Memoirs of Penny Chilvers/Macdonald/Penn page 6

Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish

Dan & Charles Mason, pioneers of the shoe polish industry in Chiswick

I became friendly with a family by the name of Bromley who lived in an elegant Victorian double storey house called "Hawthorns" on the opposite side of Burlington Lane to Chiswick Square and both Ron and I spent many happy hours at this house in the company of my friend Jean Bromley and her two brothers. "Hawthorns" (5 Burlington Lane) had been built by Jean's grandfather, and I was greatly saddened when I learned that the Bromley's had sold the house and were moving elsewhere. However, my sorrow soon turned to joy when I discovered that the building had been sold to Chiswick Products Ltd., and because of our friendship with the Bromley family and my father's good standing with the company, we were given the opportunity of becoming the main tenants of the house. The house had twelve rooms in total, five of which were made into a self-contained flat in which a Mr. and Mrs Cole and their daughter lived, and the other seven very large rooms were occupied by our family.

The very name "Hawthorns" conjures up so many memories and delights, such as the attic type top storey bedroom that was partitioned by our father into bedrooms for Ron and myself, with its built-in corner cupboard and tiny fireplace that was lit at times of sickness and which threw out such heat and was so comforting to see. Also, the sweet smelling lime tree that grew tall at the side of the sash window in the room. Because our parent's bedroom was on a lower floor at the front of the house, a small hole was drilled down to their room through which a string was passed with a bell attached at their end, so that we could pull the string in our room if we needed them during the night. A smaller room next to our bedroom was where our father bred his finches that trilled like little bells.

At the rear of the two top floor rooms, a small flight of stairs led down to a very large landing, to the left of which was the living room that had a large kitchen range and low cupboards under the window. Here, on very cold nights, our parents brought in a large tin bath in which we bathed in luxury before going to bed. On the opposite side of the landing was situated the real bathroom (which was also the laundry room), the kitchen, and the toilet, all of which were large rooms with high ceilings. The large expanse of the landing that lay between the living room and the bathroom, etc., was an absolute treasure as far as Ron and I were concerned. It had enormous stained glass windows that opened wide above the back garden and a low cupboard under the windows which served the dual purpose of being a window seat with views into the garden and a place where all our toys were kept. The landing regularly became a playground where all manner of games, plays, and other activities took place. Most memorable was the red patterned linoleum that was kept polished by two enthusiastic children who tied rags to their feet and skated around their own private skating rink.

The centrally placed flight of stairs that led down from the landing to a large highly decoratively tiled entrance hall were quite ornate and wide, with beautiful mahogany banister rails that were ideal for children to slide down. The front door of the house was quite large and painted black, with stained glass inserts and side panels. A huge ebony hallstand was the main item of furniture in the entrance hall, to the right of which was the door to our main front room. This room was also very large, with a high ceiling and a large bay window and a large marble fireplace sculptured with fruit shapes. Our piano and other items of furniture from Chiswick Square were in this room, plus a rather unusual piano-player known as a "reproducing piano" that could be pushed up against the keyboard of the piano, so that padded felt fingers struck the piano keys, thus playing the music contained on piano-player rolls inserted in the player. The job of pedalling the bellows on the piano-player usually fell on me, particularly when I wanted to have a change from playing the piano in the more normal manner and I could talk someone into pushing the player up against the piano. It was considered that this type of piano-player was capable of playing more authentic piano music than the more conventional type. Other musical instruments were a mandolin (our mother's), a piano accordion (Ron's), and a violin (mine). Our father had once played the cello, but I cannot remember seeing one at "Hawthorns". Ron also learned the violin for a short time, using a small boxlike instrument supplied by the teacher at the local infant's school where the violin lessons were conducted. As our father had a very pleasant tenor voice and the whole family enjoyed singing, we had many evenings of music and song during which many old time favourites were sung.

