My grandmother's neighbours

A distinctly quirky car

Mrs Storey

I remember the Longhurst family who lived in Twineham Road, particularly Alice Longhurst, who used to call in to see my grandmother, Ellen Page (26 Twineham Rd). Both wore the habitual garments of the time, a headscarf, a dress and a pinafore. I would sit on a stool while my gran and Alice drank tea and Mrs. Longhurst had the noisiest digestive tract I have ever heard, a sort of bubbling noise. It fascinated me as a seven-year-old. Another regular visitor was Mrs. Storey, who lived on Wiston Road. I can remember my Uncle Reg annoying her by catching some conversation on his newly-acquired tape recorder. I seem to recall she uttered quite loudly “Why don’t you turn that b….y thing off!”

A bubble car tour

I remember my gran telling me that Mrs. Storey had gone out with her son in his bubble car (see an image of the car) and they had taken in quite an extensive tour of Brighton but on the return, her son had driven down Coldean Lane, an extremely steep hill. Mrs. Story and her son were large, to put it politely, and during the downhill journey the bubble car’s brakes couldn’t cope with the weight and they went off the road. I remember my gran telling me they were lucky to be alive after that.

Lively characters

Next door to my gran was Bryn Noble and his wife. Their son was a champion ice skater. On the other side was Reg Williams, a lively character. I also remember Mr. Cracknell, the door to door grocer/greengrocer. He used to sell eggs and his party piece on the doorstep was to crack an egg and swallow it raw!