My first shopping trip

As you may know I am an assistant tutor for the course in Christian Studies. Last week's exercise was to create a 'map' of your life journey, locate on it the highs and lows, determine the place of prayer and your (perceived) closeness or otherwise to God.  There is a warning about the dangers of remembering the dark and difficult times of the past, and a recommendation not to dwell or even approach those times.  As a tutor I don't have to do the exercise, but I like to be prepared, so I sat down to think.

Starting at the beginning, I began with some early memories, the most vivid of which was a visit to a shop.  Sounds exiting doesn't it? Well for me it was.  This was my first visit to a shop on my own.  We lived in a road crammed with Victorian terraced houses, all very narrow with a scullery at the back a small garden and an alley way behind running parallel to the road.  This road is now a one way street with parking down one side and driving down it requires care - it is very narrow.  At the time of my first shopping trip, there were no cars parked in the road, neither did any drive up or down it.  The only thing we saw in the road regularly was the milkman and his horse and cart.  I also have memories of the sounds of hooves on tarmac, and of feeding the horse with carrots.

I was given a piece of paper with writing on it - just two or three words which I couldn't read, but was told what they said (can't remember that bit) - and some money - perhaps a shilling or a half crown.

British Currency pre-decimalization: 12d (pence) to the shilling and twenty shillings to the pound.  A price would be written as 2/6 meaning 2 shilling and six pence - the value of a half crown.

I was given strict instructions to go to the shop, speak only to the shopkeeper and return straight home with the goods and the CHANGE.

I walked up the road, got to the junction with the London Road (A13), turned left and a little way along, before the toy shop was the grocery shop.  I went in, and attracted the attention of the man behind the counter.  He recognised me and knew my name (though I didn't know his).  I handed him the list, I couldn't put it on the counter - I could't reach the top of it.  He read it and got the goods requested which were put in a brown paper bag (I think).  I gave him my coin and asked for the change.  He returned the list and had wrapped the change inside it for me.  I ran home - extremely pleased with myself!