Because we were living on the edge of the town there were not a lot of shops in the area. The main ones were The Co-operative Society Store on the Uppingham Road, a sweets and newspaper shop at the corner of Trafford Road and another grocers, Hills on the corner of Coleman Road. The milkman, who delivered the milk with a pony and cart was a tall gaunt man called Mr. Heggs. His dairy was halfway down Trafford Road and was always cold and spotlessly clean. Mrs. Heggs sold butter and other dairy produce in the small shop attached. The milk on the milk float was carried in churns and poured into large oval shaped cans to bring it to the door. When the lid was lifted on the can, there were measures for the different quantities; this was then poured from the measure into your jug.
The baker similarly delivered to the door, the baker being Squires. They had a different kind of horse and cart, the cart having small wheels at the front and large wheels at the rear. The loaves were in trays in the back of the van, closed by double doors. the baker (and the horse) always stopped for their dinner at lunch time outside the house and we used to go to see the horse, although my mother had a great fear of horses. The horse nosebag was carried on the cart and was hung on his head for his feed, usually oats, every so often he would throw up his head to shake the oats to bottom of his bag. All the horses seemed to be friendly although some wore muzzles. The dustbin man’s horse was of a sturdier build and he pulled a two wheeled tumbrel which could be tipped. I used to think that if the cart got too full it would lift the horse off the ground, although it never did. Similar kinds of carts were used by the road menders and builders for carrying bulk materials such as stone and sand etc. The horses’ deposits were eagerly collected by those who were enthusiastic gardeners.
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