A world we have lost

Published: 28 January, 2011

• IT was lovely to read Bill Ward (Memories of a market that was a child’s wonderland, January 21). How right he is! I remember Exmouth Market so well. 

To his list of stalls and shops, I can add the little toy shop where the lady was so nice and always found something cheap for us to buy. 

I lived in Powell Street, and even after I became a mum I would take my daughter to the toy shop. My daughter is 53 now.

Gee Street – Bill Ward’s address – took me back to just after the war. My friend lived there in a prefab, which to me was like a little cottage. Her mum was a disabled lady and made hand-loomed tea towels in the front room. 

Her dad had been in a German prisoner-of-war camp, and one of his camp wardens had been very kind to him. When he came back after the war, the German warden still kept in touch with her dad, and he wanted his daughter to write to my friend. But, for some reason, she did not want to, so I did. We wrote to each other for about 10 years, but then she became ill and I never heard from her again.

How sad it is that we have lost all these friendly areas; not everyone wants posh restaurants. As Bill says, streets are dirty and pavements are so bad. We have lost everything which we held so dear, and were so proud of.

FLORENCE LOTE
Cromer Street, WC1