Happy Days

A Memory of Wokingham.

I went to Wescott Road school in 1950 then St Crispins 1956. I can recall quite a few shops. Herrings furniture where you could buy on HP with no checks, as Mr Herring assessed whether or not you looked trustworthy. NSS newsagents. Next door was a chemist who washed my eye out after getting grime in it from a passing steam train when I lived in Waterloo road. Baxters butchers. Cliffords dairies. Somerscales fish and chips managed by Mr Chipper, no kidding. The Redan pub. Husseys ironmongers who I did a paraffin round for after school. Other shops I worked for when still at school. Paper round for Langleys, I couldn't lift the bag until I had done 1/3 of the round with the bag balanced on the handle bars. Grocery round for Parmantier at Shute end opposite Tudor House. Then my favourite on Saturday morning was a grocery round for Earleys in Rose Street. Mrs Earley was seldom seen without a fag on.
Back to Peach Street, there was Keith Manning motorbikes, the blacksmith and then Central garage with Lynne Lewis on the pumps. We quite often popped in for a chat. She was going out with Mick Byde at the time. Still have fond memories of his brother Willy. The Welcome Inn, TSB bank, Shoe shop, Fletchers fruit and veg with Vic and Keith, Woolies, Jarmans, Imp Café, Hairdressers, David Langley bookies, Colebrooks fishmonger, Barclays, Ye Olde Rose Inn. Home and Colonial, Red Lion, Boots, Bush Hotel, Heelas department store, Timothy, White and Taylor chemist. Mustn't forget Pop Flint manager of Dewhurst butcher, Bowyer pet shop who held on and now the last independent to go and signal the end of our fabulous town. There was Bullocks ironmongers, Hopkins tobacconist, Wheatsheat and Roebuck pubs. Trills cycles, Pandoras Box, Westminster Wine co. Prudence hairdressers, Pops café which was our hang out. I stayed at Pops for a while in the front room on 1st floor with Mick Byde and Wokingham window cleaner Paddy Powell. Little known fact about Paddy is that he was a Royal Marines bandsman and at 7 in the morning he would blow reveille. Can do more but no space,