Our 1950s general store
We thought would never change,
Essential to the village life
With its huge product range.
From Welly boots to bread
And most things in between
A big polished counter with till
And Bacon slicing machine.
And they would cut and wrap
Cheese and lard butter
To any weight or size with
Their big steel wire cutter.
Sometimes when it was busy
You would have to queue
But never for very long
It was always staffed by two
On certain days a week
They got the little lorry out
To deliver grocery orders
To the villages roundabout
That shop really was essential
The owner really understood
Half the village owed him money
And we paid him when we could
I bought my old wellies there
On leave in 1962
I don't need them very often but
they're still there for when I do.
I used them then in Lamwath Fields
When out shooting with my dad
They bring back memories
And not all of them are sad.
And then the things changed
And his trade volume went down
As we became a commuter village
And more people shopped in town
And then came the supermarkets
Pretty much the last straw
Shopping then became
Just another impersonal chore.p
Life was somewhat slower then
Not the modern frantic pace
Our village shop also served
as An informal meeting place.
It must be nearly fifty years
Since it finally closed at last
The village store became
Just another thing from the past.
There used to be two more
Now all of them are gone
Quite a few of the farms
Have been merged into one.
My once village is different
Almost a privileged enclave
I only go back these days
To visit the family graves
