1965, the year that changed my life
We
are baptised
Perhaps Sunday 24th
October 1965
1. I forget exactly when the
Knott End
campaign[1] took place, except that:
- it was for a number of days[2] in 1965;
- it was when the chill autumn wind was in my nostrils;[3]
- there was a celebration of Hallowe’en by the young people of the church around the same
time;[4] and
- the dates included Sunday 7th November.[5]
The local cinema[6] was hired as the venue for the meetings. A coach was laid on for us to go to at least two of them: on a Sunday,[7] and to a midweek meeting.[8] We didn’t go on the ferry; we went round by the nearest road route, crossing the
Wyre further upriver by the toll bridge,
Shard Bridge,[9] a journey of some 15
miles.
[1] See The Knott End campaign.
[2] According to The Knott End campaign,
par.2, as I originally wrote it, “The local cinema was hired for a week”; but I have changed that to read: “The local cinema was hired as the venue for the meetings”.
[3] Cf. The Knott End campaign,
par.4.
[4] See The Hallowe’en party.
[5] See The
Knott End campaign: Sunday 7th November 1965.
[6] The local cinema: Verona Cinema, 93 Lancaster Road, Knott
End-on-Sea, FY6 0AU
Ordnance Survey map (retrieved from Bing Maps, 2024),
showing Fleetwood and Knott End, with the location of Verona Cinema in
Lancaster Road, Knott End, added
[7] On a Sunday: Chris
Woodhead, recalling in the late 1970s the Knott End Campaign, thought that on the Sunday evening, we perhaps went over to Knott End immediately after our own meeting — to start, say, at 8.30 p.m. for an hour.
[8] See On the Knott End coach with Audrey.
[9] Shard Bridge:
Photo taken soon after its opening in 1864
2. I remember Nando Terranova, an Italian who belonged to our church and was part of the instrumental group that played on Sunday evenings, giving a recital on his accordion; and I assume that Angela Bidle, Pastor’s daughter, would have sung a few numbers too, for she sang regularly at church. Then John Nelson Parr spoke.
"Nando Terranova" — attempting to catch and swallow a peanut in the late 1960s
"Angela Bidle…", "Pastor…" — late 1960s
"John Nelson Parr" — ca.1970
3.
Attendance by the locals was poor — the cinema was almost empty — and
not many decisions for Christ were recorded.
On the Knott End coach with Audrey
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