A RECENT picture of Venture Street Bolton, just before demolition in 1972, brought back memories to Mr Lloyd Egerton, of Lever Edge Lane, Bolton.

"It was nicknamed Good Husband Street," he tells me, "and was well-kept."

"My Great Aunt Lizzie Mort lived with Uncle Jim at No. 25 (I'm going back to the late 1940s-early 1950s) and Aunty used to look after us during the school holidays; our parents were out working in the local cotton mills.

"I was born in York Street, lived there until I was 12 years old, attended St Mark's School before moving to Hayward School in 1952 (it was named Great Lever School at first).

"On Venture Street there was a small corner shop owned by Mary Roscoe, and just down the street the Jubilee Stores, which sold vegetables, fish, rabbits, fruit (I recall the rabbits hanging outside the shop). Then there was Herbert's chip shop, as good as any chippy in the world; there was one wooden form to sit on, a wooden floor covered with oil cloth in the usual black and green squares, a wooden counter, and as much salt and vinegar as you liked.

"On the other side of the street was a building belonging to BEF Battersby, England, and Foster, a small engineering firm. Then came Bolton Co-operative Society Ltd., where Steele Street crossed, a large grocery store which always smelled of ground coffee. It had a wooden floor always covered in sawdust, and a counter which seemed to go all round the shop, with massive brass scales on it.

"Butter was in wooden barrels, biscuits in large square tins, sugar in blue bags - lots of food was hand-weighed in those days, because tea and coffee was loose. Sides of bacon hung on a chrome rail.

"I suppose the best of all was the Co-op Divi, little yellow tickets you were given, with the amount of money you had spent. These were then stuck on a card, and could then be cashed in. The Co-op also had a shoe shop, and a butchery.

"A little further down the street, the sisters Bates had a small confectionary shop, plus a few groceries, but they managed to survive even against the mighty Co-op.

"Then at the end of the street was the Forge Tavern. I dread to think how many pints of ale must have been downed at that pub -the workers were allowed to go out in working hours.

"I can see inside Aunty Lizzie's house at No. 25 now, having to sit, wearing short pants, on a horse hair couch. A table cloth was always on the table, and there were four Victorian dining chairs; I also remember a double-weight Vienna wall clock, a cast-iron Yorkshire fireplace, coconut matting, brass fender companion set and coal scuttle, but most of all, on rainy afternoons, we played dominoes.

"The prize was currants, which were placed in a basin, plus a large mug of water. If you chipped out you could take 12 currants and a large drink of water.

"We made our own entertainment in those days. Times do change, though. I remember two gas lamps in the street, plus the cobbles being tarmaced over - great for any games we wanted to play, especially marbles.

"Oh, happy days."