WEB PAGE NO.2798 3rd July 2021 1ST PICTURE: Wooden brief case

2nd PICTURE Leather Satchel

3RD PICTURE Advert for Royal Enfield Bermuda

4TH PICTURE One hot sunny day

Travelling to school. When I travelled to infant or junior school my mother walked with me, it was only a 5 minute walk and I also came home for lunch, so four trips a day. But on moving up to secondry school involved travelling further. This involved a bus trip of four stops to Court Lane. As most of us did I hoped that the bus conductor would not get to me to take my fare before I got off so I could pocket the money. This very rarely happened even though the buses were double deckers, the conductoralways seemed to manage to get to me before I got off. It was all new, new shoes, new uniform and a new school bag. My parents gave me the choice of a new satchel of a school case. I opted for the case and after a time I wish I had not. My father got the case made and it was a small wooden suitcase ith my initials PJK painted on the side. It looked very smart but was a pain to carry around. I was forever banging my shins on it, it was in the way down by my desk in the classroom and being wooden was often stood on by others, it was most certainly not the best choice. I cannot remember the demise of the think but I do know that I very soon had a leather satchel, which was much more convenient, especially when I got my first bike. I had never learnt to ride a bike until one day Colin Pratt arrived at my house with his bicycle and insisted that I try it. Well after a lot of falling off and scrapped knees, that afternoon I mastered the art of bicycling! When it came to a new bicycle I knew what I wanted and that was a Royal Enfield Bermuda in Red and Cream. So for my birthday I was taken by my mother to Wynns toy and cycle shop in Drayton, which was situated in the old wartime British Restaurant. Having bought the bike I insisted on riding home and I disappear along the Havant Road much to my mothers concern. But I was safely waiting for her at home when she had walked the mile or so home. A bicycle opened up all sorts of adventures and in fact I spent quite a bit of time building bikes to ride across the rough ground on Portsdown Hill and Farlington Marshes. But back to travelling to school. Riding to school my parents did not like the idea of me leaving my new bike in the cycle racks at school so it was arranged that I and my friend Willie would leave our machines in my fathers friends garage and then walk the final half mile to school. Which we did. Things seemed much simpler then, we spent hours on our bicycles espoecially in the summer and I think we must have explored every country lane in south Hampshire. Although cycling can cause accute embarrasment. A close friend and I wer cycling home from school when all of a sudden the zip in his trouser broke. Very embarrasing. His solution was to stop, take out his heavy yellow cycling cape and put it on. It was quite a sight seening him puffing and blowing in a thick cape on a hot sunny day whilst making his way home up Portsdown Hill.!!! You Write STAY IN TOUCH PETER gsseditor@gmail.com