Old times

Yesterday I went to see a man of 93 who used to work for us in the Shop. He worked for us all his life - before and after the second world war. If anyone knows about pets then he does. He kept pet dogs when he was working but I think that his record must be his pet goldfish. He took it home because it was looking a bit 'under the weather' and managed to keep it alive for the next 25 years. When I was a little girl I can remember that every year or so he had to look out for a bigger tank for it. It is dead now, but I think when it died it must have weighed quite a bit, and was a considerable length.

If anyone is reading this and has anything to do with Pet Foods 30, 40, or 50 years ago then I am sure they will remember the old trade names of different products. Some of which are still going today. Spillars - Winalot, Shapes, Bonio - Bob Martin, all still around today. Then there were lots that have disappeared. Spratts, Entwistles, Stirling, Stamina, Pyke, to name but a few. Most of the foods biscuits and grains were delivered in 1 cwt. bags that's 112lb (round about)- 50 kilos in today's weight. Our stock rooms at the time were above the shop so all the bags had to be carried upstairs manually. I can still remember my Father and the other men unloading a wagon with 20 or even 40 sacks all needing to be carried upstairs. They would hoist them on their backs and carry then up a difficult staircase and then stack them in a set pattern so that they would not topple over. Tea breaks were always important then - as now I guess. But only 10 minutes and then back to work. The whole operation was always presided over by 'Whiskers' - the shop cat. He would watch the men from the safety of a delivered sack and then at tea break would hop down and beg for a saucer of milk. - Not that he needed it, he was after all a Pet shop cat and was a little on the 'portly' side. Then back he would go to the new sacks to hunt for any mouse that may have been delivered inside the sacks along with the pet food.