Our mother was always making or restoring things. We had a quarter size slate bed billiard table and when the green baize-playing surface became worn, she pulled the table to pieces and replaced the baize very professionally. Perhaps her finest achievement was to take the piano to pieces, laying all the keys in order around the table and renewing the hammer felts before replacing everything to make the piano sound as good as new. On another occasion she gave the piano-player a major overhaul when the air system developed a number of leaks. She also created electric light in a badly lit area of the hall and back stairs with low wattage bulbs and a wiring system attached to a large wet cell accumulator battery.

At the rear of the entrance hall was a short flight of stairs to the lower ground level, on the right of which was a small door under the main stairs that led to a massive cellar, which extended under the entire house and was a splendid storage and work place. To the left of the stairs there was another room, which was a combined spare room, and playroom that contained a small library of books, which I documented and used for playing libraries. The old kitchen table from Chiswick Square was also in this room and it often became a stage for various types of performances. Another item in this room was a harmonium that I also liked to play as a change from the piano. From the level of this room, another small flight of stairs led to a small hall and a door to the back garden. On the right of the small hall was a door to the flat occupied by Mr. and Mrs Cole and their daughter

The back garden was quite long and wide, surrounded on both sides and at the back with high brick walls and with a large pear tree growing half way down its length, under which were a number of large gooseberry bushes and masses of montbretia. A shed at the far end of the garden contained two old "fairy" bicycles with solid tyres, on which I learned to ride a two-wheel cycle. I also learned to pull them apart and interchange their parts, something that stood me in good stead when I had an adult bicycle in later life. In the left hand back corner of the garden stood a large copper beech tree that was very easily climbed and Ron and I spent many hours perched in the tree talking to the girls from the "Cherry Blossom" and "Nugget" polish filling and tin shop sections of the Chiswick Products factory that were immediately behind our back garden.

At one stage, I was very ill for about four months with Scarlet Fever, which Ron also caught. When my infectious period had passed and I was allowed downstairs with the rest of the family, Dad bought me six white mice. Ron and I had wonderful games with them, but when their numbers mysteriously grew to twenty one, Dad said it was time to part with them which we did with a great deal of reluctance. On another occasion, while we were dozing in bed, Dad put a tiny rabbit in each of our arms black and white for Ron and brown and white for me. As the period of our recovery from Scarlet Fever also coincided with our mother's operation to remove her gallbladder, it was decided that all three of us should go to convalescent homes on the south coast to recover. Ron and I were in separate sections of the same home and our mother was in another home nearby, but we did not see each other for some weeks. Although I quite enjoyed the experience, Ron was quite devastated at being separated from the rest of the family. The mice, rabbits, cats, dogs and Dad's birds all contributed our ready acceptance of having animals as part of our young lives and in particular, a large aviary of budgerigars that Dad established in the back garden were a constant source of pleasure to us all including the workers at the factory behind. Unfortunately, an expansion of the factory eventually caused our back garden to be cut in half, resulting in the disappearance of the aviaries, the copper beech tree, our shed, and numerous other small trees, shrubs and plants. It was a very sad time for us all.

At the age of eleven years, I passed a Scholarship Examination and was admitted to Chiswick Central School. At that time, it was a very modern school, with classrooms and an assembly hall built around a quadrangle that led out to the playing fields. It was a "girls only" school, but was joined to an identical boy's school, with the two schools being separated by a railing. Education at the school was of a high standard and quality and all kinds of sport (including girl's cricket) were also very much encouraged. Participation in out of school activities, such as performances of the School Choir, was also encouraged. I was a member of the choir and unfortunately developed a sore throat just before it took part in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London and therefore could not take part. Other studies on the curriculum included gardening, music (during which I learned to play the violin) and part of the school was set up as a small flat which the senior girls cleaned and where they learned housework, laundry, child and baby care, etc. Although many schools now have these facilities, only a few of the most modern schools had them when I went to school. Cookery classes were always enjoyable and the proceeds from the classes often provided lunch for the teachers and girls involved. There were a number of school societies, including a League of Nations Society, of which I was a member.

Memoirs, Page 6 of 7

Penny Chilvers Memoirs, Page 6 of 7

<< Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Next Page>> |