Shops of yore

Going back to Roy Catlin at Unit Sales, I think it all developed from his time at A J Thomas where he was a rep and then along with Tony Kimberley and Clive Thomas ran their pop-up flash weekend sales of heavily discounted paint, wallpaper, etc. at one-off large venues around the country. Roy I believe also played for Atherstone Town FC, if I recall correctly.

We were in Norwich last September and took an underground tour of a small part of the city. We entered in through what had been a shoe shop/makers for 100 years or more and we were able to see 3 floors down how people had lived in the city for centuries before the business was opened. They also gave a great talk on the history of the shop itself and some of the families who bought all of their footwear there. One lady's family had bought her first shoes there and she bought her last when she was 90 something. The shop was also one of the first to have one of those Xray machines. Owen's had one and, as a kid, I rarely passed it when I was in that area of the shop - even though my mum said it would rot my feet!

Hello, Having the right goods, at the right price, at the right place. Amazon rules at present in the world of retail.

Hello, I'm so pleased. Currys have beaten Amazon prices on a couple of our latest purchased white goods. Brill!

Sadly I'm hearing (though tbh it's no great surprise) Salts Tobacconists are finally closing down. Where were they originally before moving to New Union Street?

The window was broken at Salts Tobacconist in Little Park Street in 1960 Neil, from the CET. But they were at 1 or 10 1950's. Two articles, different years different numbers !

Someone only calling themselves "BGR" has anonymously written to me to say "I recall they had a shop in Parkside in the 1960s".

Just re-read the 1960's article and it says that his previous premises in Parkside was broken into 15 times, sorry missed that one.

Number 1 Parkside was on the corner with Little Park Street, so might have been referred to as both streets. In the 1960 and 1955 directories Kenneth J Salt confectioners and tobacconist was at number 10 Parkside along with the post office. In 1937 H W Salt Confectioner is at number 1 but also at number 10 as dining rooms. So the Salt family were at both properties before the war. Number 1 did survive according to the maps but perhaps Kenneth focussed on just one of the buildings.

The BBC has come to the rescue and there is even a picture of the original shop. Just need to work out the actual location.

Good find Neil I'm guessing that the black and white photo was 1 Parkside but the last location was here on New Union Street. I think that 1 Parkside was originally 2 storey, so it looks like it was damaged during the war.

Helen looking at my 1950 map and comparing it to this earlier NLS side by side - was the spot No.1 Parkside was on once the Reformatory Girls school? Do we have any images of that? The thread on the school doesn't have any. I've cheekily captured an image of the shop from that film for posterity. It looks like a Bass sign on the very right edge but possibly an Ad as I can't see a Pub on the maps. The Kings Head Inn was on the other side of the road/junction so would not have been visible.

This one of Rob's probably shows that end best. Yes it was at the south end of the reform school but it would be hard to say exactly where because roads were widened and it would need a careful overlay of different era maps to exactly plot the two.

Hello, Sadly, Agers shoe shop is closing completely. That's following a reprieve from earlier in the year. I'm sure that we all wish the redundant staff well. I spoke to a long serving staff member yesterday. She said "Who wants me in my sixties?". To which I replied "I do". She then told me, she already had one like me at home. There's always a snag, Steven Lewis (Smiler or inspector Blakey) would often say.