Brooms, buckets and hot chip
SUNDERLAND WOMAN JACKI THEW CONTINUES HER LOOK AT SHOPS IN ROKER AVENUE
Jacki Thew’s memories of shops in Roker Avenue are really impressive. Last week, we told how she recalled everything from David Gilmore’s paper shop to Austin Brown the butchers, and Nelly Master the greengrocers. This week, in our final instalment of her memories, Jacki focuses on the other end of the street.
The Value stores was one of my favourites. It had a massive marble counter with ornate intricate tiles on the wall at the back of the counter. I used to wait in the queue with my mam for freshly sliced bacon, ham, cheese, butter. All were hand wrapped and the bacon and cheese slicers used to fascinate me. My mam used to collect Green Shield stamps here. I also remember all the ladies who worked there wore white overalls and added everything up on a piece of paper before ringing it into a massive ornate till. Next shop up was on the corner of Ripon Street was a Hovis bakers. I remember two things in particular about this shop, the mini Hovis loaves and the frozen orange juice in a sort of cardboard. You had to cut the top off with scissors to get the juice out. Next corner Stansfield Street was a lovely greengrocer by the name of Marshall’s. My mam didn’t shop there as she said we were barred as we used to steal the strawberries and black berries as we passed the shop. Across the road was a shop called Peggy’s. It was an open all hours type shop with pots and pans, brooms and buckets, cups saucers and plates all displayed outside. I remember pan scrubbers were stored in metal buckets outside. These were sort of wire with a pink coated cleanser - another shop my mam didn’t go into with three young children in tow, as she was terrified what we might break. Betty’s pie shop was actually a fish and chip shop but also sold lovely pie and peas. Mam used to carry the pies in a cardboard tray and a big bag of peas and gravyin a cellophane bag with a plastic clip to tie it, all the way down Roker Avenue to Cooper Street where we lived! Next to Betty’s was Henderson the butcher, a top class butcher which still trades today. Over the road on the right hand side - where Charles Tait the funeral director is today - was a sort of bakers come sausage makers.