Mousehill Stores

Mousehill Green 1927
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I was around 5 years of age when my family moved into Mousehill Stores, which would make it 1973. We lived there until I was 9 years old and I still have great memories. I remember steep wooden stairs from the kitchen to an open room above the shop this area was another store room and I can remember hooks still hanging from the beams. The hatch for deliveries still worked and opened out towards the the main road although it wasn't used for that any more then. We would walk across this room to an entrance that lead to the living area, 3 bedrooms one living room and the bathroom a couple of these rooms had a deep step into them. Before we moved into Mousehill Stores, it was being run or owned by Mr and Mrs Arthur Blake. Bella was Arthur's wife's name. The Stores were then known as Burgess Stores. The name changed to Mousehill Stores when it was taken over. My sisters and I used to collect the lemonade and Tizer bottles worth 2 sometimes 5 pence each if we were lucky, from the back of the shop. We would then jump on an old butchers bike loaded with bottles and take them to Henry's which was the store in New Road. After cashing them in at Henry's we'd either spend what we had there on sweets or go down to the chip shop for chips wrapped in newspaper. They were the best chips ever.