"I attended Moss Pits Lane School and my main memory of the school was of the headmistress a Miss Forbes, an elderly lady, who had an affliction in that her left hand was constantly twitching or shaking, a disability she used to great advantage. When you misbehaved she would grab your ear with her left hand and the constant twitching or shaking would do the rest.

"Wavertree at this period of time was full of things for a young boy to see and do, the old 4A tram that ran from the Pier Head to Childwall Five ways, the other trams that ran to Penny Lane and others that terminated at the Picton Clock. The Abbey Cinema on a Saturday morning when they showed films starring all the boys favourite heroes like Hopalong Cassidy alias Bill Boyd, Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger.

"All of this cost money, so to earn extra pocket money I delivered newspapers morning and night for the Newsagent owned by Harold White and his sister, which was in High Street next to The Clock pub and opposite the Lamb Hotel. My delivery round comprising of Childwall Road, Woodsorrel Road, Tulip, Mimosa, Daffodil Roads, Moss Pitts Lane and then down Lance Lane to finish back at the Newsagent, this was done on foot six days a week, come rain, hail or snow, all for the princely sum of Seven Shillings and Six pence.

"If my memory serves me correctly there was also another pub on the other side the Newsagent and next to that was Jenkins Garage, which was immediately opposite Picton Clock, crossing to the other side of High Street was the Lamb Hotel with Home James Coaches next door. Then you had Toppings, the greengrocers, they had 3 children Tommy, Edwina and Ann, Tommy was only small in stature but quite a character and a good friend. After the greengrocer's came the butcher's with sawdust on the floor, the big white scrubbed tables on which they chopped the meat, the sides of Beef and Lamb hanging on hooks at the back and the Sausages, Black Pudding. Tripe and other goodies in the window. Then we had Kellets, the grocer's, with its open tins of biscuits along the front of the counter and the smell of tea, herbs and other fragrances from the East.

"Between Kellets grocers and the next shop, which was a dairy, was a cobbled laneway that went through to Fredrick Street, and Arnold Grove, halfway up this laneway on the right was Lowe's Stables and Farriers. This was a young boy's paradise to see the big dray horses and the burly blacksmith shoeing them. The smell of scorching hoofs as the blacksmith fitted the horseshoes whilst hot to ensure an even fit, before hammering in the nails to secure them and all of this without even a murmur from the horse.

"Though Australia has been my home for many years and I am now getting on in years, I often think back to my childhood in Wavertree, from the well kept grounds of the Cenacle Convent, tram trips to the Pier Head, walks to Childwall Abbey and Woolton woods where the Bluebells and Daffodils grew wild, putting on a fantastic display in the spring. These are the memories of Wavertree that have remained with me over the last sixty odd years."

STAN (Gordon) NEILL
Brisbane, Australia

August 2002