On being ten and the magic of that pond at Hough End Hall in the summer of 1953

Now if you were ten on a slow Sunday in August you might have been tempted by the pond at Hough End Hall.

There are some now in their sixties and older who will privately confess it was on their to do list along with a bit of scrumming and sneaking in without paying at the old Palais de Luxe cinema.

Nor were they along for a young Oliver Bailey whose parents were tenants of the Hall and later bought it  remembers that while the pond was not deep it was perfect for testing out the steam driven model boats he and his brother made.

All of which fits nicely with Peter’s painting which is one of a series based on original photographs of the hall in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

And just as I was finishing the story I had a conversation with my old friend Faith who also remembered the hall during the 1950s, and of equally adventurous days playing by the Bumps which was that stretch of land running east alongside the Brook behind the Hall.

Part of the adventure involved riding a bike along the bank and trying not to fall in.

In time perhaps Peter could paint that scene although Faith tells me that the area is now fenced off.

Well perhaps that is just the challenge Peter needs to recreate an adventure.

Painting; Hough End Hall circa 1953,  ©2014 Peter Topping Paintings from Pictures
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