The Goose

A Memory of Mitcham.

I went to Mitcham Grammar in the fifties, turning left out of the school gates you could walk up to a small parade of shops.
There was a small grocery shop on the corner owned by a rather corpulent elderly man. He had a huge white goose (well it looked huge to us!) which always stood outside the shop and would go for us boys if we got anywhere near it. It usually looked a bit scruffy with a "fringe" rather dirty feathers around the bottom of its body.

It always amused me that when the owner in his rather dirty white coat stood outside the shop with his hands behind his back with the goose standing next to him, both gazing across the road to the common, how alike they looked.


Added 29 January 2012

#234862

Comments & Feedback

I beleive that this shop was Tylers, which just about sold everything from vegetables to parafin. The Parade of shops to the left og this was henry's Sweet sop, A butchers shop and a mens haidressers with the Beehive Pub a few more doors on.
Thanks for that.
There's been a lot of responses to my original post, as there have been to many others of mine and those of everyone else.
But somehow the site had deleted them all except the original posts.
When I don't know, as I hadn't looked at it for some time. Maybe during an "upgrade."
I did ask the company, , they said they'd look into it. but haven't had a reply
Although they did say they'd alter a photograph of Ravensbury Park which had the caption "The River Thames" under it and replace it with "The River Wandle." when I mentioned it a couple of weeks back, for which they thanked me..
I too remember Tylers as Mr Tyler once took my family and me on our holidays in his black car as we didn't own one. This must have been in the early 1950's. The sweet shop I remember as Hendras with Bartons the grocers next door. He used to deliver my mother's groceries on his bike to where we lived over the Beehive Bridge in Brenley Close. Many happy memories of Mitcham with the seven islands as our playground and the biggest fair in Europe every August opposite the Three Kings pub.
I worked for Fred Tyler for some time, filling people's paraffin cans.I was in touch with two of his nieces for many years. Hendricks the sweet shop at the end, we used to steal lemonade bottles from his back yard, then take then in the shop to get the money on them. He caught us out eventually. There was also a barbers shop there, I hated it because all he knew was short back and sides......davecabot@hotmail.com
Oh my goodness, you've all taken me back ! I used to drive Mr Hendra mad spending 10 minutes deciding on what sweets to have for my few pennies. I remember Tyler's, my mum always called him Cowboy Joe, although I have no idea why. My friend Tess and i used to take Sparrowhawk's cart horse out onto the common to ride, no proper saddle or bridle !

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