Peggy's Story - Summary

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		Peggy Bodley was born in Cosgrove, Northamptonshire in 1922. Her family moved to Loughton when she was six years old, in order to attend the local school, and she has lived in the village ever since.
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		Her Grandparents had a butcher's shop and the Fountain Inn in London Road. The Bodleys were a farming family, with land towards Stony Stratford and New Bradwell. Peggy recalls visiting family friends and her Grandfather's tenants along London Road in the 1930s. She describes the Saturday afternoon routine of calling on friends, from the crossroads up towards the Fountain, painting a picture of the families and their home lives. Auntie Foxley - a Distant relative -kept a shop, with a pig in the garden. The Bodleys would stay for tea, before going on up the road to the butcher's shop to collect the rent from Mr Plumb. Peggy and Kitty Plumb would play on the swing in the garden while the adults talked business. The Fountain Inn eventually passed out of the Bodley family, since when it was transformed into the thatched 'olde worlde' inn we see now. Peggy also talks about the people of London Road: the garage mechanic and his brother who were excellent church organists; the coalman's son who made it to Oxford University.
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		Social events are remembered including an amateur operatic performance at the old school. The Co-op shop provided a very useful service to many Loughton residents - but you would not want to be seen there if you were Conservative!
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