Tom Dodson - 'Saturday Penny'


'Saturday Penny'

Approx. Image Size: 16" x 12½"

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Most people of that generation could relate to the high shop counter, where children had to stand on tiptoe to see the shopkeeper and hand over their penny for the sweets they had chosen.  The scales were always brightly polished and we children gazed in wonder as the shopkeeper placed brass weights to balance the scales.  Sherbert Dabs, Pear Drops, Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, Bassets Liquorice Allsorts wonderfully chewy, sometimes slightly coco nutty always liquoricy and Mint Imperials; these were just a few of the different sweets we could choose from.  The shopkeeper had to have endless patience.  The children always took ages to make up their minds which particular sweets to buy that week.  The grown-ups enjoyed luxuries like Fry’s Chocolate Cream bars; the children much preferred bubble gum or lucky bags!  Usually, a cat lay curled up asleep in the corner of the shop or sat in the window, ready to keep the mice at bay.  There was many a scuffle if a dog was taken into the shop; the cat glared and spat until, at last, the child handed over the precious penny and left the shop, clutching a handful of very carefully selected sweets!


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