OUR SHOP AND CUSTOMERS

When we first took over the shop in Hayes in about 1954, it was a deplorable place. Tatty wooden shelves and counters split the shop up so that it was very dark and dingy. An old fashioned wooden till which when you pulled out the drawer the money used to spill onto the floor.  Anyway we worked hard pulling it to pieces, to make a new shop. We sold domestic hardware. We put shelves up all round the walls for china, soaps, paint and paraffin etc.

Our customers were all working people.  One we called "eyebrows" because of her make‑up. First thing in the morning she would come in and my youngest son who helped us for a time would take the micky out of her and say,  "I bet you go to bed like that, get up like it and don't have a wash."  She never used to mind.  Some used to come in and tell us jokes, some dirty ones.

Others used to tell us all their troubles. One for instance, Nellie, was a little bit mad. She came in one day with her stockings rolled down her legs, her dress undone, hair all over the place and said, " I'm not mad am I? ."  So I took her in the back room, made a cup of tea to calm her down and said "course you're not mad."  She was our first customer so we always treated her well.  Well she ended up having to go into St Bernard's Hospital.

Then we used to have some very dirty fellows come in when Bill went out in the dinner hour to buy paint.  I was always a bit wary of them, so Bill stopped with me one dinnertime and we discovered that they only lived nearby with their Mum.  I was no longer afraid once I got to know them.

Also we had two sisters and a brother who used to come into the shop. The eldest sister was fat and a very strong person; she once pinned me by the side of my counter and I couldn't get away from her.  Very educated she was, told me about her sister and her brother.  She used to tie him up with rope and say, "gee up, gee up." He always behaved like a child, he loved it. He always talked to himself but could sing smashing.  They were good customers for dustbins, but we never knew why.  Eventually the younger sister died and the brother was put in a home. After this they found the eldest sister dead in bed.  Nobody ever went into their house until then, but they had to get the police and then they found what they used the dustbins for.  It was to put loaves and loaves of bread in. They were all mouldy and people said the house really stank.

Another customer who was Scottish came in with a Scottish pound note from the pub (I had never seen one before).  He was under the weather and asked me to change it for him.  I said I was sorry but I couldn't do that.  He called me everything under the sun, so I had to be rude and got him out of the shop and put the lock on the door.

Another "big‑I‑am" used to get us to change a cheque for him.  We knew that he was in charge of a lot of men at the airport and was always very well dressed.  The first cheque was ok, but we found to our cost that the others bounced.  Bill went and saw his wife.  She was a very nice lady and said, "I'll go to the bank and pay you," which she did.  It was his drinking that was his downfall, no more cheques from him.

Another customer was Tom; he was a bit thick.   He used a whole pint of paint on a windowsill, and then came over and said it wouldn't dry.  Also he had trouble with his wife; he had to go into hospital and have a pace‑maker fitted.  His wife then left him and as he had no one to visit him (his folks were in Ireland), Bill and I went to see him now and again.  When he came home we couldn't get rid of him. After a while he committed suicide by gassing himself.  The police came over and asked us did we know anything about it.

Another customer who was a nurse married her lodger who had Parkinson's disease.  Her two sons used to come over in the dinner time and buy something for them, paint etc. and make sure they were okay.  I had never seen a double funeral before; she died first and he died the next day so they were buried together. Anyway, the two sons got naught, but came in to thank us for using our phone etc.

Another customer had two daughters; we were very friendly with them, so went to their wedding reception in the Scout Hall.  I met her again in 1988 and still we recognized each other, and had a chat about old times, very nice.  There are many more customers to tell about but if I did I would be writing forever.

When we were at the shop we had various vans.  One large one was used to take all the family, our kids, my Mum and Dad, Brother Joe and Tom etc. on outings to places like Epsom races.

We would line the sides of the van with benches and all pile in.  We would take a mass of sandwiches, lemonade and water to make tea on the primus. At Epsom the gypsies were there every year wanting to tell your fortune. There was always a large fun‑fair crowded with people, all enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately, Bill had a massive heart attack in about 1975, but he pulled through.  We then thought that we would have to leave the shop. When we retired everybody was sorry we were going, as we always treated everyone the same even if one spent sixpence and another a couple of pounds.