Thirty-four years ago today – on Friday 16 April 1982, at 12 noon – Johnny and I got the keys to our first home – a two-bedroomed terraced house in south east London, which cost us £25,000 (or 20 years at £228pcm, inclusive of MIRAS, as interest rates were much higher then).
It is looking a lot smarter these days, with a new front door and loft extension. We replaced the roof in 1986, which turned into a story all of its own.
I wonder if Polly Toynbee’s footprint is still embedded in the front doorstep from a canvassing encounter that landed her in Johnny’s wet cement.
Our neighbours were mostly young couples starting families. They included a joiner, a lawyer, a dustman, a fireman, a social worker, two youth workers, a childminder and even a grave digger.
What a pity young people can no longer afford to buy their own homes in London and are paying exorbitant rents, no matter what the postcode.
I wish we had kept that little house as it still holds so many happy memories.
Leahurst66 