61 Mellitus Street

Today Betsy started at her new Summer Softball Club, London Sports. Each team is named after a US team, and she - to her delight - was signed to the Yankees. She's wearing the uniform in this picture.

95% of the girls are American and have been playing T-Ball since they were toddlers so the standard is high. I think she's going to learn a lot and love it.


They play on Wormwood Scubs. My father grew up in East Acton, just a few minutes walk from where we were. He and his brother and their friends played on the Scrubs all the time. They played out rain or shine, as long as it was light, and always on the Scrubs. When I was a kid and we drove home from my Nans house, we sometimes drove past Wormwood Scrubs and I found it very creepy, the searchlights, the towers, the old fashioned buildings, the high walls, but my Dad played it the shadow of it for so many years, he was used to it.

Today I took Betsy to the house where my Nan lived, where my Dad and his twin brother were born. My Nan lived there till I was about 14, and we visited her there all the time. I'm not sure if they are still council houses, but they are certainly more gentrified looking than I remember. I have very happy memories of that house. I would have loved to gone inside. I also took her to the house in Erkonwold Street where my mum lived. She moved in there when she was about 16, but her parents had moved by the time I was born so I don't have any memories of it.