Dartford

Born in Erith and raised in Slade Green, but Dartford is where I spent my formative years as this where I went to secondary school; I passed the 11+ exam and went to Dartford Grammar School, DGS (my mum went to DGS for Girls round the corner) - famous alumni from DGS include Mick Jagger (see subsequent post). Although the school was founded in 1576,, the school house dates from 1864; this is where the sixth formers used to hang out at breaks etc and play the music of the day (prog rock and rock in our case). The school motto "ora et labora" means "pray and work" which I have only just found out from Google; I honestly thought it meant "play and work" - a maxim I have adhered to during my life, although not as a result of it being the school motto (which I thought it was!)

My grandad lived with us in Slade Green for several years in the late 1960s and used to come to Dartford to go to The Malt Shovel pub to read his paper and drink real ale in the wood panelled tap bar there; unfortunately, the pub was closed when I visited on a Monday, but I have been there many times previously. It was, and still is, a Youngs pub and grandad and my uncle (his son, mum's brother) got me into real ale and I have been drinking it all my life.

Some parts of Dartford have been modernised beyond recognition but other parts are still as they were; not far from the railway station, the Orchard Theatre has a modern clock tower by it and on the other side of town - passing through the historic centre (see next post) - we have the 1916 Dartford Central Library and Museum on the edge of Central Park.Read more