Listeners acclaim the Huntingdonshire Nostalgia show.

Community Memories Spark Powerful Response to Ouse Valley Radio’s “Over to You”.

Karl Brockett, Julie Brockett and Norman Knapper, hosts of the Huntingdonshire Nostalgia Show on the first Monday of each month at 7pm, as part of the Over to You series of programmes, have said the response reflects the “living archive” held within local residents: we get some amazing feedback from our listeners and the nostalgia facebook group.  Here’s what one listener said:-

“Good morning,  I love your radio show and the nostalgia memories you share with everyone. It’s like being in the same room together as you talk us through the past nostalgic moments.  I have written a bit about your recent show to share with you.   Keep up the great work you three are doing for the nostalgia over to you. Can’t wait for the next episode”
Regards,
Marion B
Gt Stukeley

Ouse Valley Radio’s recent Nostalgia programme has prompted heartfelt reaction from listeners, including a touching handwritten letter from one of our long‑standing community members. Their reflections capture the deep emotional connection residents hold to the early days of Oxmoor, in the New Town era, and the families who shaped the district’s identity.

The listener, moved by the stories shared on air, offered vivid recollections of life in Harold Hill, Romford, and the transition to Huntingdonshire — memories that echo the experiences of thousands who arrived during the great post‑war resettlement.

They describe how families helped build the community from the ground up:

• Residents on the Oxmoor donating a week’s wages and buying bricks to raise money for essential community buildings.
• Weekly collections where “someone would come round” to gather contributions — a testament to the solidarity of early estate life.
• The limited amenities of the time, with Lord Driver’s hall being “the only community place there was.”
• Regular journeys back to Essex — Harlow, Basildon, Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield — as families maintained ties between the New Towns that defined a generation.

Their letter also recalls the landscape before development:

• Streets that “were not there to start with,” stretching only as far as Thongsley and the Wadtons.
• Fields surrounding the early homes, including their own at No. 42, before Huntingdon expanded into the town we know today.
• A father who worked not at Ford’s, as some believed, but as a caretaker at Romford Library, later taking a job at Silent Channel.

These memories — personal, precise, and deeply rooted — highlight why nostalgia content resonates so strongly across Huntingdonshire. They remind us that behind every street name and every estate lies a story of migration, hope, and community effort.

“Every letter, every message, every memory shared with us helps rebuild the story of Huntingdonshire from the voices who lived it. This is exactly why we do what we do.”

Ouse Valley Radio continues to champion local storytelling, ensuring that the voices of Huntingdonshire’s past remain part of its present.  We  hope that this is a positive development for the radio and our nostalgia journey via Ouse Valley Radio.