This is Goldbeaters School in Burnt Oak, where I went to school from the nursery until the age of 11. When I left the Berlin Wall was still up, Thatcher still had some years to go as PM, and Glenn Hoddle had just left Spurs for Monaco. This was drawn from a photo I took on a previous trip back home; I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I was up early yesterday morning and needed to do a drawing. I decided to make it sepia; in a way this is how I remember it. Apart from the grass and a bit of graffiti I left out, everything else is actually the right colour, pretty much.
I was inspired to finally draw my old junior school when an old, good friend from Goldbeaters got in touch with me via Facebook, Lee Glenn. I’ve not seen him since back then, so it was a real pleasure to hear from him. Reminded me of all the fun old times we had when we were kids, playing A-Team and, er, Hammer House of Horror in the playground. I will need to dig out my old school photos on my next trip back home. He blogs too – at leeglenn.net, and he made a very nice mention of me over there – and also runs a forum about film, music, books etc called ‘the popcorn patch’. Check it out!
I have good memories of Goldbeaters. I always remember most fondly my friends from the juniors, in the days when swapping Panini football stickers was pretty much the most important thing in the world. That was like a little microcosm economy of its own, the football sticker swapping market. Couldn’t have too many Spurs badges or Maradona stickers on the market otherwise the whole thing would collapse, and every so often there’d be a bust when some silly sod would knock someone’s wad of Football 86 into the air and shout “SCRAMBLE!”, showering the playground with doubles and triples of Ian Rush and rare Hamilton Academical team stickers alike. I have always imagined that that, essentially, was what the real Stock Market is really like.
petescully 
He he…..a great drawing of Goldbeaters Pete and I remember everything like it was yesterday!
The infants was just to the left of the railings….remember when we used to have all those really good trikes to ride and thought that woodlice were the most interesting thing in the world.
Panini stickers…..I got fed up of having doubles of John Wark and Triples of Russell Osman!!
Remember playing marbles on the drain cover at the top end of the nursery…..you had to fight to get that spot during lunch break…ha ha!
I will never forget being told to go and see the caretaker and ask him for a long weight (wait)…lol.
He left me standing outside his office for about 15 minutes and said…”There you go..you have had a long enough wait now son!”.
Two people just popped into my head……remember Sharon Hooper who moved away to Malta…..and some other guy in the nursery called Andrew?
I hope you are well my old friend,
Lee
oh yes, i think i remember them…
funny story about the caretaker, i remember that guy.
the infants, when we still had milk in little bottles in little crates, and i remember the trikes, the ‘big toys’, we weren’t allowed them when we were slightly bigger, we had to do maths and handwriting and read ‘roderick the red’.
cheers mate!
Another great picture. Whilst I didn’t attend Goldbeaters, reading the stories here brings back similar memories of Barnfield School in Burnt Oak, where I went from the mid 70s until 1982. I can still taste the milk in those little bottles (especially if it was a warm day). You had to hold some status in the playground to get on the good stuff (which I didn’t) so you’d make up adventures along the lines of The Six Million Dollar Man and Evel Knievel, leaping around and clambering over ‘climbing frames’ which were basically a few scaffolding poles stuck together! And caterpillars were the sought after ‘animals’ in the little walled garden at our school!
Roderick The Red is the first ever book I can remember reading, and if I remember right, it was followed by Gregory The Green and then Benjamin The Blue. Literary classics as far as I’m concerned.
Oh, and I have a vague memory of seeing the Spurs team on their bus, travelling down Watling Avenue after one of their FA Cup successes, so that would be around 80 / 81 (?) when Ardilles & Villa were the toast of Whitehart Lane.
Looking forward to your next instalment…
Keith
Thanks for the comment Keith! Barnfield, my brother and sister went there, probably a little bit before you though. Barnfield and Woodcroft had all the same stuff as Goldbeaters. Roderick the Red, wow, I am surprised I never mentioned that book in the post as it’s always the one that I remember from those days! I’d forgotten about Benjamin the Blue and Gregory the Green though. They were like pirates I think. And those little milk bottles, yes. Cheers!
So cool! I enjoyed your comment, Keith. I remember that climbing frame and the unforgiving surface should you loose your grip and fall! That tiny garden with the wall around it and the toilets at the back. I must have been at that school at approx the same era as you (1973 – 1980) You may have been just ahead of my younger brother. Mr Garnsworthy was my headmaster. An awesome man with a powerful Welsh accent. I wonder how different Barnfield looks now…
Thanks for sharing your memories,
Mandy
Hey Pete, thanks for pointing me to this post. That’s such a nice sketch of Goldbeaters. I spoke to Mr Williams the other week and he still sounded like the old Mr Williams I know. I have so many fond memories of Goldbeaters; summer fetes, the jumble sale we used to have and watching recorded TV shows in the library. Ah…the good old days, when everything seemed so simple.
Hi Mandy, I’m afraid I don’t remember your name but yes, it would have been about the same time. Mr Garnsworthy was my headmaster too and my class had Mr Allen for the last year or two of my time there. Do you remember the celebration we had for the silver jubilee? Me an my pal were dressed as scouts (even though we weren’t scouts) and we both had German Measles and were told not to tell anyone! I don’t think people get German Measles anymore.