Home, Sweet Home

I know, this blog has turned into nothing but infrequent nostalgia posts recently. Maybe I'm working through something, who knows. In any case, it's time for another one!

The Street View feature of Google Maps has been the subject of much controversy, but personally I love it. While I was researching other aspects of my lost past yesterday, I realized I hadn't checked recently whether it was now available for locations outside the U.S. and yes - it was! After verifying a few locations from my days in Paris, I turned my attention to England, and the places I lived during the first thirty-three years of my life. When selecting what to include in this post, I discarded rented accommodations, boarding schools and college residences, and anywhere that my mother was living after I became an adult. That narrowed it down somewhat, but still left me with a collection of domiciles that reflect a large majority of those years.

Bexhill

Okay, I never lived in any of the three houses visible in the Google Street View. However, I did live in the house that was demolished to make way for these three to be built. I can understand why they did that after it was sold. After all, who would want to live in a ninety year old house that had a pre-school built onto the side of it, and never been rewired in those ninety years? Yeah, I didn't really want to either. However, this was the home offered for me and my mother to share with the two elderly sisters who owned it, and I have to admit that the three quarters of an acre grounds and empty school rooms were fun to play in. We lived here until I was ten.

Battle

This was newly built when we moved in, four flats cleverly disguised to look like one house. Our flat was the two windows in the top left - my mother's bedroom and the living room - with my bedroom and the kitchen at the back of the building. As I look at this, I can recall my mother mowing the small patch of lawn in front, and buying a ladder to clean the outside of our windows. The garage you can see to the left was the one allocated to us.

Chippenham

My first home as a married woman, and the first time I had my name on a mortgage. The Royal Air Force were selling off a bunch of officers' quarters and we were one of the lucky buyers. After moving in, we even found a parachute in the attic. I notice in the 27 years since we moved out, the front door has been replaced, and the tiny little privet bushes I planted have grown into a wonderful hedge. Yes, I single-handedly dug holes for, planted and lovingly cared for every single one of those bushes, even though at times I despaired that they would ever grow. We were there three years, during which time they reached no more than 18" in height, and were far from anything that could be described as "dense foliage". I am glad the effort was worth it.

Selly Park

After I graduated and got a job in Birmingham, this semi-detached house was our next purchase. I hated it. It was old, dark, and I spent far too long wallpapering and painting every single room. When we were there, the front entrance was for people only, and the driveway and garage were at the far end of that brown fence you can see. I can quite understand why the next owners put in space for a car at the front of the house, saving the long trek with heavy groceries from the other end of the property.

Dodsleigh

And now we come to the house that burned down, sixteen years ago. Not that it matters, as you can't see the house from any of the Street View shots, but it looks like it was rebuilt in the same spot. This came with dog boarding kennels and a cattery, a business which eventually fell victim to the complaints of the neighbor across the lane. It had two acres of fields behind it, which was great for exercising the dogs - not so great when we installed six foot chain link fencing around the whole thing. I never want to go through that trauma again. As to why it burned down - we'll just gloss over that for now. Suffice to say that it was after I had moved out, and those close to me already know the story.

Southam

My last home before moving to the U.S. was a newly-built, tiny, terraced house. It was on a cul-de-sac which the Google Street View drivers must have decided wasn't worth capturing, so I've added an arrow to indicate where my house actually was - behind the one you can see. This was the first home I had where I wasn't living with anyone else, and I really enjoyed having the freedom to make my own choices about decor, landscaping and furniture. It was far enough in the country to have views of cows, and yet near enough to town that I could call for Chinese food to be delivered. The year I spent here was a happy one, despite several traumatic experiences.

So, when was the last time you checked in on where you used to live? You might be surprised at how things have changed.