Cherry Rogers reflects upon her youth – buying a book from the railway station bookstall …

I was just thinking how times have changed, when I was listening to two young children chatting while I was out shopping.  Talk about being grown up!

It got me thinking about my childhood and growing up.  Playing down the ‘Rec’ and in the woods at the back of Greens, having dens among the logs.  It wouldn’t be allowed now and if those logs had slipped, doesn’t even bear thinking about, but we all did it.  Colin Rogers, now my husband, tied me to a tree and set fire to the grass round the bottom of it!  I think I was a human sacrifice or it might have been Indians setting fire to white man.  Nothing changes!  I remember my friend, Joan Norton, hitting him with a pink handbag.

Everyone played out and lots of people went on to do a paper round for a bit of pocket money before they were old enough to start work.  I didn’t do one as I wasn’t allowed to, but my husband Colin did one and so did his Brother Alan.  Colin delivered for W.H Smith, of the Railway Station bookstall, delivering the Polish newspapers to the London Road camp.  Lots of my friends delivered for Mrs. Green on the High Street.

These children chatting led my thoughts on, from paper rounds to starting work.  I hadn’t been at work for much more than a week when I was sent over to the Pine Vista, which was out of bounds for me.  Happy days, I got in there at last!  I wonder what my Mum would have said if she knew that after a few months working, I started in July 1959, I was sent over to the Railway Station bookstall to order three copies of Lady Chatterley’s Lover.  This was about 1960 I should think, when it could be published in the unexpurgated version.  I as the office junior was sent to order the books.  I thought as I was going I might as well have one as well and keep it in my desk drawer for lunchtime reading.

I dreaded going to order them because Bert Kidd knew my Mum and Aunty Crystal worked in the goods office at Thetford.  So I sort of rehearsed what to say on the way over and hoped he wasn’t wearing his leather flying helmet because he was a bit deaf anyway.  When I got to the counter he was doing his books, so I said, “I would like to order four copies of Lady Chatterley’s Lover please Mr. Kidd”.  He looked at me a bit astounded and said, “Pardon?”  I had to holler it “FOUR COPIES OF LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER, PLEASE MR KIDD“.  He humphed a bit and wrote it in his order book.  I scuttled off and thought now I have to go and flipping collect ’em.  What a fuss the publication of that book caused.  It was mild to what is heard and seen on TV these days and what is published.  I used to have a fit of mild hysteria when Nana was really riled and said “Oh! Bum to it”.  I don’t know if it is a good or bad thing that the children know so much so early.  I think they miss a lot in some respects but we were a bit naive.  Just an observation.