67 London Road, formerly Campions

 

No 67 London Rd once surgery & home of Dr Townley

 

No 67 London Rd 2014

(Griffin)

 

No 67 London Rd, old surgery light still there at entrance to old surgery at back June 2016

(Roadley)

 

No 67 London Rd, old surgery light still there June 2016

(Roadley)

 

No 67 London Rd, old surgery light still there and working June 2016

(Roadley)

Dr Townley was my dad. He was a much respected and liked GP and he cared deeply for his patients. I still miss him after all these years.

I remember our life in Harston with great pleasure. Everybody was friendly. I remember the house being built for us at the end of the 1950s then called Campions, because there were so many of these flowers growing there. It is now number 67. I loved growing up there and I remember visits from both the local vicar, for his cuppa, and the local policeman on their bikes! You could see the top of the vicar’s hat as he cycled past on the other side of the beech hedge. Long gone are the days when the butcher’s boy delivered meat by bicycle. It had a large basket in the front and there was always a bone for the dog!

Dad ran the surgery from our house and then later on in the village itself. He had two sons and a daughter from his marriage to my mother. Alison, the eldest, became a professional violinist (originally taught by Amy Parker in Hauxton) and Nick became a French teacher and Chris an IT expert. I went to school in Great Shelford before going on to the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge. I used to catch the 108 bus into Cambridge and loved earwigging elderly ladies discussing Dad and saying what a great doctor he was. I felt so proud!

In the summer, I remember going to early morning communion in the lovely little Hauxton church with the sound of pigeons cooing in the rafters and sunshine streaming in through the open doors. I also remember sneaking into the village shop to buy sweets although I was meant to be having a healthy bike ride

After school, I trained as a nurse in Guy’s Hospital in London before moving first to Dublin and then to Nigeria. I had my wedding reception at Campions in 1965. The garden was lovely by then. My mother was a keen gardener and did wonders, having started with an empty field.

I now work as a writer and voice-over artist. I now live in County Wexford in Ireland. Sadly, as I am now 81, I have forgotten so many names but if anyone would like to make contact, my website address is www.nicolalindsay.ie It has my contact details.