St Barnabas Church, Erdington

I had to visit the dentist after a filling fell out last week. L was out with friends so I took the opportunity for a bit of nostalgia by driving back along the A452, more locally known as Chester Road. I lived in a house on the Chester Road, near Pype Hayes Park from the age of 7 to 26 with my parents.

So driving back from Warwick, the most notable change to the road is the effect HS2 is having on parts near Marston. I then stopped and parked up in Pype Hayes Park and walked around the grounds.  Everything seemed so much smaller than my memory, except for a small pool below the house in the park, which seemed larger than I remembered.  The hard tennis courts were still there, while the grass courts were no longer maintained, though you could still see where they were. I walked up to the house we lived in, which still looks much the same as when we lived there.

I also drove in to the village of Erdington, where we lived when I was even younger, walking up the high street and back. Again, it took much less time than I remembered. I stopped at St Barnabas Church, where my Mom and Dad married in 1945.  It’s noticeable comparing the photos that the door of the church has been replaced in the last 79 years.

The little tour brought back many memories of my youth.