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How times change


 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/15/uk-snow-police-warn-young_n_2478912.html?utm_hp_ref=uk


UK Snow: Police Warn Youngsters Not To Throw 'Anti-Social' Snowballs

 
ROEHAMPTON. Village. Vintage. - Click Image to Close
Taken around 1915 (well before the Alton Estate was built) showing fountain

 On New Years eve/day during the great freeze up of 1963, I and a number of friends emerged from the Earl Spencer (now it seems no longer there !) in Roehampton having celebrated the arrival of the New Year.



The Earl Spencer circa 1915

On the other side of the Roehampton fountain, we observed a police patrol car and 3 officers trying to push the car out of an accumulation of snow which had the car well and truly stuck. Immediately grasping this rare opportunity, we began bombarding the the police with very well aimed snowballs. Horror of horrors ! They  resorted to their usual police brutality tactics and retaliated with great enthusiasm catching both me and a couple of my friends with snowball blows to head and chest. The battle continued for some time and drew a number of passing spectators, until finally exhaustion on both sides concluded the matter as a draw. To the sound of applause from the audience, we joined the police and very quickly had the stuck patrol car out of the snow (they never did explain how they managed to get the thing stuck in the first place), exchanged "Happy New Year" greetings and watched them disappear up Medfield Street towards Puntney Heath. We staggered off home. Ah, those were the days. (It rather puts this silly news item into some perspective.)
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