Bon Bon Shop

A Memory of Little Sutton.

The two were certainly there until 1939. They were small and in typical Victorian dress with 'chokers' etc. To me as a child they seemed about 80 but obviously that may be wrong. The shop was full of sweets in glass jars etc and the counter was on the right-hand side. I do not know if they lived behind the shop.
As you went in the door immediately in front of you was a tall (4 foot high?) black cylinder with a 'silver' surround at the top. This was where they stored their ice-cream. It was full of 2d blocks in glassine paper and they then gave you two wafers to hold it. The cylinder had no electric powered refrigeration unit but instead at the bottom were blocks of 'dry ice' ie frozen CO2. These were always supplied by the ice-cream company when they delivered the ice-cream itself. I am 95% sure they stocked Walls ice-cream as black was then the company colour. The only competitor in those days in the area (for non-home-made ice-cream) was a Liverpool company called Walkers (colours green and red on cream background).
The two sisters were always very pleasant. Next door (on the left) was Albert Dale, the village barber, who had a sideline charging accumulators for portable radios. He was for ever having to put down his scissors to get a replacement accumulator (in the form of glass jars full of acid) from his little room at the back. A haircut for boys was 6d. I was once waiting to have mine cut when my father popped in from his surgery two doors away to see I was there ok (about age 5 at the time) and seeing me said "Cut his head off, Albert". After a few more minutes awaiting my turn I decided not to risk it, and went home! I bet that caused a laugh for the others waiting that day for a short back and sides.