Do you remember Melba chocolate, spud guns, Embassy records, pick 'n' mix, broken biscuits, Homemaker china, Californian Poppy perfume, and Ladybird children's clothes? Then you will love the book that brings these, and many other memories, flooding back. The Wonder of Woolies is a celebration of that great British store - Woolworth's - in the words of people who worked and shopped there. In addition to memories from every corner of Britain, the book describes the rise of the '3d and 6d store' king, Frank Winfield Woolworth, and some of the dramatic events that marked Woolworth's history, such as the bombing of the Deptford store in 1944.
Do you remember Melba chocolate, spud guns, Embassy records, pick 'n' mix, broken biscuits, banana-split toffee, Tangee lipstick, ribbon bought by the yard, Homemaker china, easter eggs at 1s 9d, Jacko the monkey, 'mixed' foreign stamps, Californian Poppy perfume, nails and screws bought 'loose', and Ladybird childrens' clothes? Then you will love the book that brings these, and many other memories, flooding back.
The Wonder of Woolies, to be published on October 15 2009, is a celebration of that great British store - Woolworth's - in the words of people who worked and shopped there.
In The Wonder of Woolies, you will read stories that will make you laugh, such as the one about the stockroom boys cleaning the floor with caustic soda, a solution that not only removed all the dirt, but also removed the stitching from their fashionable Teddy Boy shoes. There are a few stories that might well make you cry, too, such as when a sales girl was reprimanded for talking too long to a sailor while she was supposed to be serving: the sailor was her brother and he was lost at sea with his ship the very next day.
From both sides of the counter - staff and shoppers - and across several generations, the anecdotes abound. There are tales from your own era, from your parents' era, and from that of your grandparents. The contributions have come from all over Britain and together form a powerful evocation of exactly why Woolworth's was a part of the very fabric of our lives. When its closure was announced in 2008, it was as if people had received the news of the loss of an old friend with whom they had shared so many experiences. Just the fact that the shop had a nickname - 'Woolies' - speaks volumes about the affection in which people held it.
The Wonder of Woolies is a 200-page paperback illustrated with over 50 black and white and 20 colour photographs, many of which have not been published before. It has been compiled by Derek Phillips and features a foreword by BBC Antiques Roadshow personality Paul Atterbury. In addition to memories from every corner of Britain, the book describes the rise of the '3d and 6d store' king, Frank Winfield Woolworth, and some of the dramatic events that marked Woolworth's history in the UK, such as the tragic fire at the Manchester store in 1979 and the bombing of the Deptford store in 1944.
