[West Ender]

I was a teenager in the 50s and early 60s. During the week there wasn't a lot of time to worry about not enough to do because of homework etc., followed by being too knackered after a day at work (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for me, including travelling time - and they say Civil Servants have a cushy time!!!!) when I'd left school, but at weekends I can't remember being bored. I didn't do pubs because, being only 5'1 and very slim, I looked very young (I was still being challenged by landlords when I was 25 and had 2 children) but we had coffee bars. Those wonderful places had frothy coffee, a bite of food and always a juke box. They were the meeting place for all teenagers and I actually met my future husband in one.

The cinema was popular on a Saturday night and we also had "dances". I used to go to Church Con Club where the music - Elvis, Bill Hayley, The Platters etc., came from a Dansette record player. In Summer we West Enders had "Kemp Delph" in Stanhill which was the local "lido". It was a water-filled disused quarry in a meadow where you could dive, swim, sunbathe etc. We used to walk for miles too, up on the moors, the Coppice or just around Accy or Ossy, and we played tennis at Rhyddings Park.

It must all seem very tame and, no doubt, kids would call it boring now but we just were not bored. It's a different world today and, d'you know, I don't envy today's kids one bit.