tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post3080641228167502632..comments2024-03-26T23:00:45.683+00:00Comments on Jane's London: Holloway memories – shopping in the 1990sJanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-84676374436651668542023-05-16T01:01:03.728+01:002023-05-16T01:01:03.728+01:00Yes I remember the cash tubes at North London.Yes I remember the cash tubes at North London.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-29663155324522701382023-05-16T00:58:39.258+01:002023-05-16T00:58:39.258+01:00I lived at 37 Eburne Road in the 50 sI lived at 37 Eburne Road in the 50 sAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-88002185320401034532022-03-05T23:50:36.919+00:002022-03-05T23:50:36.919+00:00Hi do you know who owned the flower stall on Hollo...Hi do you know who owned the flower stall on Holloway road near burger kingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-80597761774881057892021-11-02T19:45:52.531+00:002021-11-02T19:45:52.531+00:00I stumbled across this looking up Gibbers of Holl...I stumbled across this looking up Gibbers of Holloway. I worked there after school and Saturdays around 1985/86 originally there was a retail side and a wholesale side but then they moved the retail across and made tills in the middle of the bigger side. I remember the guv and John, Michael, Tony and Robert Gibber. Tracy Goodchild worked there too. The Guv had an aunt Sadie who used to come and sit in the office upstairs. We clocked in and out. I think I got £1/£1.50 an hour and a discount on anything I wanted to buy. I stopped working there when I was revising for my exams but it definitely set me up for my future. Very fond memories Deb Bryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-18675505847314621672021-10-12T12:24:34.293+01:002021-10-12T12:24:34.293+01:00Thanks for this extra info Dave. I have been resea...Thanks for this extra info Dave. I have been researching the NLDS site for quite some time now, taking it back to its origins as a single independent Victorian drapery store. But I didn't know the link to David Greig stores which I also have as a separate research folder here on my desktop – DG was a successful famil grocer chain that expanded quickly in the C20th but met its sad demise due to crippling ingeritance tax. Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-2394405767026013662021-10-12T11:10:09.640+01:002021-10-12T11:10:09.640+01:00Hi. I am trying to piece together the history of t...Hi. I am trying to piece together the history of the department stores in the UK as part of my work on Wikipedia. North London Drapery Stores was owned by Provident Clothing and Supply (don't know when from) but was sold to Canadian and English Stores in 1961. They changed their name to Northgate and English Stores in 1962, and owned a variety of stores, wholesalers and manufacturers, including Oxleys department stores in the North West. In 1969 a court case was Brought by Austin Securities and it seems that after the case that looks like they lost, they created Combined English Stores, headed by Murray Gordon. It was at this point some of the stores were closed including North London Drapery, which was BB Evans at this point. Combined English went on to try and buy David Grieg, owned Kendall & Co the ladies fashion store which was sold to Hepworth and were converted into Next. Next eventually bought Combined English in 87, to get their hands on retail space and the jewellers Zale. Daveharveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07083225654688033942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-16200041025026661482021-09-19T12:43:09.426+01:002021-09-19T12:43:09.426+01:00Ive lived in Holloway from 1979 till today I remem...Ive lived in Holloway from 1979 till today I remember everything everyone is talking about, every shop every person I've sadly watched all the changes Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07185105627688917454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-6704382329700721652021-07-27T10:45:06.015+01:002021-07-27T10:45:06.015+01:00Dear Cormac,
thanks so much for taking the time t...Dear Cormac, <br />thanks so much for taking the time to share your memories. <br />The pay does sound a bit low, especially for a full-time job – when friends and I had Saturday jobs in Romford in the mid-70s we got approx £1 p/hr. Tho I don't know how much the lads who helped out on the market stalls got.<br />It's true that old adage of '"you never know what you've got til it's gone" – I am often recalling places I have worked etc – see my latest post (July 2021) about Fitzroy Square.<br />I'd love to hear your girlfriend's stories about working in Woolworths...<br />Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-9915517537988344082021-07-23T16:23:27.693+01:002021-07-23T16:23:27.693+01:00Hi Jane. I worked at Gibbers from 1982-83. Just a ...Hi Jane. I worked at Gibbers from 1982-83. Just a short period but it was my first job after leaving St Aloysius college, Highgate at 17. I literally finished school on the Friday and started on Saturday.<br /> I remember the staff well, Albert the owner or Guv as he was known, John the overall shop manager with strawberry blond curly hair, Len who was the wholesale section supervisor, Sean the mad Irishman as Albert called him, who was the retail section supervisor and the one who interviewed me for my job. Tracey worked in the wholesale section, there was also Gloria, Marie and her sister who's name I can't recall, John-boy the young blonde cockney bloke who worked in the wholesale section, Simon, who sadly committed suicide a few years later and who was my friend. Also little Andy, and many others who came and went even in my short time there. <br />And there were 3 Gibber boys working there, Michael the oldest, then Tony and Robbie the youngest. Tony went on to have a successful career as a music producer working for Top of the Pops. His name is in the credits sometimes. Last time I visited there was in the nineties. I'm sorry I never went back again. I liked my job there but the pay wasn't great. I was getting £1 an hour in 1982. Albert later increased it to £1.05 an hour. I left to work with my brother in his own business, but the job taught me a lot about dealing with people.