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In addition to the scouts and church there was the Boys'
Club to keep the lads amused. It was run by Len Butt who was well liked. We met
in the Church Hall, that then was a corrugated tin hut seen in the photograph.
A request to parents and friends for games provided chess, draughts, dominoes,
a dartboard and a table-tennis table. We circulated round these games as the
evening progressed, sometimes in a competition. At some stage the Reverend
Maitland Dodds would join us and say a prayer.
As a bellringer it was
my duty to open the belfry on a practice evening; thought to be on a Monday.
Sometimes while waiting for the others to arrive I would climb the extra steps,
to the parapet at the base of the spire, to sample the evening air and enjoy
the panoramic vista. In the photograph can be seen white patches on the church
spire. These are the replacement cedar shingles when the spire was refurbished.
To do their work the steeplejacks had fixed ladders all the way to the top of
the spire. On one occasion in a moment of bravado a notion came to climb the
ladders. It was thought no one would see me as it was at dusk. Perhaps it was
to get a unique view of Westbourne or to see my home by Lashley's Corner. Half
way up my courage gave way to second thoughts with a return to safety with more
caution. However, the top of the spire was reached. Inside the church, the
steeplejacks had also secured a series of ladders from the floor to the inside
of the spire. This time with less trepidation the long climb was made until my
shoulders would go no further. My pencilled initials may still be readable.
Looking back it was youthful foolishness, as a fall to the stone floor could
have proved fatal.
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