Comments on: Barbara Jezewska, Teacher

By: Roz Alderson

Roz Alderson — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 17:32:00 +0000

Hey Barbara ( Jezewska ) I don’t know why but I had it in my head that you were in interior design. Hope life is treating you well, are you retired yet? A son, Adam. Wow, little ones? I wasted my years at CF. I was troubled, I guess.
Anyway, hope everything is ok with you. Thankyou for remembering me.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 22:09:52 +0000

I do indeed remember you . We were never in the same class but we “ clicked” and had a few laughs together . Yes , my best friend was Barbara Marling and we still keep in touch . I hope life has been good to you and that you were as happy at CFS as I was . Sending very best wishes to you and yours .

By: Rosanne (Roz) Alderson

Rosanne (Roz) Alderson — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 12:45:24 +0000

Barbara you probably don’t remember me, you seemed to always be with the other Barbara. I don’t recall her surname. Anyway, I remember you. My impression of you back then was that you were one of the clever ones who would go very far in life.
My family, before I was born, lived in Hanbury Street and I grew up on the Boundary Estate. I smiled when I read that you taught for a while at Virginia Road Primary School. That was my school before I went to CF.
I was sad to hear Mrs Dunford had died. To hear such a fabulous ball of energy who’s teaching was before the times had been taken by Alzheimer’s just felt extremely cruel.
Hope all goes well with you.
Fondly Roz

By: David Hoffman

David Hoffman — Sun, 31 Oct 2021 17:03:27 +0000

Stinky Sheridan was a regular at the wet crypt under St Botolph’s church. Some time around 1980 the kindly crew who ran the shelter scooped him up and found him a place to live out his days on a farm.

By: Linda Porter

Linda Porter — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 21:58:56 +0000

I also went to CFGS. Although I was born in Stoke Newington, a large part of my childhood was spent around Spitalfields. My Father was born just off Petticoat Lane, and his family, Russian Jews from Vilna, lived in Princelet Street. No running hot water, and an outside loo. It was such a rich, diverse, and vibrant community, and your article resurrected some wonderful, happy memories of both CFGS, and Spitalfields. My daughter’s Hen Party weekend was spent in London, and part of it was a Jack The Ripper Tour. It was quite embarrassing as I knew more about the area than the tour guide!

By: Dave Minter

Dave Minter — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 11:15:55 +0000

‘There were several tramps that I remember. Coco worked for the stallholders and slept in an empty building on the corner of Black Lion Yard, every morning he came out with his bucket of slops and threw it over onto the bomb site. Stinky Sheridan had one leg and used to sell matches in Whitechapel Rd.’…….. As a young man working in the East End in the 60’s, I remember both of these characters. Coco did lots of work for the stallholders around the Brick Lane / Whitechapel Road area. His job was to move the empty stalls into position at the very beginning of the day and put the stalls away when business had finished. He always wore the biggest boots I’d ever seen (no laces, no socks and his feet were the colour of coal). ‘Stinky’ Sheriden (his real name was Michael and he originated from the Midlands area) was a hugely complicated character. In the late 1950’s or early 1960’s he had received an insurance payout for a traffic accident which resulted in the loss of his leg. He became an alcoholic and ended up either sleeping rough or in the hostels that were around the East End. In the afternoon he could often be found around the entrances to Aldgate East or Whitechapel tube stns selling his boxes of matches.

By: Christine Beesley

Christine Beesley — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:08:08 +0000

As an CFS girl I am fascinated by this account of Barbara’s life. The story of her early life was the story of many of us.

By: Richard Smith

Richard Smith — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 09:31:42 +0000

I enjoyed reading today’s blog about Barbara. I found it interesting, the details of her growing up in the East End were fascinating. I am reminded that truly every one has their tale to tell. Thank you GA.

By: Marcia Howard

Marcia Howard — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:07:21 +0000

A wonderful story. I reckon Barbara and I would get on well!
So many families were moved out to what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. In the flats where I grew up, I was friendly with a little girl called Jill who with her family moved from London out to Dagenham sometime during the 1950s, where her father had got a new job. I never saw her again, but missed her for a long time. Her little brother Philip shared my birthday, so have never forgotten that either.

By: Andy Strowman

Andy Strowman — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 05:49:17 +0000

This is a really beautiful story. Dziekhuye Bardszo