Gay Cards on Borough Road, at the bottom of Clarence Road. The old version of the shop opposite the Plaza which used to be an out-and-out newsagents long ago (now a general late night shop)...even further back, do ANY of you recall a sweet shop opposite the Sportsmans pub on Prenton Road East, on the corner of a block of houses? Venetian blinds hid the goodies contained inside. A rare treat on the seemingly long walk home from Bedford Drive School for a 6 year old lad.
I remember the sweet shop opposite the Sportsmans you're talking of yes, when I was about 5-6 (1967-68) we called it Lobo's because the man who owned it had a black labrador dog called Lobo. We'd go there on a Tuesday night after going to my Nin's ( nan) house in Everest Rd After Mr Lobo left it was owned by a Mr Charlesworth but the shop was never as well stocked nor was the new owner as friendly. It's a house now and rumour has it that the place is haunted ( info from a friend of mine who used to live in it)
Does anyone remember Mr Morgan's sweet shop on Church rd just by the Black Horse pub? He made the most delicious ice cream. He would never give his recipe to my Mum who would ask him for it all the time
Does anyone remember YZ chewing gum machines which were on the wall outside many sweet shops?
Their symbol was the head of an owl (wise head - get it?). The big selling point was that with every fourth packet of gum, an extra packet came down the chute.
I can't recall how much a packet cost - probably about 6d. You could hang around the machine and wait until three people had used it, then nip in and get two packets for the price of one. Failing that, you could club together with three pals and make sure of the bonus packet.
It was when the arrow on the twist knob was pointing forward, that you got the two packets of YZ gum. Yes, we used to keep an eye on the one outside the sweetshop at the bottom of Woodchurch Lane. Ready to pounce when it was about to cough two packets up!
I may be wrong, but I "think" it was 3d a packet when I was at school (?) (Late 50's)
The best one I remember was Allisons owned by Mr Allison it was between the Coop on the corner of Conway Place and the Church on the corner of Eldon Street next to the chip shop the gentleman always wore a tweed coat tweed trousers and always had a smile for everyone including the kids who invaded the shop before school and after school.
I must send my apology the sweet shop i was talking about was owned by Mr Ashworh not Allison I must have had a senior moment, Mr Ashworth lived above the coop and the entrance to his house was in Conway Place near the stables. sorry
memories of Gaycards on borough road sweet counters either side as you went in and cards and gifts up the steps at the back of the shop. my eyes would be on organ stops as a kid when I used to go in at all the sweets. I used to get penny sweets in the week but my treat at the weekend if I had "been a good girl" was a fry's turkish delight - they cost a whole 6d! Anyone remember the advert for Treets - they melt in your mouth not in your hand. The hand with a white glove on showing they didnt melt!!
'Love to think the memories of Gay Cards live on, despite the word having a completely new meaning today...I recall two actual moments in the shop - one in the upper level of the shop when I'd been to the GP as a boy of 7 or 8 yo and nagged my mum a little for a Enid Blyton book [Famous 5 etc, kids go to a farm story] which I never actually read in the end (oh! the guilt!) The other two or three years later, at the lower shop level, aged 9, trying to find out what my sisters (then 22 and 16) were plotting) ...it was my mum's surprise 48th birthday party (she was 48 on January 8 1973) which dates it, and they were unsure whether to tell me as they didn't trust whether I could keep the secret!
Bryants... my mum used to go there armed with a bag of sugar. I'm not sure if that got her a discount or it took away the need for ration coupons, but I know there was definitely an advantage to it.
