Two of my South Arbury childhood joys - the hump and the hills. The hump, where we kicked up dust and rode our Chopper bikes, is sadly no more. Something I always tried to avoid on rainy Sundays way back then was listening to the Osmonds with cousin Sharon. Cousin Sharon had an old record player - a 1960s portable which had belonged to her mother - and she loved listening to records in her bedroom in Rutland Close. I have strong memories of her rain spattered window and the view of the Kingsway and lead grey sky beyond. Sharon was so overflowing with enthusiasm for Donny Osmond I felt quite unwell. This fixation was followed by another with the Bay City Rollers, then David Soul, and then John Travolta. None of them appealed to me. We always listened to the charts at teatime on the radio. I think that only the Top 20 was broadcast then, but the pop scene was well established by the early 1970s. We even bought a magazine of current chart songs lyrics. I think this was published beca...
Is Arbury simply an electoral ward in the university city of Cambridge, the boundaries of which are arbitrarily redefined by Council planners whenever they choose? Or is it an area with a history of its own? We've studied Arbury, North and South, its prehistoric origins, Roman times, the old farms, the early housing estate and right up to date. We cover the original area, from Carlton Way to King's Hedges Road.