Stratford Woolworths

[Pauline Cooper]

Do you remember going to the Woolworths Store in Stratford High Street at Christmas time.  It was absolutely packed with people and you could hardly get to the counter to buy something.  You had to push and shove your way to the counter and wait for the girl to come along and serve you.  No self service then.    Another good sign it was Christmas was when the butchers had all their turkeys hung up to be choosen and taken home to have the final feathers taken out and the stuffing to be made.  Mums had paid into the butchers Christmas club during the year so that they had paid for their Christmas poultry without last minute worrying how they were going to afford them.   Just having the turkey arrive at our house made it feel like Christmas was near and of course once the Christmas puddings and mince tarts were being made you really knew that it wasn't long before the big day.   

[nostegram]

Hi Pauline,
Yes, I went into Woolworths every chance I had in the late 40's, early 50's as it was like an Alladin's cave to me. I loved looking at the various counters, especialy the sweet counter, I would often help myself to a sweet, or two when I thought nobody was looking.
Among the goodies on the stationary counter were black and white post cards which had photos of the film stars of the day. They were 6d each and I could never afford to buy one, instead I would sneakily pocket a few. I only did this on one occasion as I was always in fear of getting caught. The 3 post cards I did manage to aquire was one of Roy Rogers, one of Rosamond John and the other was Margaret Lockward. I hasten to add that I was only a nipper then and did not make a habit of dishonesty. I am not proud in what I did and regard it as a bad thing to do, even to this day.
Do you remember the market stalls that were along Stratford High Street and Angel Lane? Christmas at the said three venues was so exciting, the crowds, the decorations and the smell of roasted chestnuts, chickens and turkeys on show in the buthers shops was very special...Bob