Sheppy's World

According to the deeds our house was built in 1928 so I guess it has a big birthday coming up in a few years. Whilst we consider ourselves the “owners” of #22 that’s just a reflection of the fact that we are the most recent occupants and lucky enough to no longer have a mortgage. In reality we are just the latest to leave a mark on the old place and hopefully keep it going for the next lucky inhabitants.

The builders and early occupants intrigue us a little, but they represent time out of mind. Their day to day lives and experience of living in Hillside are of interest but they are long gone and their memories are lost to us. Our most immediate predecessors on the other hand offer much more. We have a lot to be grateful to Charles (“Char”) & Ruby Walder for. They moved into #22 in 19xx and brought up their two daughters here. Char was a carpenter and joiner and the enduring legacy of his craft remains evident throughout the house. We will probably leave it for others to retain or remove as they see fit.

Char seemed to make everything to last and alongside his obvious skill as a joiner he wasn’t averse to securing pretty much everything to the walls with very large nails & screws……which resulted in rather a lot of re-plastering if we subsequently decided to remove anything! Char’s sister Peg and her family lived across the shared drive and collaboration was the name of the game, in particular the endless concrete paths and driveways that we inherited.

Our limited efforts to bring the house into the 21st century home are for another day, as are the challenges that Char’s particular brand of gardening presented. For now we will always be grateful that we found ourselves here and for the privilege of playing a small part in the history of #22.