RSS 3/48 Rothwell
Filed in BlogI started in Rothwell, West Yorkshire.
Well, okay, I wasn’t born there. I was born, almost, in a car. I was in a hurry, you know. Makes for a good family “legend” ;)
But Rothwell is where I was “bred”–as in it was my home from when I was born until when I finally moved “daan saaf.” (Down south, for the unfamiliar.)
It is a small town (about 21,000 people) south of Leeds. It has a Leeds postcode, but you wouldn’t get anyone admitting that it’s part of Leeds. Our house, a semi-detached, was near the green belt and faced onto what was first a field full of cows and then, to our delight, a golf course. It has a castle, more of a manor house, which consisted of a column of nondescript old-looking bricks and some rubble. The old market cross was knocked over by a reversing truck and replaced by a concrete cross, much to the chagrin of the residents. There was much fuss.
Rothwell had its own newspaper, a weekly, and now has a monthly called the Rothwell Record. It has a lovely church where I was married and christened, not necessarily in that order. And some pubs. Always some pubs.
It’s a typical small town, with gossip and community. Thanks to some fancy bribes a supermarket was built right the way across the high street, cutting the town in half. Said supermarket has provided jobs for generations of teenagers–almost a rite of passage. My brother was one of the first “casuals,” and I joined the ranks ten years later, surviving two whole years.
Rothwell is old. It was mentioned in the Doomsday Book, William the Conquerer’s notorious inventory of what he just grabbed. I remember the old colliery, but it was closed down–I didn’t know it had been turned into a park. I think that’s apt.
We used to play in Rothwell park–all sorts of things to do there. It is, or at least was, a good one. I was last there in 1997.
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8 Comments, Comment or Ping
beautyredefined
‘Morning Linda!
I just got up myself, but I’ll be watching your progress throughout the day! Good luck, and thanks for sharing about the places you’ve been in your life.
Jul 28th, 2007
AmberLee17 (15 comments.)
Yawning and blinking. I didn’t know that about your hometown.
Nice to learn.
I need to actually look at the clock, shriek “Gah!!!!” and start my day, but wanted to check in with you, first.
Good luck, dear. Happy blogging!!!!
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Morning, both!
AL–nobody’s ever heard of Rothwell ;-)
Glad for the company. :)
Jul 28th, 2007
Polliwog (48 comments.)
Oh I am going to LOVE hearing about all the places you have been or lived. I KNEW we were kindred spirits. I was nearly born in a car too!
Jul 28th, 2007
Marina (86 comments.)
Glad to see I’m not the only one who keeps track of my parents’ breeding grounds.
I was conceived in Santa Cruz :D
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Polli: Cool! Obviously we couldn’t wait to see what fun things the world had in store.
Marina: Hee! *Born* in a car, not conceived in one! I was born within 10 minutes of arriving at the hospital.
Jul 28th, 2007
Marina (86 comments.)
You sure about that? ;)
I once slept under a blanket that my then-SIL just had to tell us “I was conceived in that blanket.”
LALALALALALA!!
No-one needs that picture in their head!
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
I’m pretty sure. ;-)
Shame about the blanket!
Jul 28th, 2007
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