Bonfires
As aforementioned in 'the garages' post by the master,bonfires were very important on the estate. On November 5th there was always at least 4 bonfires on the estate made by kids:the posh bonfire up the top(master, where did they have theirs?), the normals bonfires in the middle part of the estate(There were always at least 2:along at the 'park' at the end ofHartburn Walk and down in the fields next to from Hazeley Way across the Hazeldene Avenue main road) and the bottom bonfire for the ruffians, vagabonds and scoundrels down the bottom part of the estate(maybe by the maypole?). Only the posh and the normals would bother to collect bonfire wood for bonfires-the peasant kids from the bottom would either a)steal your wood if left unguarded in the dead of night on the 4th of Nov or b) Just set the cornfields on the other side of Hazeldene Ave ablaze on the 5th to serve as their bonfire(where the western bypass is now) I used to also enjoy seeing the 5 or 6 bonfires at Dorrington Road Flats in Fawdon(each block of flats always had its own bonfire) that looked like a star constellation in the pitch black of November looking down from Kenton Bar. I also remember we used to rush home from school and try to keep the bonfires going for days afterwards, cooking potatos and bacon wrapped in tin foil!(Today the firebrigade would have to extinguish them on health and safety grounds...)
The top of the estate, whose bonnie gang I joined once or twice, had their bonnie on the fields behind the shops - near the old farm that became a council yard. I remember at least on two occasions chopping down a large poplar tree (there was a row of them near one of the barns) for a centre pole. Those poplars must have been 40-50 feet high at the time.
ReplyDelete