Going home.............

Jason wanted us to go up to Houghton Regis where we used to live. I was not keen to go really as its changed so much from the village I once knew. It took forever to get there on the motorway as traffic was heavy, but not as bad as it sometimes is. We got there in the end and I hardly recognized the place. We stopped at the cemetery first and found mum and dad. Visited the old cemetery and showed Jason his "roots"..........it was hard to navigate because it was all so different from when I was last there. All the farms in the village are gone, all the old shops and buildings are gone. The main thing I did recognize was the church ........ ........and The Kings Arms. On the way in we stopped off in Dunstable because I wanted pictures of the Priory. This was a monastery at one time as well as a priory. After the dissolution of the monasteries it became the church we have today. It has a lot of history and is a beautiful building. This is the Priory gate That gate takes you into the gardens that are now a park. The actual church has interesting architecture. Liz got married here many many years ago to my Uncle Ray (mums brother and now deceased)....I just love the place and its history. The annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon was announced there. It is also near where the Eleanor Cross (of Castile) was placed when King Edward I rested his lady for the night on the funeral journey to London. The original door is still inside with bullet holes from where the Royalists and Roundheads fought. We did not linger too long in the area but took Jason by the house where mum lived, even that is so different now. The gardens all gone along with everything I knew. While in Bedfordshire we drove by a few places that I thought Jason may like to see. The Whipsnade Lion that is carved on the Dunstable Downs to commemorate the zoo that is there. A local landmark. They may have ruined Houghton Regis but many of the other local villages remain unspoilt. I will always go and see Aldbury. Many films and TV shows have been made there. That's not my reason it just a beautiful village with the stocks on the green by the pond. There used to be a ducking stool but that's long gone. I was sad to see that the pond has gotten overgrown now and really needs dredging. Another view of the pond So many thatched and beamed houses there I must look but think I once did a post on Aldbury so wont post to many pictures until I find out. It has many beautiful houses there and about. We stopped for dinner on the way home before going to Mark and Marie's. We were going to London the next day with Mark.

Facebook..........

I know a lot of people do not like Facebook. I do. I have had so much fun finding and getting reacquainted with old friends and relations. I started a group to talk about Houghton Regis, the village I grew up in. Now that is fun. We are talking about old friends and memories and I think everyone is having a really good time. Its always good to get to know cousins again and especially those in other countries. Well, in my case they are all in other countries now. Some are in England and some in Australia. The people who grew up in the village though including cousins are the most active. The village has changed from a small farming village to a town with its own mayor. I remember it when there were thatched roofs and gas lights. Hard to believe looking at it today. Most of the lovely old homes were demolished for factories or shops. Such a shame. They pulled down a beautiful 400+ year old Tithe Barn to build a housing estate for London overspill.



The picture below shows new fangled electric street lights and the one above still has the gas lights. Notice though, no traffic. Ahhhhh so nice. Most of those houses, if not all have gone now.




It's such a shame really that a sleepy quiet village had such and end.