so she could get home, she lived in Dewe Road.
The bus just went to Knepp Close we had a long walk round because we didn't know about the shortcuts then, because we had only moved in on the Monday and I think it was on the Friday of that week. I hadn't been out during the week and it was a long walk round because where I lived was right at the end, near to where Michael Short lives in the end house. I lived right at the bottom of the slope 157 Norwich Drive. I'm sorry now that I gave it up, but we lost our son we didn't want to go back into the house so we never went back. My boss said there's a flat going in Durham Close you can take it for 3 weeks or longer. It was in a really bad condition we had to have it done up, we lived with Jan in Upper Bevendean Avenue for 3 months while it was being done up. Mind you, it all wants doing again now, but I don't really care now it's just me I don't get many visitors and instead of staying 3 weeks I've been here since 1970.
When I was a Teenager
We always used to join the Guides and all things like that. When I was a teenager I used to go to Band of Hope on Mondays, Christian Endeavour on Tuesdays, Health and Beauty on Wednesdays something else on Thursdays and on Fridays I used to go to a prayer meeting for Sunday school because on a Sunday afternoon I used to take a class of 3 and 4-year-old children in the Hall at Providence Place. I don't know whether it's still there now it was at the back of the church. There was a big hall their where we used to go for Brownies and Guides. On Sunday afternoon we used to have all the little children come in, in little groups of 4 or 5, we had to be the teacher although we are only 16 or 17. We used to tell the children about Jesus, I did that then.
I never went on any camps but I've been on lots of outings, my husband and I like to go to Jersey, we would go 3 or 4 times a year sometimes. When we lived in Norwich Drive he used to grow cabbages and vegetables there, we had a good garden to provide food. We used to grow carrots and radishes and I wondered why the carrots and radishes didn’t grow to be very big. In the end we found out, I used to watch my daughter when, they got to be so big she used to go out and pinch them, wash them and eat them, so that's why they didn't grow.
Parties
We had a little round bit of garden and he used to plant it especially for her and he said you can eat them because we had a great big garden up at Norwich Drive, and he built a little pond up there. I was always having kids parties there. At the end of the war we had garden parties, the neighbours would all come round and say Mrs Scopes will do it, one would give me a bag of sugar and another a bit of margarine and they would help out.
We had a television it was a Pye, and there was a special show, I can’t quite remember but it might have been the end of the Coronation. Everyone wanted to come including Doctor Roberts and her boy and I said you can all come and they piled into our front room and I had to put food on for them. I laughed afterwards I was standing at the door supplying them with food and I never watched the television. In the evening we all dressed up and had a big party and dance on the green down here. We used to have some quite good activities and there were always people having stalls, they used to be quite good really with different people putting on different things.
As I say I've never had much education but what I have learned I learnt after I left school. I've never been a good scholar but I've always managed to add up. I've always worked hard I've done hundreds of buffets for weddings. You imagine in this tiny little flat in the tiny little kitchen I have prepared weddings for over 200 people sometimes.
I had to prepare the food here I had plenty of dishes, but I have given a load of the dishes away, I couldn't do it now. I make a few scones once a fortnight, I have to get the bowl and the tea cloth and come in here to mix it. I only do it for my granddaughter she likes to have some scones; I won't cook anything else now like the cakes I used to make. I used to do wedding cakes at Partridge house and we used have garden parties twice a year then I used to do all the cakes and we would sell them. I used to have to start a few weeks before to get it all made up and put them in the freezer. I've worked hard but enjoyed everything I have done and as I say it has been more or less voluntary. I have done it because I've enjoyed doing it; it might sound like I am bragging a lot. I have never liked taking money from anybody and what I've had I have had to work for, you appreciate it then.
8 July 2016
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