Web Page No 2616

14th September 2019

Weights and Measures

We have to thank Maureen for this contribution

1st Picture. A traditional bacon slicer

 2nd Picture. A typical corner shop

 3rd Picture. Charlotte Street Market

4th Picture. Weighing up loose sugar

Waitrose is starting a trial aimed at reducing packaging by removing plastic from flowers and plants and offering more loose fruit and vegetables.

Customers will be able to use their own containers to buy and refill produce such as pasta, rice and cereals.

The supermarket chain, part of John Lewis & Partners, also says it will be the first to offer "pick and mix" frozen fruit.

It says it wants to find out how people might shop in the future.

A wonderful statement from Waitrose! but didn't we shop like that in the past?

When rationing was still alive in Britain our family shopped in a small grocers in Southsea, even after they moved to Drayton in 1940.  I think it was called Butlers and the manager was Mr Pook , who lived 'over the hill'. Mr Pook would collect our little red cash book with the weekly shopping list on his way to work and then deliver the groceries to us on his way home in the evening. But I loved to visit the shop, just a tiny corner shop connected to the house next door, the smell still lingers now; smoked bacon and the terrifying bacon slicer - as thick or as thin as you required.  All groceries were sold loose and to watch Mrs Butler and Mrs Francis making a blue sugar bag and weighing in the sugar, dried fruits, pulses, flour etc or carving off a chunk of butter and moulding it into a fancy pat with the butter paddles was magic.  Biscuits came in large tall rectangular tins with glass lids and Mrs Butler would allow my brother and I to lift the lid and choose one biscuit each as a treat. I always fancied working...no... owning my own corner shop with the shelves neatly stacked.

We would also visit Charlotte Street by bus to get the fresh vegetables and fruit. Mother had her regular stalls to visit, salads from Mrs Deacon, mushrooms from 'the mushroom man and all the other vegetables from Ship's  in Meadow Street.  You took your own bag and the potatoes went in first then swede, carrots and parsnips followed by apples, pears and bananas and any delicate stuff perched on the top, no bags except the one you brought with you, although tomatoes always went in a little brown bag and you bought what you could carry.

Then later in our teenage years, do you remember the shop towards the top of Cosham High Street [I believe it is now Barnado's]  formerly Greggs where you could watch skillful young ladies carving full slices of ham from a whole, bone in ham then it changed to a shop full of great big bins where you could buy just the amount that suited you of every cereal under the sun.  You could buy dried fruit, flours, grains, pulses, sweets, well everything.

So Mr Waitrose, remember, Life is a circle, what we experience now has been experienced in the past for time immemorial. Fashions come and go and come back again and the good ones stay forever.

Stay in touch

Peter

gsseditor@gmail.com

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News and Views:

On this day 14th September 1960-65:

On 14/09/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was Down Drury Lane to Memory Lane - A Hundred and One Strings. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/09/1961 the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was First Mothercare shop opens in Surrey.

On 14/09/1962 the number one single was She's Not You - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Pot Luck - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/09/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/09/1964 the number one single was You Really Got Me - Kinks and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 14/09/1965 the number one single was (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.