Interesting comments from Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey on growing up in Harold Hill in the Guardian recently:
"Where I grew up, in Harold Hill, it was rough and it still is now. I used to live in a little council flat, next to the shops, and there was always trouble, people getting stabbed. One Christmas I was in the pub with my dad and I looked across and there was a bullet hole in the television. I said: 'Can we go, dad?' My dad still lives in the same place, my mum and my sister live in Brentwood, further out. My sister was pregnant and I didn't want her baby growing up in the same area, so I bought her a house."
He makes it sound like Homs or Aleppo! Know it can be a bit dodgy in Harold Hill, but I managed to grow up near Harold Wood and drink in the King Harold without aggravation. Could he have been laying it on a bit thick for the Guardian journalist?
Since when has Harold Hill been in any way Essex?
ReplyDeleteThe Hill ain't the worst place in east London, but it dun arf try to be at times. Hilldene shops do have a terrible reputation.