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I remember the late 1940's as being very excitable times for me, as this was when our street was very active with all sorts of vendors selling their wares, wrote Bob Margetson. I was a young lad of 8 years of age and lived in Union Street, Stratford, East London.
There were vendors such as the Wall's ice-cream man who came around on his bike with a large ice box on the front. I would buy a 1d lollypop, and if my mum had any spare cash, (which was very rare) she would buy a block of ice-cream for our tea.
Also the rag and bone man came around shouting 'Any old rags, any old lumber?' and if you found some old rags etc to give him he would either give you a goldfish, a chick, or a cup and saucer. Very rarely would he give you money!
The vegetable man came around in his small lorry selling fruit and veg. We knew him as the 'Cherry man' as I remember him selling lovely red and black cherries. If any of the kids got two cherries on double stalks they would put them over their ears and pretend they were earrings. The 'Cherry man' also sold lovely big pomegranates. The street kids liked these as they would spit the pips at each other, me included.
The 'Winkle' man only came once a week. My dad would buy a pint of winkles from him for our tea. My brothers, sisters, mum, dad and me would sit at the table each armed with a pin and pick out the winkles. If my parents had any spare cash, which of course was very rare, they would also buy some shrimps, cockles, muscles or prawns as a special treat.
Yet another street vendor was the toffee apple man. He also sold honeycomb, liquorice sticks and Spanish wood.
Of all the street vendors the one I will never forget was the tinker. He came around selling all kinds of tinker. He would also sharpen scissors and knives. But more importantly he sold repair washers for the pots, pans and kettles that sprang a leak. In those days the pots etc. were mainly made of tin or enamel and always sprang a leak, hence the need of repair.
I would look on whilst my dad was repairing a kettle or pan with one of the washers, and I would be amazed that they never leaked for several months after the repair was carried out.
It turned out that my dad also had another use for these washers. He would put a washer on an old iron shoe last and flatten it with a hammer until he was satisfied that is was the same size and shape as the coins that went into the electric meter. When the electric ran out he would put in one of his home-made coins rather than a genuine one.
Amazingly, this would work and we would have electricity. The problem was when the electric man came around to empty the meter there were more home-made coins than genuine ones in it. My dad looked forward in the electric man coming around as he would get a rebate. But it was often the case that my dad never received a rebate, instead he ended up by owing the electric board money.
When the electricity company queried as to why theses home-made coins were put in the meter my dad gave the excuse that at the time it was dark so he thought he was putting genuine coins in!
Times were hard then but I fondly recall them as being happy times as well.
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