According to 'London.Net' it does, which is a pleasant surprise. The last one I saw there was in the early 1950's. Back then the water gardens were still there from the Festival of Britain, along with the Guinness clock, the tree walk and of course the funfair.
and all the hats with the eggs and chicks on Chalkey, I remember going with an Auntie and seeing some children with chocolate Easter eggs, I am not sure if sweets were still rationed or perhaps had just come of rationing, so felt like pinching them...
Yes, Jan, I remmeber those hats. Quite spectacular some of them. I have a photo here at home of me as a five year-old, at Battersea Park on Easter Sunday 1952. holding hands with two prety young ladies who were both dressed as Nell Gwynn and carrying baskets of oranges. Hopefully those ladies are still enjoying life, they would be in their eighties by now.
I'm sure rationing was still on at that time, because I can clearly remember my mum buying me sweets in Morrish's in Manor Place and handing over her ration book.
I used to fish the lake there back in the early 1960's, it wasn't much cop, but nice surroundings. I took a girlfriend there in the summer of 1968 when the had an exhibition on of all things Scandinavian. I also used to train at the athletics track there and represented my youth club in 1963 in the National Association of Boys Clubs championships. I got a bronze medal for the sprint relay, thanks to the lad in front of me dropping his baton.
I couldn't run a bath now!
It doesn't take much these days to prompt me in to a bit of self indulgent, sentimental nostalgia.
I've just been on 'YouTube,' (www.youtube.co.uk, for those who've never used it,) and typed in 'Festival of Britain.' There's some lovely stuff on there about the 1951 exhibition, including some lovely footage of Batersea Park where, believe it or not, there's a cameo of one of those very same 'Nell Gwynne' girls I mentioned above. Brought a tear to this old fool's eye.
Who says nostalgia isn't what it used to be?
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