I Andrew Alan Matthews was born in 1968 at 12 Tatton close, Grange
Estate Winsford, Cheshire England, The family moved to Whayala in
Australia when I was 6 Months old as my dad got a job working on the
ship yards.
I do not have much recollection of my childhood in Australia like most
people of a young age, although there are a few snippets I do remember,
such as, a line of Hairy caterpillars that my dad put into a circle
which went around and around for ages. also during a locust invasion
collecting Locusts in a jar to keep for later to play with.
On the way back home from Australia on board ship I remember collecting
a toy car from Santa dressed up as a toy soldier made out of paper and I
can still remember the smell of fresh baking bread wafting in from the
kitchens, also colouring in a picture whilst during a storm at sea. We
had to return back home to England because my Dad became ill and was
given 6 months to live by the Australian doctors.
Once back in England we stayed at Grandma Dolly Matthews house in
Garthorpe Road Northern Moor. We did not stay in Northern Moor for long
and we moved to 222 Princess Road Moss Side Manchester.
My first recollection in Moss side was going to a School on Princess
Road, I did not like it there and was being bullied so my mum and Dad
moved me to Claremont Road Junior School. I met Mark Egerton at this
School and met Ricardo Cowie there as well.
I first met Ricky when he gave me a bit of cheek and was bragging about
what he had, Ricky said I punched him in the face for bragging. He says
that taught him a valuable lesson in life of not to brag and says he
respected me for.
I had lots of fun at Claremont Junior School getting up to lots of
mischief with two friends, Alver lindo and Geoffrey finlayson who were
Black and cocks of the school. I remember Lifting up girls skirts and
getting up to mischief.
We used to collect football cards that had bubble gum inside and we
would flick them up against the school playground wall to win money and
cards. My favorite football player was Colin Bell and we always played
football on the streets.
I was in trouble a few times at School, one time was when I looked after
the school terrapins, I put them in the Pottery Kiln and put the food in
the teacher’s desk. I nearly got the cane for that.
My dad said that he had to come into my school on one occasion because I
had pushed three kids down the stairs putting one in hospital, I do not
remember doing that but my dad stuck up for me and said that if three
lads were pushed down the stairs they must have been trying to gang up
on me and if so why weren’t they questioned.
There was a school trip I went on with Mark and we played football in
the dark, when Mr Bernstein the head teacher saw us play and picked us
for the football team. I remember waiting for the team coach only to
find out I was not picked, But Mark was. I was gutted.
There was also a Sunday school I used to go to with my sister on
Claremont Road and it was very darkly lit and spooky, I used to play
with lots of toys and table football. Geoffrey Finlayson also took me to
church in Wythenshawe and we watched a weird budget film where all the
actors were black. I was the only white face in the congregation.
Ricky and I also went searching around the back alley ways collecting
old push bikes that were left in the alleys and old derelict houses. we
collected so many that they filled up my dads air raid shelter and
Ricky’s air raid shelter. We began to make bikes from these parts and
made around thirty bikes which we then sold in Nev's second hand shop
which was located on the corner of Claremont Road and Cowesby Street. we
made a lot of money.
Our last bike we made did not have enough parts, it was missing an inner
tube for the front wheel, so we filled it with newspaper in a split in
the tyre and painted the tyre black to disguise it, the peddles spindle
was loose and the front handle bars did not fit well. We advertised it
outside Nev's shop and a Chinese man took a test drive on it, he got on
it peddled half way down the road, the spindle gave way, the handle bar
began to swivel and he hit a ditch in the Road and the front wheel split
in half sending him sprawling on the floor and grazing his face, he came
chasing after us, never to catch or see us again.
We set up a puncture repair service. And Peter Egerton gave us his bike
to repair, we fixed the puncture at 5p a patch, it was a measly amount
to pay for just one puncture so we made a few more in the tyre, it ended
up costing him a few quid. Peter also saw that we had a new set of
wheels for his BMX and he wanted to buy them so we said we will fit them
for a fiver. we took his bike back to Rickys yard and looked at his old
wheels, they were perfectly good wheels so we cleaned all the rust off
them and made them shiny and new using duraglit. we took the bike back
an hour later and he was chuffed to bits and handed his fiver to us, he
was non the wiser.
There was also a man called Keith. we called him keith the thief because
he was the only one who conned us. we fixed his gears by taking them
apart and cleaning them we charged him a fiver for this but he never
paid us.
My friends and I used to hop on a bus to go to the Civic Centre in
Wythenshawe where we bought records from the market. My sisters friends
brother Mr Garside owned the stall, he lived on Princess Road and looked
like giant haystacks the wrestler, he had thousands of records piled up
in his house and he could get you any record you liked. My first record
was walking on the moon by the police. I also loved The Jam and Madness
was our favourite band.
Ricky, Mark, Michael and I used to go on long bike rides we would often
cycle to Reddish Vale to get to see some green fields and fresh air. We
would also ride to Tatton Park and back stopping off at Ashley and doing
a bit of scrumping for apples in the local farms. On one occasion a
farmer came out behind a tree with a shotgun and shouted "GET ORFF MY
LAND" and shot the gun in the air. We were scared but had a laugh about
it afterwards. On the way back home there was a steep hill 1 in 10
incline and we used to freewheel down it at speed. One time Ricky fell
off at the bottom of the hill and spilled his sweets all over the Road
he was nearly hit by a car as he was collecting them again.
Extracted from “A history of my life
to date” by Andrew Alan Matthews, an artist who grew up at Moss
Side, Manchester in the 70s. For the full story of Andrew, all his
mischiefs and achievements, ups and downs, including a dark period
of mental illness triggered by work-related stress and how he
struggled and gradually regained his life, please click
here.
You can also find Andrew’s art at his website: andrewalanmatthews.co.uk
Here is one example:
"Where The Good Things Are" by Andrew Alan Matthews