<br />I remember the shop being broken into via the garden at the back, in 1883. They broke in on a Friday expecting the safe to be full, but payday was Saturday and there was nothing in the safe on Friday night. Albert would take the cash home on Friday night, count it all, then bring the wages cash in on Saturday morning. He'd spend all morning filling the wage packets. <br />I was sad to hear Albert died. And I never realised Len had also died, but he was in his late forties in 1982 so it's inevitable I guess. <br />I looked it up on Google Street View recently and was surprised to see the post office there. Last time I checked about ten years ago there was a Polish shop there, with the same layout, two sections.<br />I lived in Tufnell Park Road from 1978—90. My dad owned the big house with the high wall around it, at the Holloway end. I remember Shelleys, my favourite shoe shop. Also Rumbelows, Woolworths, Safeway, the Nags Head before it closed as a pub, Selbys, Jones Brothers, etc.<br />My girlfriend worked in Woolworths, as did many of my school friends on Saturday jobs. Great days, but you don't realise until you're older. <br />Thanks for the interesting info on the area. <br />Cormac. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-857665861132670792021-04-02T08:13:39.647+01:002021-04-02T08:13:39.647+01:00Emma, yes, that's the place!Emma, yes, that's the place!Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-6946313732010916892021-04-01T20:30:56.241+01:002021-04-01T20:30:56.241+01:00I loved Wild Track. Am I right in remembering that...I loved Wild Track. Am I right in remembering that it had a wooden wheel type window? It felt like I was on holiday in a Greek taverna when I went there. Emmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-87110276067057228912021-03-01T13:31:40.244+00:002021-03-01T13:31:40.244+00:00Ah! Such a glorious time. I remember our second ch...Ah! Such a glorious time. I remember our second choice cafe (for when Manolis was full) was the Titanic on Holloway Rd. And our local was Clancy's down on Queensland Rd. The best pub in the world, which got demolished as part of the new Arsenal stadium development.Marc Jonesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-65913869727935370872021-02-25T15:15:54.577+00:002021-02-25T15:15:54.577+00:00Marc – we were proabbly in there at the same time ...Marc – we were proabbly in there at the same time some Saturdays. Happy days. His bacon was marvellous, his mushrooms were perfect and, as I mentioned above, his bubble+squeak the best ever. A few times i would charge round there and he'd say as I walked in "sorry, Jane, no bubble today" and my heart would sink as I'd been looking forward to it for days! Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-48192050971580555312021-02-25T14:55:54.007+00:002021-02-25T14:55:54.007+00:00I used to bloody love Manolis. My friend and I had...I used to bloody love Manolis. My friend and I had a flat on Hercules Street in 2001 and used to go in every Saturday, waiting for his cheery 'Hello boys!' What a cafe.Marc Jonesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-1352188847191569272021-02-21T05:37:15.478+00:002021-02-21T05:37:15.478+00:00I am so emotional, that I have actually found othe...I am so emotional, that I have actually found other people who have had the same experience growing up as myself. It was a magical time growing up in this area. I was born and raised in Axminster Road and relate to all that has been said. I also worked across the road from Gibbers in Rumbelows next to Shellys. All the Cypriots used to know Gibbers as oh (Malyaros) meaning the long haired guy. Such a buzzing area. Also remember as a very young lad, mum taking me to BB Evans to visit Santa in his Grotto. They had a train where you stepped in,was shaken to imitate the journey, then step out and there was Santa. Also remember the cash tubes they used to send and receive your receipts. Please let me know if anyone remembers these or is my mind playing tricks on me? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17228304544731893404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-46188754845816662242021-02-21T05:23:11.390+00:002021-02-21T05:23:11.390+00:00I am so emotional, that I have actually found othe...I am so emotional, that I have actually found other people who have had the same experience growing up as myself. It was a magical time growing up in this area. I was born and raised in Axminster Road and relate to all that has been said. I also worked across the road from Gibbers in Rumbelows next to Shellys. All the Cypriots used to know Gibbers as oh (Malyaros) meaning the long haired guy. Such a buzzing area. Also remember as a very young lad, mum taking me to BB Evans to visit Santa in his Grotto. They had a train where you stepped in,was shaken to imitate the journey, then step out and there was Santa. Also remember the cash tubes they used to send and receive your receipts. Please let me know if anyone remembers these or is my mind playing tricks on me? