Barry1963
Easily Led
Broadwater Farm Stan?
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
For those not local to Enfield Lock it's got some proper history. The sort of stuff that changed the world. I'm no fan of guns and things that go bang - quite the opposite - but firearms related history is all there at Enfield - and nearby at Waltham Abbey was an Explosive Research and manufacture facility that is absolutely fascinating to read up on. Think Barnes Wallis Bouncing Bomb and a site that goes back ..... even before I was born! Anyone vaguely local needs to visit it (it's a sort of museum) before it closes completely.
Barry1963
Easily Led
My dad worked at the Royal Small Arms Factory for 20 years
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
Nope, missed that one. To be honest I seemed to live a charmed life. I was either on holiday ... or on sick leave
... when most of the more memorable events happened. Didn't go to Moorgate or Kings Cross. I think they knew I wasn't cut out for that sort of thing 
carbold
Carlo
Sea urchins [emoji13]
Barry1963
Easily Led
Considerate of them to make sure they occurred when you weren't available!Nope, missed that one. To be honest I seemed to live a charmed life. I was either on holiday ... or on sick leave
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
Then he will have tales to tell. Make sure you get him to tell you everything you want to know - and more. You will know better than most, it's all fascinating stuff and shaped the modern world.
When I was young living in the Council house at Buckhurst Hill we could often hear distant bangs and crashes and repetitive gunfire type stuff, I guess it all came from Waltham Abbey. If you were living in Enfield Lock when the site was operational you must have heard the goings on there as plain as the nose on yer face.
Barry1963
Easily Led
I have never tried sea urchin. I'm not sure I want to to be honest. Are they tasty?
carbold
Carlo
They are indeed. You open them up and eat the eggs, the orange bit. Eat them raw or on spaghetti, real delicacy
Barry1963
Easily Led
Funnily enough, when I was young they did all the rifle range stuff on a Sunday morning. I would wake up to the sound of gun fire. It was a great place to grow up in the 60's. There were still a lot of bomb sites that acted as great play grounds. As you can imagine, the Small Arms Factory was a prime target for the Luftwaffe. They never hit it. Managed to hit the local school 3 times though.
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
That's interesting to hear. To be honest when I was young no-one seemed to speak much about the place. A mate of mine used to be able to get in as far as the social club but that was it. I really wish my parents had made me aware of it's significance (not that anyone knew a great deal about what went on in there, of course). I also confess to only having visited the site once when it opened to the public as a tourist attraction. I gather the future of the place is in the balance and the opening hours are limited. I have to say the place made quite an impression on me after the visit.
Make sure you talk to your dad and glean as much from him as you can. His recollections are priceless.
Make sure you talk to your dad and glean as much from him as you can. His recollections are priceless.
Barry1963
Easily Led
Yes I have spent years questioning my dad. I love social history and a lot of the fascinating stories are being lost now. Although to be honest, my dad is happier talking about Tottenham Hotspur's and Greyhound racing.
Barry1963
Easily Led
Your fried eggs on a bed of chips and beans cannot be bettered.
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
Big smile in evidence this end. In that case listen to his stories about The Spurs and greyhound racing. Presumably he was a regular at Walthamstow Dogs. Believe it or not when I was at Chingford our Christmas "do" consisted of "The Dogs" followed by a curry in Old Curch Road. I shall have to have a think to recall which one. It was on the same side as the graveyard where the Krays service was held.