Once there we enjoyed the simple delights of walking along the front alongside the tidal flats, the water and the wooded foreshore, climbing Arnside Knott, a 500’ high limestone outcrop with panoramic views of Morecambe Bay and the beautiful near and distant hinterland. With a good appetite, we then would enjoy a meal at the hotel, and the pleasure of an evening at the “cinema”. This was the village hall, and we can remember seeing one film in particular, “Genevieve”, with Kenneth More and Kay Kendall. And I can recollect still walking back in the serene stillness with the stars above.
Sunday we again walked, attended the small church, ate a hearty breakfast and lunch and caught the train back to Liverpool. On one occasion I can recall vividly we could not get accommodation at Arnside so we went to Grange-over-Sands, the other side of the Estuary. Like Arnside it was small and attractive, and after our evening meal we went for a walk that took us along the shore; it was quite breath taking, there was a full moon as was the tide, it was light and bright the sky was full of stars, and we looked across to the lights of Arnside. I can remember that now as clearly as I saw it first hand on the evening of our walk. As I can also recall the Sunday walk after attending the church at which uncle John had been parish priest, with the delightful smells of cooking traditional English Sunday dinners in the air.
Once back in Liverpool from these short weekends away, we walked to the Pier Head and caught our respective buses, me back to Ramilies Road and John to his lodgings. Neither of us had as it were a “home” and these weekends I still treasure and remember fondly.
Surbiton to Meet John’s Father Sionna and Friends
I can remember too going at Easter 1955 with John to London to be introduced to his father, see his home in Surbiton, Surrey and meet his friends. Whilst in London he showed me the sights, and took me to the Players Theatre, in the arches below Charing Cross Station, that specialized in the style of the old Victorian Music Hall. It was then back to Liverpool and work.
After Wedding Plans – House
But now we had to consider where we would live and make practical arrangements about setting up our home. We first considered renting a small flat and looked at several, including one out at West Kirby on the Wirral where we used to visit. They all seemed depressing to us so we eventually bought a house, 46 North Linkside Road, in Woolton, right on the outskirts of Liverpool with the country nearby. Woolton was still very much a village, it had all the necessary shops and the like, and it had a good bus service making it very convenient.
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