When food was rationed she had to go to the particular shops. Bevan’s was the butchers. She was registered with Denby’s on Ham Parade which is where the Bistro is now. There was a Mr Denby there for our groceries and I’m not sure about the bread. We didn’t have supermarkets then and she would shop in Kingston market – she was fond of Kingston Market. I’m not quite sure about the other food. The shop which is now Newsbox has always been a newsagent. You could buy sweeties and things there. The greengrocer was there for a very long time.

We had bread and milk and yogurt delivered. I can’t remember who delivered bread. I think it was the Co-op on Ham Parade. There were the three shops on this side of the Parade at the angle going into Tudor Drive and they were built as Co-op shops.  There was a chemist and butchers and a grocers and they didn’t last very long.

Bentalls used have a toy fair every year and they would have a lovely procession through the town. All the staff would dress up as clowns and that sort of thing and it would start at the top of the road where we had British Aerospace or Hawker Siddeley Aviation. They would start from there and they would just parade with their floats all through the town to open the toy fair in Bentalls.  This would be 50s and 60s. The children would all want to go and see it. Of course it was publicity for the toy fair. We used to enjoy that. Then it got too difficult, with the traffic, so that was one of things that stopped.

Mr Denby who ran the grocers, I remember him and the chap who brought the greengrocers van round, Ted Mason, – a jolly chap. His wife took the orders door to door and he got them off the van and delivered them