Places I have lived:
- a ground floor flat in Cambridge, built in 1950, belonging to the very dear old lady who lived above us. Kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms, separate bathroom and lavatory. There was a hundred yard garden which the old lady let us have full use of; the half nearest the flat was lawn and flower beds, the other half, before an espalier of apple and pear trees, was for vegetables.
- a 1920’s semi-detached house in Harvey Goodwin Avenue in Cambridge, which mum and dad bought from a very old couple and a sister, who were friends of my grandpa and grandma. There was a sitting room, a kitchen and a dining room downstairs, three bedrooms and a separate bathroom and lavatory. There was a garden with wonderful old fruit trees.
- a newly built split-level bungalow in Weston-super-Mare, on Bleadon Hill. Three bedrooms, separate bathroom and lavatory, a sitting room with a dining area, and a kitchen. Because it was split level and on a hillside, there was a garage beneath the double bedroom. There was a back garden and a front lawn.
- a brief stay in digs in Altrincham, south of Manchester, a shared bedroom, access to a lounge and a breakfast room. For various reasons, which I only realised several years later, my stay there was less than a month.
- a “flat” at the top of a three story Victorian house in Manchester. One room, two beds, a table beneath a single-glazed sky-light, a wardrobe and chest of drawers, and a Baby Belling” to cook on – “counter-top – a good all-in-one cooker featuring a grill, oven and hob”. There was a shared bathroom and separate lavatory on the second floor, erratic hot water, and shared with several strangers (some very strange)
- a bedsit in Manchester, shared bathroom with other tenants.
- a “flat” in Manchester – sitting room, shared bathroom, shared kitchen, shared bedroom (with two friends)
- several other “flats” – shared with two friends – in Manchester
- a house share with friends in a house which has become famous – see Andrew Simpson’s blog, latest instalment: https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2025/08/one-hundred-years-of-one-house-in.html
- a brief sojourn in a rented room in Wembley, London
- bought my first property – a 1970’s flat in Chorlton-cum Hardy near the Bowling Green pub
- bought my own 1970’s house in Oldham, Manchester, three-bedroomed semi-detached
- bought my own 1990 three-bedroomed bungalow in Oldham
- returned to Weston-super-Mare with husband and two children, stayed briefly in a 1960’s bungalow in Uphill, next to the Dolphin pub
- moved with family, a couple of hundred yards away to our present home
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As you can imagine, this has taken place over many years, my children are now grown up and independent and we are happily living in our family home. However – or should I say however, changes are afoot. I can’t share any more at present, although you may surmise what the change might be. It’s going to be a very busy few months, but when with fingers crossed everything is in place, we will still be able to drift down to the Dolphin or that other fine pub in the village, The Ship, and refresh ourselves with a fine pint… or two!
My featured image is of the flat we lived in Metcalf Road – my sister and I had the bedroom on the ground floor – my parents bedroom was to the left of the photo, set back from ours.
Lois Elsden 