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On the approach of H M the Queen we moved out into the road that lead back to the
village and waited ready to wave our flags as she passed us. To me their cars had slowed to nearly a walking pace and as they passed we waved our flags as hard as we could and were rewarded by Her Majesty waving
back along with Prince Philip from their car which looked to have a glass roof and sides at the back.
For some reason I seem to recall that her hat and coat was in Pink but I would like to know if I am
correct about the colours or not. After they had gone we collected our things and started the walk home having spent an afternoon doing something I would have never have believed, seeing our Queen without having to
go to London.
The Red Mist Comes Down
When living in Winteringham even though not into astronomy I found that you could
very quickly find a position where you were shaded or away from the lights which enabled the stars on most nights to be seen along with the sudden streaks of light from passing shooting stars (meteors) most of the
ones I remember seeing looked to pass in an arc from the direction of Wnterton towards the River Humber. The movements of the constellations through out the year was very easy to find and follow not like now as my
home is near to the light from the Steel Works in Scunthorpe. This is one of the many difference between village and town dwelling.
Fog and mists were another part of our childhood. They were much
thicker than todays and the thickest were called `Pea soupers.` Big cities seemed to have their own version that went under the word `Smog a mixture of pollution and fog.' During my time at Winterteringham School
one day it started to become foggy during the latter part of the afternoon and as it thickened it started to take on a reddish tint. When we left School to make our ways home the fog had cut visibility down to only
a few yards and with the red tint and sounds muffled, made the village an spooky place to be a bit like the effects in horror films. This fog was still there when night came and darkness fell. If my memory is
correct we found out that a large part of the country had been covered by similar fog and the colour was caused by light reflecting off the red brickwork of the houses and the angle of the sun. Some of the other
fogs I remember were very thick but if you went up stairs and looked out of the windows you could see for miles over the top of it. Another was when looking at eye level your vision restricted but as you looked
upwards the sky was seen. The worst fog to be out in was a freezing one. I rode my cycle along side the Humber between South Ferriby and Winteringham in this type of fog numerous times, the difference between the
two types being that the small droplets of moisture froze to the metal of the cycle adding weight and also making the handle bars difficult to hold onto, and most times the brakes useless as the inner cable froze
inside the outer one.
It also clung to the clothes you were wearing, the other only left you damp and meant that the brakes had to be applied much sooner than normal as they required more time to work when wet. The only good thing I will say about riding my cycle when returning home from visiting Shirley or work, was that being enclosed by the fog and having limited vision gave the illusion that time and distance was much shorter than it actually was, - and even more so after dark.
A boat that needed water ... and water that needed a boat!
I think it would have been in my last years at Secondary School that I spent quite
some time with one of my friends that lived in the village of Alkborough. Once again transportation was my cycle the same went for my friend.
The two of us covered a large area round the local villages
passing time sometimes cycling, at others walking. An added bonus was that on the hill top were seats for people to sit on either giving a break in their walks or to go and just pass the time looking out over the
confluence of the rivers Humber, Trent, and Ouse and the valley beyond. The latter was mostly around the paths that ran from Alkborough towards Whitton or along the hilltop to Burton upon Stather during the summer.
We would then come back via the edge of the river Trent if the tide was out looking for fossils. One very warm day as we made our way along the hill top path the sound of a motor revving could be heard and when we
got past the woods at Walcot the river Trent was in full view or to be more precise the bottom of the Trent! The tide was out and at this point a small stream was running through the middle and stuck fast in it was
a barge from where the noises were coming and from the footprints we could see that someone from the barge had walked round it and to the opposite bank where a farm stood. Further back towards Burton the water got
wider and possibly deeper but from the barge towards the point where the rivers Trent and Humber joined it looked like the river bed sloped upwards and the water had dried out leaving no river. The water in the
River Humber at Winteringham had been very low for some time around this time with sand or mud banks filling the area between the banks with what could be described as large puddles being left as the tide went out.
Two more stories that come to mind from this time are as follows, One night after the telephone call making arrangements for that night I set out from my home and my friend from his the idea being that we
would meet between the two villages about half way. This was not going to be the case on this occasion. The wind had been blowing most of the day and as I cycled up Cliff Road and cleared the village and
headed along the road on the hill top I found that the wind was even stronger than we thought but being a young lad I pedaled on and as the top of the hill with the road to West Halton down it came into view my
friend could be seen sitting there waiting for me. Upon turning onto the road to go down the hill I stopped and we spoke with each other this was were I found that the winds had propelled my friend with very little
pedaling effort on his part as the wind was mostly at his back. West Halton hill is quite steep which meant we were able to get quite a speed up on our descent but not that night. The wind was blowing at such a
strength that we had to use the lowest gear our cycles had (these were inside the hub of the rear wheel not like the modern multi gears of today ) and pedal from the top to the bottom. Struggling on we were blown
about until we turned off and headed towards the village of West Halton the hedges were higher than most at that point and gave us protection from the winds along with the houses until we turned once again towards
Alkborough. After a long hard climb we reached my friends home where we spent the night until it was time for me to return home which was done in a very short time as this journey had the winds helping. On another
occasion through the day it had rained but we had made the usual arrangements and as the weather was not too bad we set off from our homes with our wet weather clothes on. After we had met up and turned towards his
home the rain became heavier and the thunder started.
