Interview with Bob Bunn (b.1934) about moving to Bletchley and his subsequent lifestyle.

Bob Bunn says he has thrived in Bletchley: playing golf, going to all the Balls, these are things he would never have done in London. The surroundings, like Brickhill Woods, are ideal for taking the kids for walks. When he and his wife first moved to Bletchley they had only suitcases, and bought a bed on the market when they arrived. They had no other furniture at all: ‘we used to take the back seat out the car and we used to sit on that’. The wardrobes were eventually moved down from his mother’s house. He recalls David Taylor, their first milkman. Their council house was not new, which was disappointing, but it was much better than London.

He remembers the Queen’s visit well: ‘The Queen was going down Queensway. The police let me through ‘cos I lived here. So I had an open top car didn’t I and my wife was driving at the time and my hand was stuck out the open roof, I was waving to everybody, and the Police were saying, ‘Get out of it!”

He talks of the old washing machines he hired out, their disadvantages and breakdowns. He remembers stories about his mobile shop; and he recalls some of his neighbours and friends – Ernie Matthews (a pigeon fancier), the Cotters, the Shaughnessys and Joan Burchell. But he’s still not a wealthy man: in 1974 he went into the building trade and ended up seriously in debt. He describes his current lifestyle: playing golf five times a week is important to him. His wife says, ‘You play golf love. If you don’t you’ll kill yourself in the pub.’ His wife plays bingo five nights a week. When he had to have a hip replacement and couldn’t play golf, he drank every day, which caused a blood clot and heart problems.