Working At The Greengrocers

A Memory of Dagenham.

At the far end of this parade of shops stood Ledgers the greengrocers, which was owned and run by the Ledger family for many years. I worked there on Saturdays and holidays with their eldest son Jamie; he and I did a lot of growing up together over those years! Jim, Jamie's father, had a Ford Thames van with windows and bench seats, the forerunner of today's modern 'people carrier'. We would set off at some unearthly hour in the van to Spitalfields Market to collect fruit and veg for the day's business. Humping a 56lb bag of potatoes on each shoulder and lifting and carrying the wooden crates of goods were all part of what we just got on and did - no time for moaning! Then it was back to the shop to have everything set up for opening time, usually around 8.00 to 8.30. We were on our feet all day, serving the seemingly never ending queue of local ladies out doing their weekly shop. Everything was weighed out separately and the bill added up on a piece of paper - no calculators then! There was one lady I remember who we all diligently avoided as she ALWAYS queried our sums. In summer, there were seasonal soft fruits available and anything that was left on Saturday evening which wouldn't keep until Monday was given to us lads. Cycling home with punnets of strawberries and raspberries is perhaps one of my fondest memories! And the smell of beetroots being boiled out back in the gas fired Copper - don't get that in Tesco!