Civic Pride: Why Dogsthorpe remains a special place – go see for yourself

Readers with long memories will remember that I waxed lyrical about the names of the old Dogsthorpe streets which celebrate and immortalise may of the trees found here - Acacia, Almond, Ash, Beechwood, Birchtree, Cedar, Cerris, Cherrytree, Chestnut, Figtree, Hawthorne, Larch, Lilac, Maple, Myrtle, Oakleaf, Olive, Pinetree, Poplar, Rowan, Sycamore and Willow. Once again I may have missed some!

On 5th May, Bank Holiday Monday, I had a wander round Dogsthorpe and was reminded of why I love the place so much. I particularly noticed the VE Day street party taking place in Olive Road, a street so blessed with a vast open green space that the large numbers enjoying the sandwiches, ice-cream and jelly were doing so on a large green space with no danger of being mown down by cars.

When I was growing up in Eastern Avenue me and my mates were able to play ‘out the front’ and our parents knew we would be safe from harm. Howard, Steven, Trevor, Paul Binns and me – we just played from dawn ‘til dusk. We mainly played cowboys and Indians, taking it in turns to be marauding Apaches or Comanches, then brave US cavalrymen or sheriffs. Our horses ran like the wind and when we got shot we merely had to lie still, count to ten and then get up and rush around again, brandishing our imaginary bows, arrows and Colt 45s.

We never ‘got the girl’ because, at that age we weren’t interested in ‘getting the girl’ and, by the time I was interested in ‘getting a girl’, I was at Deacons Grammar School for Boys, a sort of secondary school Alcatraz where girls just did not exist. Perhaps that’s a tale for another day!

Our Eastern Avenue house was next to a bungalow where the Cobbs lived and, on the other side, were two police houses (remember them) where PC Cook and Sergeant Lee resided, keeping a close eye on issues of the day such as riding a bike without lights! Life appeared much more simple then but perhaps that’s just my misty eyes looking back!

A feature of many of the houses was that they were constructed with a small adjoining outbuilding and toilet. This was where coal could be delivered and stored without the coalman having to traipse through the house and where Perkins man could take off his greasy overalls without making the rest of the house dirty. There is still evidence of this feature today although most of these buildings have now been incorporated into the main house.

Dogsthorpe was special then, and is still special today. Not only does it have thousands of trees, beautiful in spring and summer, but there are wide grass verges and vast distances between the odds and evens, a reminder of times when land was cheap and council houses ‘fit for heroes’ mattered.

I vividly remember my early life in Dogsthorpe so was extremely proud when, a week ago, I escorted my friend and fellow poetry mucker Keely Mills on a journey round the streets. We both noticed the features that made this late-1940s estate so special – the wide grass verges, particularly on the southern end of Eastern Avenue that now allow cars to be safely parked off road; the large number of safe, enclosed play spaces for children to play – just have a look on Google Earth and you will see that large amount of green space. Behind where I live is the extensive Larch Grove sheltered housing facility, built in 1970 and replacing allotments, mostly bungalows where old Dogsthorpians and others can now live out their days in comfort and quiet.

When I was a child the Focus Youth Club in Chestnut Avenue was a major player in providing facilities for young people and keeping youngsters off the streets. In particular its boxing club was legendary.

Now it is home to FC Peterborough who now play in a league against such teams as Haverhill, Framlingham (of Ed Sheeran fame), Diss Town and Holbeach.

Next year Dogsthorpe is 80 years old and I am sure there will be plenty of reminders and celebrations. Perhaps even Keely and I might think of something.

In the meantime, if you don’t know Dogsthorpe well, try to make the opportunity to have a ride or walk round for an hour or so. I guarantee it will be time well spent – but just watch out for the Apaches!