Saturday, September 26, 2020

BRIGG BLOG GOES FISHING FOR PICTURES OF PLAY PARK'S ORIGINAL SLIDE


North Lincolnshire Council's installation of a new slide on the Davy Memorial field  (pictured here) will bring back memories of the original slide for those who used it over many decades from the 1950s onwards.
After giving great service to town youngsters, the initial slide was replaced by a newer and smaller one. Today's is smaller still.
No criticism is intended, as the new one located within a fenced off area of the park which is aimed at younger children, for whom the latest model seems ideal.
Decades ago the field was 'open plan' with tots and teenagers competing for the equipment and the grass.
Has anyone in Brigg got a picture or two of the original slide being used which they are prepared to share with us?
We remember it being very high up when you climbed the metal steps and got to the tower at the top, but that might be because we were still attending primary school at the time, in the mid-1960s, and had yet to reach 5ft.
When the crossing gates clanked shut, train-loving youngsters dashed across the field and up the grassy bank to stand and admire steam locos when they came into view.
After tea on weekdays a fish train from Grimsby used to run through, leaving a certain lingering smell in the air long after it had cleared the station and headed off towards Sheffield.
Diesels eventually took over the fish trains but, by the late 1960s, Grimsby's finest was sent far and wide by road rather than rail.
Amid competition from lorry firms, the number of fish wagons in each train reduced considerably, year by year, making this trade uneconomic for British Rail. It was the same at other fishing ports, including Hull.
Fish trains did not stop in Brigg to drop off supplies in the 1960s, but cod, haddock and other species remain popular in the town.
Last Thursday (market day) we counted an early morning queue of 11 people waiting to be served from the fresh Grimsby fish van located near the Buttercross.