JILL Nunn, of The Street, Shotley, recalls that sugar was still on ration into the early 1950s following the Second World War.

JILL Nunn, of The Street, Shotley, recalls that sugar was still on ration into the early 1950s following the Second World War.

She said: “I started work at Mence Smiths shop in Westgate Street in 1950. I very often used to go to the homemade sweet shop in St Matthew's Street in my lunch hour, sweets were on the ration then and we used to have a book with the ration coupons in, the smell in the shop was wonderful. It was February 5, 1953 when sweets came off ration.

“Other shops I recall from that part of town then are the wool shop close to the Rainbow Public House. On the other side of the road were Albion House and Smith and Daniels. Working at Mence Smiths in Westgate Street meant we used to know somebody in all the shops in Westgate Street and St Matthew's Street. All of the shops in the town were closed on Wednesday afternoons.

Yvonne Durrant (nee Storer) added, “The homemade sweetshop in St Matthews Street was owned by my great uncle Jim Storer. My father Don Storer worked with him there in the 1950's making a large range of boiled sweets such as Mother's Mints, Raspberry Drops and Cough Drops.”

- Do you remember when the town was closed on Wednesday afternoons? This practice faded out during the 1960s. It seems a curious fact in these days of seven-day trading.