Page 27 - She's One Crazy Lady!

in the town centre of Wellingborough, which Jimmy ran,
and I helped whenever I could. Jimmy and I loved it when
we were together. With Dad mostly on the market, Mum
and I worked together a lot in the shops and when they
were on holiday, I would manage the Silver Street shop.
We worked hard but we also had huge amounts of fun,
getting to know so many of the ‘regular’ customers and
members of staff, who were like family. It was valuable time
spent together. The Pagoda didn’t last long, probably due
to the stench of the public toilets that were underneath!
Mum and Dad also purchased and ran, a huge garden
nursery in Kettering growing, what was then, the famous,
locally grown, ‘Headlands’ tomatoes. To this day I still
love that very pungent smell of freshly picked tomatoes
from the vine, remembering the days we would emerge from the vast greenhouses ‘green’ from head to toe from being amongst the plants for many hours picking the tomatoes – and never washing our hands to eat our lunch. No health and safety regulations then!
Although we all had to work hard, I remember it to be a happy childhood. I had a good gang of friends; I loved school, and we had a lot of aunties and uncles and cousins which meant lots of family gatherings and visits. We enjoyed holidays in Devon and Bournemouth and outings to Overstone Park. I had hobbies; we had Sambo, a wonderful cross black and white boxer/dalmation dog, and for as long as we lived at Barton Seagrave, we had Wicksteed Park on our doorstep where I was to spend many hours, so, yes, I was happy.
Market days at Christmas were the best and busiest. We would set up the stalls from about 4.00am onwards and customers would start arriving at 6.00am. The stall would often be two or three deep all day until we had sold out, but the atmosphere was wonderful; it was a joy to sell items that were only available at Christmas. There were no supermarkets so we were always busy, and they were long, long, physically demanding days. Often our hands would be red raw when it was cold, wet and damp. I loved it when I was sent to Fine Fare on a Saturday morning by Dad to buy everyone hot bacon rolls – it was a chance to warm up – and how, on a Saturday, Dad would treat his workers to a drink at a local pub and how, later, he, Mum and I would often go to a restaurant for a meal.
Dad was very particular about how his stalls looked and he was always proud of the way he displayed his fruit and veg along with the price tickets, all handwritten in his unique style. He had high standards and was well-known for ‘putting on a good show’. I was asked to join the business full time, as my siblings had, but over the years I had witnessed fall outs and differences of opinion so did not want to pursue that way of life. Loving school as I did, I always knew I wanted to teach. Mum, in her discrete way, supported me every step of the way and I stuck to my guns. A little bit of Dad in me!
“
To this day I still
love that very
pungent smell
of freshly picked
tomatoes from
the vine. ”
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