Hide and seek round the steamrollers

Ealing Grove was our playground along with The Gulley or The Pimple. The Corporation Yard was at the bottom of the grove and we used to wait for the two steamrollers, one little and a much larger one which rumbled loudly and shook the ground in its wake. Many lorries came and went carrying sand and salt in winter. We used to play hide and seek in the grove and the lamp post on the left hand side was the ackying post. I learned to ride a two wheeler bike there, fell off a few times. Many games were played there, hopscotch. Cricket, London, skipping and tennis and rounders. No TV or X boxes for us kids but we had fun and even on rainy days we put on wellies and macs and paddled in the gutters. The only traffic on the roads were the lorries and steamrollers which were out all day and no one had cars then, so we were fairly safe and enjoyed life.