The Broadway 1979 1980

A Memory of Southall.

I was born in the house on South Avenue that my mum lived her entire life in until her death in 2006, I vividly remember a few shops on the Broadway from this period, including Safeway (now a small arcade. A short way along heading east was a tiny butchers with sawdust on the floor, then the post office, Air India travel agents, Paul Tregessers the bakers (the best in town), then crossing over the zebra crossing heading back west was Atlas Book (a newsagents/stationers), a tiny dry cleaners (the boss of which my mum called 'the genius' due to his knowledge of stain removal), a photo studio, Coombes the bakers, a shoe shop, Moss the chemist, a huge Woolworths, the alley/entrance to the Labour Club (where my grandad was the barman), another shoe shop, Singers the sewing machine shop, a massive Asian fabric store on the corner, a few shops further down was the infamous Evans toy/pram store next door to a wet fish shop (was his name Roe?). Back to the other side - my memory is patchy but there was Tony's newagents, a sports shop, and a clothes shop on the corner of Northcoate Avenue, the bank of Baroda, and Co-op or Presto on the corner of Alexandria. I remember the barrow boy veg stall next to Lloyds bank, Burtons on the big corner opposite the town hall (which had a men's barbers in the basement) and that's about it. The reason this is in an odd order is because it was the 'circuit' around the shops that my mum would take to ensure that everything she brought went in her shopping trolley in order - spuds at the bottom, breakables at the top etc - I would have to go with her every day on school holidays (Tudor Road) so it became ingrained on my 10 year old mind. What I hated then I'd give anything now to have just one hour of it back. Hope you haven't lost the will to live reading this, maybe someone will find it of interest. I miss Southall, because I miss my mum dearly and the two are bound together for me. Thanks for the site.

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