The School Sweet Shop

Between the cross and the school an enterprising elderly lady had converted her front room into a sweet shop, the front window suitably altered to offer a display of sweets to tempt and tantalise the children on their way to school. It seemed there was always a group of children gazing and pondering what their […]

Ted Meredith – Timber Merchant

Before the rise of the ubiquitous pine forests, and the advent of power, the timber trade thought in terms of large trees of Oak, Elm and Beach – and for power they relied on horses. It was a grand sight to see four or five huge trees laying along a timber carriage, this was a […]

Nellie Well Oooh!

In the area of Manthrig Lane, there lived an elderly lady who everyone called “Nellie Well OOH”. The nickname came about because of her habit of exclaiming ‘Well OOH!’ continuously throughout her conversations. She made a precarious living selling shoes from her front room, often on credit, many a harassed mother was glad to take […]

Johnnie Bag O’ Wind

On leaving school, aged fourteen years, one of my first places of employment was with a village farmer whose farm buildings were situated opposite the school, adjoining the auction yards. His land, however, was down a lane at the junction of Severn Street and Chapel Street, this meant that the animals had to be driven […]

Jack The Clocky

At the end of the bridge, facing onto Severn Street, with a view right down Bridge Street, stood a galvanised building with a shop window in the front. This was the home of Old Jack the clock repairer. He could be seen sitting in the window, working away on his watches and clocks, almost every […]

Clog Makers

An article on television about the making of clogs on the banks of rivers, where the Alder trees grow brought back some pleasant memories of times past. In my school days and teenage years it was quite normal to see teams of two or three men working along the river banks in the spots where […]