Dear LPG,

I was having a bit of a clear out when I discovered this little book from the mid-1960s.   What a shock.  Back in those days I was a working mother with 4 children and these were the groceries that would get six of us through the week.

 You will note that you could get a packet of cornflakes for one and seven pence  ha'penny.  I am betting that there are not many, but for those who don’t remember that far back, I am talking about one shilling and seven and a half pence (when a penny was signified with a ‘d’),  or  1/7½ d.  I could only get Kellogg’s brand in those days and even Tesco’s cheapest cost 39p today which is the equivalent of nearly 8/- back then!  And as you can see my entire bill rarely exceeded £2.   But that is not the best way to calculate, or the point of my letter for that matter.

Like many other wives and mothers back then; before decimalisation and in spite of today’s inflation, I still thought that keeping my children fed was an expensive business.   I lived in Devonshire Road, Honor Oak Park, in those days and I was a busy working mum.  So each Friday morning I would drop the children off at the childminder, and then bring this book to Guscott’s Stores in Honor Oak Park, having made a list of the things I wanted.  On Saturday my, bill would have been tallied, my grocery’s would be delivered to my door, and only at that point would I be expected to pay the bill which did not include a delivery charge.

In spite of the personal service with a smile, I thought that getting my shopping delivered could not get more complicated back then; Oh how wrong can you be?

PB, Sydenham