大象传媒

In our grocery shop nothing was the same once the war started. We no longer went to Oswestry Market to buy fresh butter and new-laid eggs. Eggs came via the Packing Station and butter from the wholesaler. My Mother not only had to weigh small quantities of everything, she also had loads of clerical work with Food Office returns, the counting of points and coupons. She had to be a diplomat because when consignments of products like tins of salmon arrived, there were never enough for every family to have a tin, even if they had the points. She had to keep her own records to maintain fair play and make sure that neighbours and friends had them at the same time or somebody would sulk for weeks! It was not possible to sell enough to make a living as a Grocer, so she started selling greengroceries and Listers' Knitting Wools.
At some point during the war, George Evans, the tobacco wholesalers, gave up delivering their fortnightly consignments of cigarettes and tobacco. I was therefore instructed by my mother to catch the bus from Ruabon to Wrexham after school to pick up our parcel at George Evans' warehouse at the bottom of Argyle Street. The parcel would be about 36 inches in height and 10 inches square in width. It was wrapped in thin utility paper and fastened with string. Getting on the bus in the rush hour was a scramble and I often did not get a seat. It would be apparent to everybody on board that I was carrying cigarettes, because the string would have cut through the paper and exposed the contents. Cigarettes were in short supply and perhaps, had it been our present day, I might have feared being mugged! I always managed to arrive home safely, but I have never smoked in my life.

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