Aylesbury, England

[Sundae]

Cool! Welcome again Carruthers.
I worked for years in the Bricklayers across the road, and for two years at Equitable Life just behind (the "Elephant House" which was pulled down a few months ago).

Lovely to have another Brit on board.
And one with such a connection to my place of birth! We're interlopers in this family, came down from London in the 60s.

[Griff]

Great pics! I love to see photos of today/yesteryear juxtaposed.

[Carruthers]

Hallo SG,

Thanks for the welcome.

My dad worked at Equitable Life and retired in 1985 so I think that would probably be well before you were there. He worked in the 'Elephant House' and then moved down the road to the 'Blue Leanie' when that was opened. I remember when the 'Elephant House' was built and now it has been demolished as you say. A waste of a good building. If I'm not mistaken, an extension to the court next door is being, or will be, built there.

As you also worked at the Bricklayer's Arms you might have known Tony May from the shop next door who compiled 'Aylesbury in Old Picture Postcards Vol 2'. His father, Ralph, compiled Vol 1.

All the best,

Carruthers

[Carruthers]

For those interested in more old photos of Aylesbury, visit Bucks County Council then select 'Aylesbury' from the drop down menu.
If you wish to explore further, then Wendover (where I live) should be your next port of call.

Carruthers

[Griff]

I was in Bucks County last weekend... er Pennsylvania.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Griff

I was in Bucks County last weekend... er Pennsylvania.

I've always wanted to visit there.

I'm ashamed to say that, although I only live about twelve miles from Penn, I have never set foot in the village. I'm fascinated by all the British, but mostly English, place names in the US. Having been to the US on a number of occasions, Pennsylvania would have been my next port of call but, for a number of reasons, unfortunately I didn't manage to get there.

In 1999 I decided to visit Wendover, Wyoming. As it is on the Oregon Trail, I assume that it was named after 'my' Wendover.
There wasn't much there apart from a railway junction and an old dilapidated school building but it satisfied my curiosity. I went on to visit Mt. Rushmore and, on other trips, Yellowstone Nat Park.

Carruthers

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

For those interested in more old photos of Aylesbury, visit Bucks County Council then select 'Aylesbury' from the drop down menu.
If you wish to explore further, then Wendover (where I live) should be your next port of call.

Carruthers

But there's only 3300 photographs. Buckinghamshire County? I didn't realize you had counties, although I'm from New England and that was patterned after Olde England.

[Carruthers]

Buckinghamshire County? I didn't realize you had counties, although I'm from New England and that was patterned after Olde England.

Oh yes, we have a more than adequate supply! They form the top tier of local government and the origins of most are lost in the mists of time. There was a reorganisation of local government back in 1974 and some only date from then. For instance, Westmorland and Cumberland were amalgamated to form Cumbria.
I imagine that as those counties were fairly sparsely populated by UK standards, there were economies of scale to be had from their amalgamation.

In the case of Buckinghamshire, (Bucks), the southern boundaries of the county were changed and the town of Slough (as grim as it sounds) found itself in Berkshire. No doubt the impoverished Royal County* needed the income that Slough generated.

Incidentally, we usually only refer to Buckinghamshire, Essex, Norfolk, Herefordshire etc. We don't use the word 'County' in their titles.

I was looking at Bucks County, PA, on Google Earth last night and was struck by how similar the field patterns are to ours here. Google Street View reveals the roads to be the width that we are also used to.

Carruthers.


*Windsor Castle, one of HM Queen's residences, is in Berkshire, hence the title.

Wikipedia: English Counties.

[DanaC]

I think 'counties' replaced 'shires' as top tier of local government at some point. We also have buroughs and burghs. Again though, there's a difference between old-style buroughs (some sort of permission given by the monarch to a particular area) and new boroughs (convenient label given to amalgamations of parishes and towns).

[Carruthers]

Slough

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!

Come, bombs and blow to smithereens
Those air -conditioned, bright canteens,
Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,
Tinned minds, tinned breath.

Mess up the mess they call a town-
A house for ninety-seven down
And once a week a half a crown
For twenty years.

And get that man with double chin
Who'll always cheat and always win,
Who washes his repulsive skin
In women's tears:

And smash his desk of polished oak
And smash his hands so used to stroke
And stop his boring dirty joke
And make him yell.

But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It's not their fault that they are mad,
They've tasted Hell.

It's not their fault they do not know
The birdsong from the radio,
It's not their fault they often go
To Maidenhead

And talk of sport and makes of cars
In various bogus-Tudor bars
And daren't look up and see the stars
But belch instead.

In labour-saving homes, with care
Their wives frizz out peroxide hair
And dry it in synthetic air
And paint their nails.

Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.

John Betjeman (1906 - 1984)

http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/intuition/Slough.html

[DanaC]

Love that poem!

[jujuwwhite]

Thanks for sharing the pics, SG! Honestly I've never been outside of my home state except to visit Florida a few times. One day I plan on seeing something besides my own backyard!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Slough

Sounds like New Jersey.

and a lot of other places, to be fair.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

Slough

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!

As featured on an episode of The Office (original version), set in Slough.

[Sundae]

Hey Monkey! Long time no write.
Yes - The Office was set in Slough as a perfect example of a grey, non-industrial town.

Also, Ricky Gervias was born just down the road in Reading. Reading, hmmmm. When I went there they were having a festival of litter and 16 yo mothers. At least that was my assumption as I saw pretty much nothing else.

I lie - I've just remembered I bought a lovely bra and knicker set in an independent shop there. Then again, the woman treated me like I was Princess Diana (still alive at that point) so I figure she had few customers for her luxury lingerie.

I figure if Gervais set The Office in Slough it must be worse there.