Shops of yore

Thanks Mik and Dutchman, I knew about the boarded up Lynes Stores but had not seen the super aerial view of Well St. However it was the dressed shop windows I was hoping to see!

The shopping centre is Willenhall precinct.

Well spotted Zigzag!

The opening shots are in Remembrance Road

Hi all I am not familiar with the Bell Green area in that era, but when I saw the precinct shots, it did look something of what I remembered from the precinct area. What I cannot quite remember is the heights of the flats above the shops, which appear a bit higher than I recall from Willenhall. So, ??? I don't know.

From Growing up in Willenhall, by Josie Lisowski-Love

Hi & thank you Dutchman Even with my short memory of the flats above, facing up to Remembrance Rd in the lower pic, my mum's shop was near to where the pushchair is on the left. I remember a chemist shop next door. Again thank you. PS Where the lady & the little girl is on the right was a laundrette.

Does anyone remember Irelands, the stationery shop / educational shop in Smithford Way? When I was in the juniors, my mum would go into town every week, and I would meet her after school to help with the shopping. She would always get into town first, and would often go to Irelands, asking me if I needed anything for school. One week, for a joke, I asked her to get me a bottle of blue biro ink (as opposed to the usual Quink ink for fountain pens). She fell for it, and later told me she felt silly, as the young girl assistant had looked at her gone out, probably thinking she wasn't the full shilling (as the currency included in those days).

Hi Slim Was only thinking of Irelands the other day and I remember it at the bottom of Trinity Street, on the same side as the old Sainsburys. I used to be fascinated watching the assistants wrapping purchases in brown paper, which was on a huge roll. Parker fountain pens could be repaired there. Do you remember sealing wax?

coventry49 - wasn't that Mills & Mills? Ireland's in Smithford Way can be seen here

Whoops sorry - yes you're right it was Mills & Mills.

What a transition from the town to country. When staying with my aunt at Bishops Cleeve she used to use sealing wax and then back in Coventry it was Sellotape. She did move forward with one necessity in life however, proper toilet paper in the outside dunny!!! (in the early 60's) Her local shop was miles away but she managed for years on her bike but limited to what she could carry. I used to love getting her parcel sealed with wax at Christmas time.

Never realised there was an "a" in Pearks the grocer. When I was a toddler, my mum used to drag me between Pearks's, Sainbury's & Home and Colonial and back again to save a halfpenny on a pound of cheese.