Family worries leave me with little of any positivity to write about, so I will share this with you, from Sean Street's "A Remembered Land" - recollections of life in the countryside 1880 - 1914. Strangely, many (MANY!) years ago, I was once interviewed by Mr Street when he worked for Radio Solent, or was it Radio 2CR in Dorset? A lovely man and one who shares my passion for social history.
"The shop had a fine, rich blend of smells, bacon and cheese predominating, with alluring undercurrents of tea, liquorice and peppermint. There was a varied choice of biscuits to be had at popular prices. (I specially remember 'butter creams', juicy and toothsome at three halfpence a quarter), and chocolate and sweets to suit all comers. Fry's chocolate cream was on sale in big, thick bars at a penny apiece and penn'orth of sugared almonds, bulls' eyes, acid drops, fruit jellies and the like filled a sizeable bag. There were comfits, too, in different shapes and colours, bearing romantic legends: 'Will you be my sweetheart?', I love you', 'Will you be mine?' . . . and jars full of mammoth peppermint humbugs. Ha'porths were served just as willingly as were the larger amounts, and a fat bag of popcorn was sold for a farthing. In fact, a penny spelt riches when spent at the shop."
Lilian Bond, Tyneham: A Lost Heritage
(Dorset)
Sadly, Tyneham was the entire village (well, one of them probably) commandeered by the MoD just before Christmas 1943, so they could have their practice ranges there. The village was never returned to its own folk and is still MoD land today. Good for wildlife, not for its former inhabitants. The buildings are now ruins and the shop just bare walls . . . So sad.
Many thanks to my dear daughter T, for buying this book for me when she saw it in a charity shop, as she knew I would treasure it and enjoy it.
