‘I GREW UP IN A CORNER SHOP!’
The Ferrone family are back and running a local store
Annabel Crabb and Carol Ferrone and her family – husband Peter and their children, Julian, Sienna and Olivia – are once again venturing back into the past for ABC’S Back In Time series. This time, they’re only going up the road – to the beloved corner shop! Here, Carol tells Woman’s Day why the corner shop holds such a special place in not only her heart, but our nation’s.
Did you jump at the chance to do a new season of
Back In Time?
Yes, absolutely! Surprisingly, I thought I’d have to convince Sienna to jump on board after the calf’s head incident in season 2 but she was just as excited as we all were when we got the call to run our own corner shop through history.
Why do you think the show resonates with viewers?
I think first and foremost because we make learning Australian history relatable as well as relevant. Our audience gets to experience our history – the good and the bad, not through dated history books or academics but through us – an everyday Australian family that they can relate to.
Who was your favourite special guest who visited the corner shop?
Personally, my favourite guest was Jeff Fatt, aka “Wake up Jeff”. My children grew up being fans of the original Wiggles and so we spent many (and I mean many!) days yelling, “Wake up Jeff!” to our TV screens. Meeting him and hearing his stories of his childhood spent working in his grandfather’s family store and how Chinese immigrants brought many new products and new foods to our country, while facing discrimination, brought a whole new element to the persona of “Wake up Jeff” that we’ve grown to love since our children were small.
What’s your favourite corner shop memory?
I actually grew up in a corner shop. From the time I arrived in Australia, aged eight till age 14, I went to before and after school care with a wonderful family who ran the local corner shop. My parents would drop me off at 6am every day and pick me up at 6pm, so I have quite vivid memories of corner shop life in the early 1980s. The highlight for me was actually greeting the delivery men each morning – the clinking of crates of milk bottles, the smell of baskets of fresh bread being delivered and the thud of the piles of newspapers tied with string thrown at the door each morning. The same faces would come in each morning for their handful of groceries and the paper and a quick chat with Norm and Leila, the corner shop owners. Leila
‘If I was lucky I was given a handful of one-cent lollies’
would watch me cross the main road to school, and if I was lucky I was given a handful of one-cent lollies to take to school with me. Back then, the corner shop was the little centre of the community where everyone would come for their grocery staples, the local news and gossip!
What was your favourite era in the corner shop?
My favourite era/shop was the 1950s – the corner shop is vibrant and colourful and looks like something from a teen movie! Our corner shop becomes a place not only to shop but to spend time and socialise. We have a pinball machine, we have milkshakes and confectionery, and so now not only are housewives spending money in our shop but their children and teenagers are as well! I’m excited that I get to drive a car, which means freedom for us women! Unlike the 1850s, when women were confined to the back of the shop, now we have the freedom to live a life outside of the kitchen! Little do I realise that this spells trouble for our corner shop as this also means that housewives are no longer confined to walking to their local corner shop for groceries as this newfound mobility means that they can now drive to the supermarket and stock up on groceries for the week.
BACK IN TIME FOR THE CORNER SHOP Tuesday, 8pm, ABC & ABC iview