My memories of houses that I once lived in, with the assistance of Google and Bing Maps, photos and an old street map.

House #1

House #1 – I ‘think’ this was the first house, of course I wasn’t born then and anyone who remembered is now long gone. I do have memories, in 1969 the family visited our home town and stayed in this very same house (friends of the owner from the beginning and they still lived there) for 2 weeks. That memory is of having to sleep on a small cramped camp bed in a small cramped kitchen. Oh, and it was in July and it was very HOT! I also remember that ‘Zager and Evans – In the Year 2525’ was being played constantly on the radio!

House #2

House #2 – Our next house, it was I recall on one floor of the building. I remember that the house owner (a Portugese man) and my father liked to go hunting, so I remember going in the cellar and seeing rabbits hung from the ceiling and a wine press. I don’t recall this particular episode, but one night a burglar broke into our apartment (through into MY bedroom) but scarpered quickly after the noise of the breaking in alerted the household!

House #3

House #3 – We moved out of the city into the countryside, and I was then of an age where I was out and about exploring! I recall one winter when the snow was really deep, and my father took me out on a toboggan to get milk from a nearby farm. This was also where our world was turned upside down, when my father died in the house. My mother couldn’t afford to keep the house and, as she couldn’t drive either, a decision was made to move back into an apartment in the city.

House #4

House #4 – As you can see in the photo, the house no longer exists. It was similar to the house on the right of the photo, I recall it being a pale blue colour. My memories here include my sister screaming the house down one day, as she suddenly discovered she was becoming a woman – if you understand my meaning!

House #5

House #5 – We weren’t in House #4 very long, we moved back into the countryside, but not as far out as House #3 – we were at least on (or not very far to walk) a bus route – my mother had attempted to learn to drive and bought a Ford Falcon, which on one occasion she managed to get wedged between 2 trees on the driveway! I guess some people never get the hang of learning to drive, and my mother certainly didn’t! Another memory from this house is earwigs, there were LOADS in the cellar, which I found very creepy.

Update: The additional photo of House #5 shows more detail. When we lived there, the building didn’t have the Dormer attic extension, and there wasn’t a deck at the side of the house. We did have a deck at the front of the house, with a nice view across the valley, but the decking was old and rickety and was likely soon condemned after we moved out!

At this point, it was decided that the family should move to England, to be back with my mother’s family.

House #6

House #6 – Our first house in England, a small terraced house, with coal fires, and an outside toilet and coal shed (the coal shed was formerly a bomb shelter) which was, in all honesty, a real culture shock for my sister and myself. But of course, still being young we eventually adapted to our new style of life!

Unfortunately, there’s no photo (that I could find) of our house – I’ve indicated, by a green dot, the exact location of the house on the old street map, and the approximate location of the house on the current Google Maps.

Update: Well, I managed to find an old photograph of House #6!

House #7

House #7 – After a few years, House #6 was marked for demolition, due to the local council rebuilding of the area. We were moved into a newer terraced house, near our local secondary school, but a bus ride into the local town for shopping, etc.

House #8

House #8 – After another short stay, we upped sticks again. This time to a new-build block of 3-storey flats – we had a flat on the top floor. My main disturbing memory here, I was looking out of the window – at the main road – and a woman waiting to cross the road. She had crossed one side of the road, and was standing on the central reservation, waiting for a gap in the traffic to cross. Then as she started to cross the road, she was hit by a car, and I remember her body flying up in the air, and then landing on the road. I don’t recall whether or not she survived that, but would assume not.

House #9

House #9 – Again, another short stay and we were on the move again, this time to another new build – a terraced house – more central to the town, and multiple choices of bus routes.

This house was and is different – after just over 50 years, and I’m still living here!

My sister got married and moved out, and I lived here with my mother until she passed away, when I then took over the tenancy of the house.

My house is the one with the silver car on the driveway.