My Bustling Burslem remembered Interview Three

Interview 3

I lived in Burslem for the first 29 years of my life, then after getting married lived in Hanley for the next 30years then 5 years ago moved back into his street.
As a child Burslem was a great place to live, I played cricket and football on the fields and around the allotments area, we made our own fun, we had too.
I sometimes recall playing out there, running around with my mates, and when mum shouted me in, that was it, I ran in straight away ,no shouting back 5more minuets, I would wash my face with the cold water and drink at the same time ,I was that thirsty.
Some of the lads who I played with were David Price, Les Williamson, Gilbert Hood and Barry Davis.
After going swimming every Saturday at the baths we would call for tiger nuts and sarsaparilla at Busbridges I think it was called the penny killer shop.
My first job was on Johnson Matthey in Burslem , I was a store man then transferred to a driver taking the transfers to local pot banks, my aunty was working there-she got me the job. I was there from September 1961-1999I was made redundant.
Burslem in the 60s had a great choice of shops, i can name some if you want- in Queen St-Slacks- he sold fruit and veg, the shop was heaving with people, he also had a stall in the market.
The market was full of people, i can remember been pushed about because there were so many people.
In Cocks Yard there was Cliffs
Asksey fish shop on the corner,
Browns butchers on Waterloo Road
Woolworths of course
Paint shop called Leyland Paints
In William loves St – there was a coal yard and a providence shop.
Freddy Petes fish and chip shop on water Road,
There was also loads of pubs-Durham Ox in Nile St.
White star
The Queens had was a nice pub until they changed it all,
There’s a lot gone now.
I went to St John’s school which is knocked down now, then to North Road school which is closed, i can remember going to a street party in 1953 to celebrate the Queens Coronation Day, I can’t see the street doing anything like that now.
The best thing about Burslem is it’s the Mother town, I would like to see more shops and houses, get rid of the rubbish like Ceramica, that shouldn’t have been built. But to keep the character of the town, there some lovely buildings