Saussages, Tea Bags, Maggie Thatcher and a bit more

FORGET THE CODEBREAKERS – BLETCHLEY THE HOME OF THE SAUSSAGE, THE TEA BAG, THE HANDBAG AND MORE

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAMMY LEON is not going to be a book about history – history is bunk after all. This will be a book about heritage and within heritage is legend. LEGEND it may have happened, it could have happened, a grain of truth is needed but not a lot more than a grain to create a legend.

 

The northern boundary of the Leon Estate was where the Watling Street went under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Denbigh

Bridge, later to be known as Leon Bridge. South of this boundary Lady Leon sold off some land to build factories, not because she was short of a few bob but because she wanted to provide a source of employment for local people. Just how far South she allowed this sale of land to extend I am not off hand certain and I suspect some of the legends I am about to share are beyond her ladyship’s generosity but this is legend and just as legend does not need history so it takes no account of geography !

 

FORGET BLETCHLY THE HOME OF THE CODEBREAKERS LET’S TALK ABOUT BLETCHLEY THE HOME OF THE SAUSSAGE: Scot

of Bletchley – Makers of the world’s finest cooked meats. That  was not an empty boast. In the days before I became a vegetarian I can personally confirm that nobody ever made a sausage the way Scot did.

 

In the early days of Milton Keynes New City Scot with its factory on the former Leon Land was a major employer, indeed it needed more workers than our  infant new city could provide so ever day ran its own coach service bringing staff up the M1 from London.

 

The Leons were of the Jewish faith son probably would not have indulged themselves with sausage and mash courtesy of Scot but I am certain they would have been proud the factory stood on their land.

 

Sadly, Scot of Bletchley was taken over by some food giant or other and stopped making the

world’s finest  cooked meats.

 

CODEBREAKERS ? NO BLETCHLEY THE HOME OF THE TEABAG: In the same area as Scot was Tetley Tea. Legend says the teabag was developed in different places at different times but as we take Sammy on his 2022 tour there is only one legend we are interested Bletchley The Home Of The Tea Bag. LEGEND it may have happened, it could have happened, a grain of truth is needed but not a lot more than a grain to create a legend.

 

MAGGIE’S HANDBAG: On Tuesday 29^th September 1979 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reportedly opened the Centre MK but if truth be known she was really there to buy a couple of handbags in the John Lewis sale ! That is not a legend, that is a bit of fun. Neither is it a legend, it is a fact that Margaret Thatcher purchased clothes from Aquascutum/Rodex Coats with its factory guess where ? On that former area of land Lady Leon sold for factory development.

 

There is another legend, actually a fact about Maggie’s fashion choice. When Leon School was briefly twinned with Sutter Junior High School in Sacramento California Milton Keynes Development Corporation Milton Keynes Development Corporation gave me £50 to put in the student exchange fund. In return I had to hand out a leaflet advertising Maggie Thatcher buying her clothes in Bletchley !

 

STACK IT HIGH SELL IT CHEAP: I wonder where the Leon Family did its shopping, or where the staff from Bletchley Park did their shopping. No supermarkets between 1883 and 1937 !

 

Elmo and Fine Fare to the best of my memory, and the Co-op of course but I will come to that enter prise in a moment, had small shops which they called supermarkets in Bletchley. When Sainsbury’s opened on the site of the former Bletchley Cattle Market this was exciting for 

residents. However, we all wanted Tesco. How many branches of Tesco are there in Milton Keynes today ?  Too many to count. How many branches of Tesco stand on former Leon land ? A couple including the big supermarket either on the edge or at  least adjacent to the land Lady Leon put up for sale.

In the 1980’s before Tesco found its way into Bletchley my wife and I would drive to Flitwick to partake of its Stack It High Sell It Cheap philosophy.

 

ROYAL MAIL TELECOMS: The first permanent telephones were introduced into England in 1877, that was before the Leons moved into Bletchley Park. By the 1930’s all affluent homes had their own personal telephones. Bletchley Park was an affluent home but looking at a photograph of Lady Leon working at her writing desk I can not see a telephone. No doubt she had a servant to make and receive calls on her behalf.

The mansion in Bletchley Park post World War Two was a training centre for Royal Mail telephone engineers. Forget BT it  had not been invented back then. When we come to talk about the resident ghost of Bletchley Park Mansion it was the head of the training centre who told me of that legend.

 

In the infant days of Milton Keynes New City the longest road in Bletchley was Whaddon Way. Still a major road today back in the Leon’s days it was a country lane crossing their estate.

 

On Tuesday 10^th July 1962 at 10.35am UK time America launched the world’s first telecom satellite – TELSTAR. Twenty-five years after the passing of Lady Leon. Celebrating the launch of Telstar the English pop group The Tornados had a hit record with their version of Teslstar. Standing on Whaddon Way, former Leon Land, was a pub THE SATELITE named after this first ever telecommunication satellite.

 

The once popular watering hole closed not all that long ago. It became a branch of Morrissons Local, my son was actually its manager, and then it became The Co-op. A great little local store it is part of Bletchley’s heritage and is indeed a legend. It has tenuous connections with the Leon Family but it stands on former Leon land. I wrote twice the branch suggesting a plaque be put on the building celebrating its heritage but neither of my letters received an answer. Perhaps as we now wander around in the footsteps of Sammy Leon it is time to approach the Co-op again.

 

LEGEND it may have happened, it could have happened, a grain of truth is needed but not a lot more than a grain to create a legend. Whatever, I hope you have found this chapter a bit of fun.

I am aiming to publish this book in April 2022.

THANK YOU all for showing such interest in these little blog posts. REMEMBER to contact me either use e-mail: dashford566@gmailcom or friend me on facebook and message me.

David

www.maxrobinsonwriter.com