| phil |
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HI,when i left school i got a job in this shop which was right next to the antique bookshop near the high street.which was a wool shop then.my boss was George Parker he was a nice man.all the meat was laid out on a marble slab in the window,and on the counter inside,the meat was very fat in those days so most of the fat was cut off ,we had a coal fired large bowl built in with bricks in the back yard ,and rendered all the fat down to dripping.i then had to deliver it to fish and chip shops we served.one in particular was at the top of stanley st in bentley st ,their chips were nice!!!!!.opposite the butchers was a rickety old shop which sold things like shoe polish etc .it was just the front room of a house and very messy.run by a little old man called joe robinson.he would stand on his steps in the morning with small feathers all over him from his bed.he couldnt speak very well just used to growl .
Kate: Anyone remember Phil serving them in the Co-op Butchers Shop?
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| David |
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Yes I remember the Co-op butchers shop. When I was working at J W Hillyer's radio and tv shop across the street during the early 1960's I would sometimes purchase a sausage roll for lunch, occasionally I would get a complimentary porkpie. (these were past their best bfore date). Never the less very welcome as food money was always tight.
Speaking of Joe Robinson, I remember him well and his little "Hole in the wall" shop front. His place was directly through the wall from Hillyers shop. As well as the shoe polish ha also had on display, cards with combs, cards of small screwdrivers and cards with those small Sheffield pocket knives which every kid seemed to own in those days. I think the only time he ever had a customer was when I purchased a small screwdriver for Hillyers service dept. Every day between 9am and 10am you would see Joe heading up to the High Street tapping along with his stick, a "morning Joe" would get a short grunt in reply. It was extremely difficult to understand what he was saying. During that very cold winter the Hillyers became concerned as to Joe's well being and Mr Hillyer and myself went into his place to check on him. Without being asked we went into his private quarters and found him huddled around a tiny gas ring, his only source of heat. But he seemed ok.
I think Joe passed away sometime in the late 60's because when I visited the Hillyers shop in 1970 they had annexed Joe's property and it was now part of their premises.
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| phil |
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david,
ive been trying to remember before they built the new co.op on the corner,was there a few cottages of which one sold wet fish.im starting to think i imagined it.but i do often think of the the the lovely two georgian houses they knocked down and eventualy built,after years,the book shop etc.and they are still messing the town up now.
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| David |
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Phil,
Sorry can't help as I know little about the changes that have taken place in Stamford since 1964/65.
Regards.
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| Peter |
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That was just up the road from Dobb's sweet shop and Esme's Hairdessing salon! I remember it well.
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| Clem Walden |
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The fish & chip shop you mention "Stanley Street" was run by Cyril Hardy, best fish & chips in Stamford, he only cooked each piece of fish as the customer came "he would say whats yours? if he knew you he would ask you by name, he also played the piano very well & could be found in local pubs on Sat or Sunday evenings when most of the pubs had pianos everone would have good old sing-song, including my dad "tinker walden" (Albert Earnest Walden) known as Bert but "tinker" by all the old stamfordians, my ancestors go back some 300 years and were "tinmen & braziers" tinkers.
Old Joe Robinson you mention was well known to me he was a cobbler & did very little trade, from the late 40's he used to go to woolworths & buy a few cheap odds & sods in the 50's then try to sell them in his shop to make a bob or two, he was also a very religious man walked with a limp & always carried a walking stick, I believe Alec Burt also a local man who was a past Mayor, could tell you more about "old Joe Robinson". when I was a boy myself & other local boys used to walk behind him shouting "the devils behind you joe" so he would try to chase us or hit us with his stick, good job my mother & father never knew what we would do, the period for all the above would be 1948-1954 if my memory serves me well.
Kate: Joe didn't realise we would still be remembering him now thanks to these postings.
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| Joan Stafford |
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There was a wet fish shop next to Co-Op butchery called Peaks.
My mother-in-law used to work on the cash till in the Co-Op grocery. she sat in the office and the cash would be sent along a wire, she would then send the change back to the counter.
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