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I see from the other topic that it's not in Hants. LOL

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  • 1 month later...

Corner shops - they were on every street corner in my day.

My lady lived in a terrace house on Kirkby Street in the Meadows and close by there were two corner shops where Bunbury St joined it, about half way down. One was the Offie where I'd go to fetch the father in law a bottle of Shipstones Brown. That would be about 50 years ago by my reckoning.

I remember going in there - on the counter they had a copper spillage tray with a lid full of holes for 'dispensing' draught ales ( if you took your own bottle ), and I remember the guy holding his hand out for the money and he had 'Thankyou' tattooed on his palm.

The last time I walked down there, the houses had gone, a primary school stands where I used to say goodnight to my sweet-heart but it all came flooding back.

Great times.

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Thanks Cliff ton for a quick reply.

Wow - that's the spot exactly and that's the offie!

Photo taken 5 yards from my wife's ( g/f then ) front door right behind the photographer.

Carry on up the road and there was the barbers half way up....' anything for the weekend sir ?...'

Sammy Perkins lived across the road.

I did my courting for at least 5 - 6 years walking down that street before they were rehoused on the new Crescent and many a time, I had to sprint up there to get my last bus home on London Rd opposite Ryehill St.

It all floods back.... the scullery kitchen one step down from the back room, the outside toilet at the bottom of the yard - we had a couple of candles in there when it was freezing, and I remember the Father I/L pointing out the mark on the wall where the 1947 floods reached.

The picture just misses the lamp post on the nearer corner which in a way contributed to us deciding to get engaged.

Thanks again - I'll go to bed tonight with a happy smile.

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  • 2 weeks later...

They certainly have Mercury,.......early Mornings to late nights,the concept was taken from a set up in the states called 7-11 stores,........i worked for the VG organisation some 40 yrs ago and they were some of the first to realise that the 'Convienience' image was the way to go for Private Shopkeepers,......ofcourse all the 'big boys do it nowadays......funny really the idea originally behind it was to combat them..........

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My local corner shop was on Whittingham Road in Mapperley (Porchester Gardens) between Hilton Road and Kent Road and was run by the Houghtons, an Irish family. Mr Houghton wasn't seen much (think he was often ill) but Mrs Houghton was always serving. As I was only a lad I was mostly there to get a 10p mix (bubbly gum, refreshers, licorice, penny chews) or the odd item for me mam. Anyone else remember this shop? When the Houghtons packed up (which was the 80s guess) and left the shop was converted into a house and so isn't there anymore.

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The private small groups consisted of ,Spar/Vivo,Mace,VG,APT,Wavy line,Alliance and Maid Marian,............VG were never very strong in the Nottingham area and the few i remember were.......Johnsons Carlton Hill,Roberts Southwark st,Thompsons Bilborough,Potters Stapleford,Beaumonts Gedling and Cotgrave and Walthams East Bridgford.

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Thanks for that Cliff-ton,.............it was me that got Mr.Roberts to join the VG set up.......he was my first new account.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, I've waited in vain for anyone to say they remember the shop on the corner of Marshall Street and Hood Street in Sherwood so here's a few memories from someone who lived in a corner shop.

My mother and I moved there in 1961 and left in 1967 after the long hours got too much for her, plus I had started work and was bringing in a bit of money (£6 10s 6d a week initially).

Opening hours were 9am to 8pm on weekdays. I forget what time we closed on Saturdays, plus it was 10am to 4pm on Sundays (had to get used to a late dinner). Initially my mother used to close from 2pm to 5pm on Mondays, but then that spread to Tuesdays as well, and eventually, partly due to needing the rest and partly due to there being so few customers on weekday afternoons she also closed from 2pm to 4pm on Wednesdays to Fridays.

The thing about staying open until 8pm was that in those days supermarkets and so on used to close around 5.30pm or so, and it was in the evenings that a lot of the trade was done.

I can't remember everything we used to sell, but here's a good few of the items:

Sweets (the jars can be seen in the photo), also including an assortment of 1d and other items for children, e.g. liquorice, chews, aniseed balls (4 for a penny), shrimps, fried eggs, Cadbury's chocolate in the 1d, 2d and 3d sizes as well as the 6d (we also sold all the usual Mars, Kit-Kat, etc, etc), sweet cigarettes, lucky bags. Also small boxes of chocolates, e.g. Dairy Box.

Initially we sold ice cream, but we stopped because my mother complained the number of ice creams that started to come around (Mr. Whippy, Mr. Softee, etc) had taken the trade away.

Potatoes and onions (loose), tinned goods of all kinds, soap powder, meat and fish paste - I think it was St. Ivel that were the small 6d jars, cheese spread (Primula), cigarettes and tobacco.

Bread and cakes - we used to have regular orders from people. We were supplied by three vans that used to come around every day - Turner's (Sunblest), Wonderloaf and Lander's.

Crisps - no multi-packs in those days. Smith's were the standard at 4d a packet, and were delivered to us in square tins. Then Golden Wonder came on the scene, and not only undercut Smith's by selling for 3d but also were ready salted, plus they also made other flavours. They were also revolutionary in supplying the packets in cardboard boxes.

Milk - just ordinary, although we'd occasionally stock some gold top, plus we had a regular order for sterilised (came in a different=shaped bottle with a red metal cap).

Bottles of pop (3d back on the bottle)- I forget the brand now, but we stocked lemonade, cream soda, orangeade, dandelion & burdock and limeade. Also bottles of Tizer and Lucozade.

Pre-packed bacon, butter, margarine, loose cheese (although only cheddar - Cow & Gate) and potted meat which had to be scooped out of the container and weighed out in greaseproof paper.

Bundles of firewood, the stock of which was kept in the cellar, and firelighters.

I'm sure I've left a lot out - anything you want just ask.

This photo (which has appeared elsewhere on this forum in the past) was taken in the earlier years we were there when we were still selling ice cream, plus it shows the old street light which was replaced by the new lighting midway through the period.

Marshall20Street201960s202_zpsopt8paup.j

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Yes - that's the place, although I've not been up that way for over 30 years and found then it had all been demolished. The area just partly in picture on the right used to be waste ground with some garages, wo that looks to have been altered.

Immediately behind the camera in both photos is the steep part of Hood Street - must be at least 1 in 10 or more uphill.

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  • 4 years later...

Admin, sorry i'm 15 years late in replying but I've only just come across this thread.  I think the shop you are thinking of is Vicki Fashions.  I remember buying buying a kipper tie dress there in the late 60s.  It was orange and the tie was silky psychadelic - hey, it was trendy at the time!

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