Eddie Flavell Gang and Donald Borne/Bourne

Not too tech savvy to be honest - but had to post this in search of my dear friend: Whatever Happened to the Eddie Flavell Gang? Coventry, 1974-1979 Especially looking for Donald Borne (possibly Bourne) I wonder whether anyone remembers Eddie R. Flavell's greengrocers at 607 Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry, and the wonderful gang of young people who worked there during the 1970s. My name is Nina (also known as Nas), and I started working for Eddie as a young Saturday girl around 1974. I stayed until about 1979 and eventually helped manage one of his shops. Eddie was a wonderful, kind-hearted man who worked incredibly hard and treated us with such trust and generosity. He took me under his wing when I was very young, and his kindness, encouragement and faith in me left a lasting impression. Together with my own faith, the lessons I learned from Eddie helped shape my values and principles and contributed to making me the person I am today. Nearly fifty years later, I still remember him with enormous affection, respect and gratitude. We worked tremendously hard, sometimes starting at five in the morning to prepare the beautiful displays of fruit and vegetables. But we also had so much laughter and fun. We really did call ourselves Eddie's Gang. I remember so many people from those days: Mandy, Pat O'Grady, Dawn, Dennis, Jane Brooks, Suzy, Usha Devi, Claudette, Geraldine, Cathy, Sandra, Julie and Jackie. I would dearly love to know what became of everyone. But there is one person I am especially hoping to find: Donald Borne, or possibly Bourne. Donald was born around 1958 and lived on Purcell Road, near Bell Green. I remember his sister Sue or Susan, who I believe later moved to New Zealand. Donald and I worked together at Eddie's, and we shared a great love of Elvis Presley. We listened to his records, including Blue Suede Shoes and Don't Be Cruel. I can still remember those happy days so clearly, even after nearly fifty years. I also remember Wendy's bakery, our cod roe and chips with curry sauce, and John the Barber on Broad Street, to whom we used to deliver groceries. John was quite a cheeky character, and I remember the amusing photographs on his barbershop walls! I have recently found some original photographs of Eddie, his Volkswagen van, the shops, the fruit displays and myself wearing my striped apron, probably taken around 1976-1977. I would love to share them here. I lost touch with everyone after I married in 1979. Looking back, those were some of the happiest and most memorable years of my youth. If anyone remembers Eddie Flavell, his shops, the people who worked there, or especially Donald Borne/Bourne, I would be absolutely delighted to hear from you. Perhaps someone remembers Donald from school, Purcell Road, Bell Green or the local neighbourhood. If you know him, please pass this message on to him rather than posting any private contact details publicly. It would be wonderful to reconnect with Donald and perhaps even bring some of Eddie's old gang together again. With very fond memories of Eddie and all the gang, Nina (Nas) ❤️ Post copied from topic Bell Green on 9th Nov 2026 8:56 am

For Mr Blue Sky and Lewis : Re Eddie Flavell - there were two shops - where apart from fruit, flowers and vegetables, there was a range of game supply - grouse, pheasant and etc and people used to come from afar especially at Christmas to buy this and real Christmas trees and wreaths - I think these two shops were the talk of the town because almost everything was sold here - I especially remember the drought in 1975/1976 where the price of basic vegetables increased due to short supply eg potatoes and then there was the boycott of South Africa goods at the time and we couldn't get the green Cape Granny Smith apples (I can't remember the exact time frame but it must have been in between 1975 to 1979.... Eddie was married to Margaret and he did have a brother Peter, who looked very much like Eddie - but I don't know more than that... Peter came to the shop only a couple of times in all the time I was there - I think he lived quite far away. The shop I worked at was opposite the police station and Broad Street (607 Stoney Stanton Road).... I am hoping to hear from anyone who knows where Donald Borne (Bourne) might be? fingers crossed. Post copied from topic Bell Green on 9th Nov 2026 8:56 am

Hi Nina, welcome to the forum I've created a new topic for this and copied it. I hope that someone can help you.