does anyone still remember ?????

malcolmsmill · July 2015

as it says... does anyone still remember.... charley and ginger..... they were the last horsedrawn milkman from the United Dairies stables and creamery at the stapleton lights.... Charley was the milkman and Ginger his horse they were always friendly and we always had a laugh when charley went on holiday (one week a year)... the relief milky would get frustrated with ginger..... ginger knew the route and walked to each delivery and waited... no matter what, the relief could not get him to move unless the relief went to each delivery, in the right order.... if the people were away, the relief still had to carry his crate of bottles to the doorstep and back..... or argue with a rather large horse (I seem to remember it as a suffolk punch, that would be quite normal) alas charley and ginger were replaced in the late 50s... the same period that evershot was tarmac'd over the cobbles.

Kevoco · July 2015

I do but thought it was the milkman that was called Ginger/John and who had cups of tea brought out to him as he sat high up on the wooden bench on his horse drawn milk cart as it travelled along Corbyn Street and who was still on the round, with his posh new electric milk float, when we moved away from the area in about 1965. Not sure if the cuppas continued after he went electric though. I also remember the baker that delivered from stables on the road where the telephone exchange was/is (Pine Grove?) behind the old Bullens yard at the end of Bracey Street and also an old guy who used to arrive each evening on his bike to light the gas powered street lamps that we had on Corbyn Street which I guess were replaced in the late 50’s for electric street lighting. I never did see him in the mornings though to switch the lights off but as I would only have been around 5 or 6 at the time assume that his round started long before I did! I also managed to get a job helping the man that delivered Pink paraffin from the back of his van each week during winter. I had to knock on the doors, collect the paraffin cans and take them to the van for him to fill before delivering them back and collecting the money. Probably only earned about 6d (2.5p) but that went quite a long way for a 10 year old in those days.

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