WELSH'S GROCERY SHOP

When I was a little girl, my mother, Violet Helmore, would take me into Welsh's regularly to do her shopping. Biscuits could be bought loose then as could sugar tea etc. I always thought that I was a good little girl, but apparently not, as my mother would warn me before entering the shop "Be a good girl, because Mr Ratcliffe (the manager) has a room at the back of the shop, where he keeps naughty little girls in boxes". I had this overwelming fear of Mr Ratcliff, poor innocent man that he was, amd can you imagine what would happen if one was overheard to say such things these days. But we are talking of the early 1950s, and oh the memories of the lovely shops. Mr & Mrs Matthews with her strait-laced hair, but oh the divine sweets they sold. A cornucopia of all things delightful. Then Jenkins fish & chip shop with young Nigel who was in my class at school. The Palladium was THE place to go, both for small children (how I hated Saturday mornings when the boys would shout as Roy Rogers & Trigger would ride into town) and later just the place to go with one's boyfriend. School has no happy memories, but some of the kinder teachers left a lasting happy impression, particularly Mr Inkpen. My grandparents (Rebecca & Arron Rogers) managed The Fir Tree Inn in Redfield Road, and my Aunt Annie Pillinger The Crossways Tavern.