From caning to tea-cakes!

Retired headmaster Peter Harvey had earlier recounted how he (then a West Park grammar school pupil) and Ruth, the girlfriend who was to become his bride, normally arranged to meet outside that store. But on that fateful day, they were forced to meet on the opposite side of the street, shortly after the frontage toppled.

Peter, former Saints half-back star from Pike Place, Eccleston, then bumped into Peter's teacher, Herbert ('Pluto') Pilkington, to whom he and Ruth chorused a cheery 'Good evening, Sir!'

Peter humorously recalled (this page, October 23): "As he caned me next day, he said: 'If you see me when you are courting, don't speak to me . . . run, boy, run!'"

Amazingly, the pair have become reunited by that article. After reading it, Mr Pilkington, now 88, got in touch with Peter and had an hour's telephone chat. And the earlier caning episode couldn't have been too painful because Peter explains: "I intend to go for tea with him soon".

Another echo from that store collapse episode comes from Haydock lad Brian Haselden, now living in Santa Clara, California, who asks: "Why was it called Boots the Cash Chemist? In those days, everything was paid for in cash, or was it?"

Brian fills in a bit of family detail. "I lived in Juddfield Street, and my father, Jack Haselden, was a coal miner at the Old Boston colliery. We had lots of coal (miners got concessionary loads of fuel) the Yanks at Burtonwood had lots of cigarettes and my uncle, Eddie Pimblett, from West End Road, worked at Lionel Swift's bakery in St Helens.

"Between them, we got through the war years nicely". No-one had much money way back then, but the old black market functioned very well, says Brian, who signs off: "That should open up some memories for a lot of your readers!"

H IF you do Have any black market memories, then please drop a line to Whalley's World.