Memory Lane

Leading off Dean Hill towards the Broadway car park in Plymstock is a lane that for many years had no name. To a certain extent that didn’t matter, because it wasn’t street or road with lots of houses along its length. It is however the road that leads to the William Venton Age Concern premises and the Plymstock Community Centre and although no-one actually lives there, both of these places receive post and up until relatively recently that was a bit of problem because without a proper address it was difficult to ascribe a proper postcode and without a proper postcode it was difficult to ensure that those places got their proper post. A discussion with the Post Office led to a suggestion that maybe the people at Age Concern would like to come up with a name themselves. And so there a little competition was set – what do you call a lane that people go down, many of them senior citizens, to visit a day centre. Lime Lane, Ferule Lane were among the suggestions that were thrown up. In the end three were submitted and the one chosen was Memory Lane, as suggested by Chris Newham, the personal assistant to the Director of Age Concern in the City. And so it was that at the end of last year, 2004, a sign was erected on the edge of Dean Hill and doubtless many a smile and possibly many an eyebrow has been raised by it since.