Tonbridge

Found this after a search on the interweb - an old photo of Vale Road in Tonbridge, Kent, where we lived briefly in the late 40's after I was born with my Dad's "Uncle Bill"   ( William Leigh )  . I have vague memories of the road but remember it being much narrower and steam train smoke puffing up from behind that enormous wall that seemed to run it's length.  Uncle Bill suffered from spina bifeda as a lad and so was left with a "humpty back". He was quite a character and lived alone with his cat in a tiny terraced house that backed onto the River Medway which was at the bottom of his long abundant garden. We still have photos of him standing there by the runner beans and the river just over a rickety fence - another of him fishing. Apparently I used to throw toys into the river when nobody was looking - a rather naughty infact with an inventive line in abuse for neighbours who I took a dislike to so my Mother said. "Bum bum face" was one and "Nannygoat Face" another!  I'm sure she was making it all up!  The other thing i remember about the dark and dingy house was the rope used as a bannister that you heave-ho'd yourself upstairs with.  That cat was a terror too-  scratched me once and I avoided it like the plague afterwards. Lucky it didn't end up in the river with all the other stuff!