On arrival at his home our cycles were placed under cover and our wet clothes hung to dry. Through the night more and more rain fell and the thunder got worse with lightning flashes lighting up the sky with such brightness it looked more like day than night. Watching the storm as it worsened arrangements were made for me to be driven home by my friends father. In the garden was a biggish fish pond that had filled up and started to flood the lawn around it. By this time the storm was overhead and it stayed there for a long time with lightning and thunder flashing and sounding together in what I remember being called an electrical storm. Out in the road through the village the drains had filled and over flowed leaving the water nowhere to go but flow down the Main Street like a small river towards the houses we were in and follow the road round the bend just past us until it found some where to drain away. Ten O clock came and we set off for my home in Winteringham driven in their car by my friends father. As we came down into West Halton, in the headlights we were able to see the water running down the road and up against the row of houses at the end of the road which when we turned from the road between the two villages. We noted that the people who lived in those houses had boards and sandbags along the front in an attempt to keep out the water. I was safely delivered home thankfully warm and dry. This would have not been so if I had ridden my cycle home.
Brushes with the law!
Memories of my youth and the Police from the Winteringham area was that the village
was visited by Policemen from Winterton. One was a young person who would spend part of his time stood outside the CO-Op (now the General Store).
This was one of the places where we teenagers would meet to chat, and meant that we got to know him and he us, before he went round the village.
The village policeman at that time was Mr Kirk who I had to
see one day when I found a cycle pump. PC Kirk lived in the Police House next to the Chapel in West End. The Police Station or Office was in a grey blue hut between the two buildings. Upon reporting my find he
required to know when and where I found the pump. Also my name and address for his records after which I left. I cannot remember how long it would have been after my visit to the Police Station that there was a
knock on our front door and PC Kirk was stood there. He had with him the cycle pump that I had handed into him and some papers I was told by him that no one had reported losing a pump and that due to this and the
time it had been in his safe keeping by signing the papers he had with him that the cycle pump could be returned to me as my property.
I was involved in another incident with the Police this time at Mere
Cross Roads. I had set off earlier that morning to travel to Winterton to join up with a friend and then to make our way to Keadby for the day. On arrival at his home I found that he was unable to go with me so
leaving my cycle at his home I caught the bus and went on my own. Leaving Keadby to return home the light was starting to fade and by the time I was back in Winterton it was night. Spending some time talking with my
friend it was getting quite late but setting off without a care in the world as you do and with no lights on my cycle at the time I headed for home all going well until I came to the cross roads. I saw what was a
small red reflector that I thought was in a post at the garage Not so as I shot over them into the Winteringham side a shadow suddenly loomed up beside me and a voice boomed out `where do you think you're going?`
Braking hard I was immediately confronted by a large Policeman, who asked the same question again. `Home!` I replied. After my name and address was given at his request he then went on to ask where I had been, what I was doing riding my cycle at that time of night and with no lights? When I had answered his questions I was told to get off my cycle and walk the rest of the way home. The Policeman also told me that he would be watching me and would know if I did not do as I was told. Walking down the road pushing my cycle I kept looking behind me to see if he was following me. It was not until I was about two hundred yards from the village that after another look behind and bending down so I could see any thing moving against the night sky (as a small lighter strip of light can be seen between land and sky most nights) I mounted my cycle and pedalled like mad for home hoping that the law had not followed me. After that brush with the law I always made sure that my cycle had lights fitted and working if I was to be out after night fall.
Another memory of the of the Police in the area was around the time I was of school-leaving age found me with my friend from Alkborough together at his home and the Police had changed their mode of transport
from their trusty cycles to being motorised with the issue of Mobylette Mopeds. This may have saved a lot of pedalling for them but when it came to steep hills it was pedal to help the engine get up it or walk
beside it. The Local Policemen were not too pleased to see me and my friend with our cycles (even though they would stand and talk with us) when they were to leave Alkborough and travel to West Halton as we would
give the PC about half the distance between the two villages and then give chase passing him before he got there. It may have been progress on the Police's part but to try and keep up with two lads on cycles they
had no chance - though with their old cycles it may have been a different out come. I think that if that time was now we would have been up before the `Bench` time and time again due to breaking some law or other!
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