General Chat

Hi Len, thanks for that. Sounds like Sunday then. The Swan multi storey???? Wasn't that the pub on the High Street? We are going to Aylesbury to get a copy of some wills and have a general poke at everything so thought we'd stay the weekend at a Holiday Inn. We were going to stay at The Red Lion in Wendover but their prices have shot through the roof.

All Saints Church is OK. Nearest car park would be the Swan multi-story near the high street. The town is safe enough now. Sunday would have fewer people milling about. Where would you be staying? Its a bit far for a day trip. Len

Len, I thought they'd already trashed the centre of Wycombe!! I want to go and have a look at the graves in All Saints in the centre but I really don't fancy even going within a 10 mile radius of it!! LOL. Perhaps a visit one morning about 7ish will be safe for me to do it. Parking has always been horrendous and not having lived there for some 20 odd years now I don't know which areas are safe at what time of the day. Can any of you locals enlighten me as to what roads to avoid?

Hello all, haven't seen this thread for a while ! Puple Petunia - you say you're from Gawcott ? So was my grandfather :) None of your names are linked to mine though as far as I know. Incidentally I'm in MIlton Keynes, not that far from Buckingham Paul

Trish, the place is being trashed. High Wycombe I mean. The planners are redeveloping the centre .... to try and recover from the mess they made last time. For starters, the two major central car parks are being closed next week. They are starting a 'park and ride' from Cressex Island, wherever that may be. I know where Cressex is but didn't know about their island. Return fare is to be only £2. len

Hi PP and welcome. Len, I suppose you would remember a thing like that! lol How you doing? Sheila, what part of Devon are you moving to? - I love most parts. And who moved Bull Lane in Wycombe? It isn't where I hoped it would be!! Some people just can't leave things alone!! :-)) Coming up to Aylesbury soon - got to find a few docs out of the RO.

Just realised how old this thread is, but never mind. Half of me is from Bucks, mostly Buckingham, Gawcott and other small villages around that area - Woodford, Hiorns, Merry, and Owen seem to be the main family names. Will be coming that way in late September - anyone close to Buckingham? Liz (born and now back in Norwich)

Hi Trish I remember the White Blackbird. It was still there last time I passed by but it looked as if it was closed. The first time it came to my notice was when I was in a Green Line Coach travelling from London. Just outside the pub, a wheel came off the coach. len

Hello Trish Im still around ! Unfortunately I don't know any of the pubs in Loudwater. The only thing that springs to mind is that little road called 'the straight bit'...love it. My dad and gramp used to frequent 'The Bec' but that was (and probably still is) more central. Sheila

Now come on - this thread was last used in January!!! How are you all? I don't suppose anyone remembers the White Blackbird in Loudwater do they? Apparently my G Grandmother used to run it. She could have used any number of names including Woodbridge, Bowdrey, Leach. Not too bad here - been pouring with rain the last couple of days so no chance of doing any washing - oh dear!! lol

Hi Fred, yes, I've seen photos of the 46/47 freeze. There was one story that stuck in my mind of a double decker bus being completely covered by snow. I just about remember the 61/62? snow in Wycombe. I can recall opening the kitchen door and seeing snow about as high as I was then on either side of a path that my father had cleared. I loved it, not sure that my parents did though :-))

It wasn't too bad Trish ,it lasted about two weeks,and was pretty cold but it was fun as well.The earliest bad year i remember was 1946 when it started to snow early January and went on ,non stop until early march[by non stop ,i mean it snowed more or less for at least a while every day].the level snowfall covered the hedgerows,the cattle were fed by helicopter in the fields cause the farmers couldnt get to them to bring them in.Food was short ,food and doctors were delivered via tractors and trailers,no school for weeks on end [yipee]mum had to give their kids lessons at home boo.We even took it in turn to dig our way round to the shops to get the food and other rations.We were bairns and it was great fun ,but for thegrown ups ,it must have been as bad as the war years.Fred.ptfg&g.

Hi Fred, I was a babe in arms when that happened. Tell me more though please, I'm interested. .... how deep did it get ?.... how long did it last?.......was it a big freeze too?.......what about the water supply and food shopping?

Sorry Fred I don't remember but then I wasn't born until 1961 lol My Mum used to tell me that when I was a few days old (April '61) the snow was deep and it was so cold that Dad had to chop down the cherry tree for fire wood to keep us warm because the coalman couldn't make it down the road where we lived. I'm glad we don't get snow like that down here. It turned to rain about 5 mins after it started (thank god) Sheila

So Sheila ,do you remember the heavy snowfall just before christmas 1957-58,when the whole of wycombe was cut off for days ,and the a40 blocked east and west? Poor fred was on totteridge common trying to gather holly on the edge of the woods ,and kept falling into drifts taller than me,i spend an hour in agony when i got home and the old tootsies started to thaw out.Fred.ptfg&g.

You were a posh one then Sheila, we had ice on the inside!! lol. And that cold lino first thing in the morning!!!!!!!

I remember the frost on the 'inside' of the windows in Wycombe!!

Hi Sheila, how well I remember the snow we used to get in Wycombe!!!! There was loads of the stuff :-)))) All we get her is a sprinkling :-((. Would love a good bit of "snow chaos" again.

len sarah is still here,but shes using a different name,lol. i will mail her and tell her to contact you. i didnt go to the prison on the hill,i went to cressex. it was just as bad though lol susie

The hill is just as bad if not worse at my son's school and I struggle up it day in day out and to top it all as I sit here typing its started snowing again grrrrrr..better go get the tea tray out :( I want to move somewhere nice and flat!!