Category Archives: housing

My Bedroom In The Good Old Days

Posted on September 29, 2016 by odeboyz

God knows how many times the old bedstead I slept in, as a child, was handed down. It was a  1940s double bed with a wooden headboard with slatted vertical boards and had three carved holes in the shape of hearts over … Continue reading →

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George Silverlock

Posted on September 1, 2016 by odeboyz

George was a master plumber who I first met on a building site on the High Street, Waltham Cross (London). He and his brother, Harry Silverlock, were natural comedians who, effortlessly, had us youngsters in fits of laughter at the most unexpected … Continue reading →

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Harold Hill: created by the Attlee Government

Posted on June 29, 2016 by odeboyz

I didn’t start living on Harold Hill until 1980 but lived there for eighteen years. For twelve of those years I was a Labour Party Councillor. So the following narrative is based on what I have been told and my research from … Continue reading →

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The Dignified Mendicant

Posted on May 4, 2016 by odeboyz

Many years ago, I was on my regular seven week call out rota; and at about 4 pm I got a message from the Hackney call centre one Saturday, I’m guessing about, 1976 -some forty years ago. I was asked … Continue reading →

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The Governor

Posted on April 21, 2016 by odeboyz

Mr G, or the “Guv” as I called him some nearly fifty years ago was a formidable Hackney “project manager” but that was well before such a title came into popular use. I had of course heard the stories of … Continue reading →

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Different Times

Posted on April 8, 2016 by odeboyz

When I was a boy, my two older brothers and Mum & Dad lived in the basement rooms of a large ten roomed Regency terraced house in Gibson Square in Islington. Like hundreds of other families we rented our home, … Continue reading →

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Compounded Stupidity

Posted on March 24, 2016 by odeboyz

About fifteen years ago the Council decided that they would create a structural repairs contract as well as one for external decoration for our three tower blocks which we manage on their behalf. Unfortunately, they didn’t bother to consult with … Continue reading →

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Old Times in Hoxton

Posted on December 18, 2015 by odeboyz

Some years ago I was working as a plumber out of the small Stamford Hill depot (area 3) for Hackney Council. It wasn’t a cheery place to work as the Area Foreman was a self-centred egotist who had originally worked … Continue reading →

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A man grows old

Posted on October 9, 2015 by odeboyz

There was once a man who had lived his early life in East London. Aged eighteen he did his national service abroad while the second world war was raging. On his discharge he went to work, first as a stone mason and … Continue reading →

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The End

Posted on October 6, 2015 by odeboyz

Seventeen years ago I didn’t know it would last I began our tenant’s TMO Time has gone so fast. Battles won and battles lost Each memory lingers still Each battle came with its own cost Each departure left for me … Continue reading →

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