Growing up over the family business had its ups and downs. Definately an up would be the sweets and being able to read any magazine I wanted as long as it wasn't damaged and could be re-sold. When it came to the sweets I can imagine you all thinking...oh yeah stuffing your face with as many as you wanted!! Far from it. At the beginning of each week and as long as I had been good and done my chores the week before, I was presented with 10 single pennies. To give you an indication of how much that was, it was the mid 70's. Now for one penny I could probably get the equivalent of 5 pence worth of sweets but it taught me at an early age to budget carefully and not blow it on one large bar of chocolate at the beginning of the week. Now this worked well for quite a long time until the devil in me realised that to leave the shop to go up to the house I had to walk past the penny counter.... hmmm it didn't take me long to realise that it was easy just to quickly snaffle a couple on my way past! Yes that really does make me a thief doesn't it and no I'm not proud.... One day when the pennies had run out I formed a plan. Looking at the penny counter (which in them days was massive compared to what is on offer now) I tried to work out how many I could fit in both hands.... my eyes fell to the marshmallows as I knew that by squashing them I could carry loads..... So that is exactly what I did... I checked if the coast was clear... my mum was serving a customer and Debbie (who worked there most days) was filling the cigarette counter next to my mum.
I casually walked to the sweets and stood in the small gap which led through to the stairs to go up to the house, and I suppose in my mind then if I couldn't see my mum properly she couldn't see what I was doing. I silently reached over and grabbed as many marshmallows as I could with one, then with the other did the same... I also couldn't resist the little choc buttons with the coloured hundereds and thousands on top, so grabbed some of them and quickly ran up to the bathroom at the top of the stairs...... Well I blew it big time, no sooner had I reached the bathroom and shut the door, it flew open and in strode mum... hands tightly behind my back I just looked up to her and she just calmly said "show me your hands". I was beaten... and with my head dropped to my chest, my cheeks colouring and my heart beating 10 to the dozen I held out my hands........... oh the shame. She counted them up and if memory serves me well momentarily I was quite impressed when she informed me that I had "stole" 16 marshmallows and 5 chocolate buttons. What in my little hands??...... She then calmly explained how money from the sale of those same sweets helped to feed and clothe me and not only would I have to repay for the sweets I'd stolen but I would have extra chores and no 10 pennies for the following 2 weeks. After all that you'd think I'd never do it again wouldn't you.................
I casually walked to the sweets and stood in the small gap which led through to the stairs to go up to the house, and I suppose in my mind then if I couldn't see my mum properly she couldn't see what I was doing. I silently reached over and grabbed as many marshmallows as I could with one, then with the other did the same... I also couldn't resist the little choc buttons with the coloured hundereds and thousands on top, so grabbed some of them and quickly ran up to the bathroom at the top of the stairs...... Well I blew it big time, no sooner had I reached the bathroom and shut the door, it flew open and in strode mum... hands tightly behind my back I just looked up to her and she just calmly said "show me your hands". I was beaten... and with my head dropped to my chest, my cheeks colouring and my heart beating 10 to the dozen I held out my hands........... oh the shame. She counted them up and if memory serves me well momentarily I was quite impressed when she informed me that I had "stole" 16 marshmallows and 5 chocolate buttons. What in my little hands??...... She then calmly explained how money from the sale of those same sweets helped to feed and clothe me and not only would I have to repay for the sweets I'd stolen but I would have extra chores and no 10 pennies for the following 2 weeks. After all that you'd think I'd never do it again wouldn't you.................