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17228304544731893404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-33265068918065501802020-11-16T00:20:39.430+00:002020-11-16T00:20:39.430+00:00I know about the navvies. As you prob know they na...I know about the navvies. As you prob know they named the piazza up at Archway ‘Navigator Square’ tho barely anyone seems to have clue why or what it means. Even the council refers to is as Archway Central. The navigations were the canals first, then other conduits. I just hadn’t heard the term “tunnel tigers” before. Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-17445640899325584362020-11-15T22:44:41.810+00:002020-11-15T22:44:41.810+00:00I don’t recall any older fellas in the shop. Just ...I don’t recall any older fellas in the shop. Just John and younger lads milling about carrying boxes and sacks of produce. I remember people, probably from restaurants, shouting from the doorway asking for five crates of satsumas or whatever. Trolleys going back and forth. Things constantly being shifted about. It was so lively. The last proper greengrocer where you got everything weighed for you and all chucked into one bag. Marvellous. I shopped there almost every Saturday from 1988 until it closed. <br />Jane. Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-91847655729164932042020-11-15T22:04:53.806+00:002020-11-15T22:04:53.806+00:00I remember pay rises at Gibbers, was always so exc...I remember pay rises at Gibbers, was always so exciting to get one. Clock out in the Kitchen, and line up on a Saturday after closing to go in and see the Gov for him to calculate your pay on the back of the time card. Gosh I really do have fond memories of that time. I had forgotten about how The Gov would prep the morning and afternoon tea. Up there in the wee kitchen watching out over the shop...Mrs Gee continued to pay her visits to the shop and morning teas with plenty of biscuits was awesome.Christmas Tips were huge eh. That place was mental busy at Christmas times, as well as other seasonal times. I'm curious...when I worked there in the 90's there was an old man who worked out the back with the Gov on bagging duties, his name was Phil. A lovely old Greek man. Was he there when you worked in the 70's? There was also an old boy called Len, who sadly passed away when I was there...had he also been there since there 70's? So sad to see it gone when I come home to London.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513579576690940172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-44858986701642136782020-11-15T21:55:55.413+00:002020-11-15T21:55:55.413+00:00Not just train tunnels, but the many tunnels of Lo...Not just train tunnels, but the many tunnels of London. Service tunnels, drainage, cabling tunnels, road tunnels etc. Its a term very much like Navi man, for the Irish who labored in tunnel work. I'm based in Auckland, the North Shore.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513579576690940172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-62360424432600045452020-11-15T21:52:44.550+00:002020-11-15T21:52:44.550+00:00Ahhh the Wild Track. Many a late night Keos enjoye...Ahhh the Wild Track. Many a late night Keos enjoyed there. They would sometimes be open all night long, its where folk went after closing hours if there was no lock in to be had at The Grafton/Hercules. You're thinking of Jimmy. He was also an actor and occasionally appeared in TV shows, think he had a run on Londons Burning. Jimmy and his sister Anna were always there. All housing now. He still has a fine white mane last time I saw him not too long ago.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513579576690940172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-33004091283080546132020-11-01T14:03:19.219+00:002020-11-01T14:03:19.219+00:00kepp that bag! Look after it! I also have other g...kepp that bag! Look after it! I also have other good quality old branded carrier bags from decades ago – comes form saving the good ones to use for doing the shopping before the supermarkets started mass-producing their own flimsy ones. I recall my mum saying back in the 1970s that she foresaw a problem when Sainsbury's started that. She was ahead of her time. Sadly missed. Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-26665667786547874012020-11-01T14:00:54.226+00:002020-11-01T14:00:54.226+00:00Tunnel tigers? that's a new one on me. I assum...Tunnel tigers? that's a new one on me. I assume you mean men who dug the tube lines? Navvies made the roads and canals (from 'navigators').<br />The Swimmer is still trading through this pandemic. They seem to be doing Ok as it is still one of the best pubs in the area and I am lucky that it's my local. Though I am not keen on the table service thing that all pubs have to do these days – I am a mingler!<br />Send my love to beautiful and varied NZ – I have been there a few times – where are you?Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-66668956369588695002020-11-01T13:56:48.539+00:002020-11-01T13:56:48.539+00:00Manolis was the best, but OMG the Wild Track – wha...Manolis was the best, but OMG the Wild Track – what was his name? He was Greek too i think and always very dapper with his marvellous head of white hair. He sold that place about ten years ago. <br />Also, there was the Hercules Cafe which closed down to became a chicken restaurant and has changed again this past year – now the only food place in the street.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110084440464006279.post-71062460375442903232020-11-01T13:52:53.808+00:002020-11-01T13:52:53.808+00:00Lovely happy memories – thanks for sharing – it wa...Lovely happy memories – thanks for sharing – it was always so friendly in Gibbers. I loved the organised mess of it. I recall discussing the imminent parking charges with John – the beginning of the end of an era. Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099069900570994344noreply@blogger.com