Topic: Does anyboby miss Woolworths ?

[lincsyokel2]

We cook our chips in olive oil and they are fantastic!!!! ;D

noo, dont be silly.

Chips should be made from either Maris Piper or Lincolnshire Red potatoes and fried in beef fat.  The batter used for the fish need to be made with beer (pref Brown Ale), and the fish landed that morning, and unfrozen.

If you havent tasted them made this way then you know nothing of fish n chips

[gwynnethmary]

Miss the Woolworths of my youth............remember the wooden floorboards,loved the hot peanuts.So many things.

The modern day shops were not great.Very sad.

I was a Saturday girl at Woolies in the 60s, on the sweet counter. I loved the dinners in the staff canteen- pie, mash, mushy peas and the most delicious gravy-great stuff.

[pumkinlover]

Me RRRRRRRRRRRRRR keeps sticking ,driving me nuts .

Ahrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,, that's a shame >:(

[Ninnyscrops.]

Oh yes, as mentioned before the well trodden floor boards, the dark wood open counters and the place I bought my first mascara (haven't worn any for years  :)) on Clapham High Street opposite the train museum that moved to York.

On the sub-thread.....

Cara tat chips cooked in sunflower or vegetable oil are better than the beef dripping from my youth and pale ale is a better batter for fish, not so soggy  ;) If only we could source freshly caught fish, even 20 miles away from the sea without going to Hastings which is nearly an hour, I would be in heaven!

[Aden Roller]

....
And what happended to Timothy White's?

I remember a Timothy Whites & Taylors from my childhood.  They were a sort of cross between Boots and Robert Dyas.  Swallowed up by Boots eventually.

That particular day I think I gave Woolies a miss.

I left school for the last time and wandered along the High Street nipping into the local stores that looked interesting asking if any one had a job going. I got to the very last shop in the street, Timmy Whites, and was asked if I could start the following Monday.

I loved it!! To begin with I was employed to replace the porter who was off ill recovering from a heart attack. Soon I was assisting in the stockroom and then on the shop floor serving customers... eventually stock-taking and ordering. Lousy rate of pay, good discount and great fun when it was busy.

The mamanger was quite disappointed when I turned down the offer of a trainee managers job. I had said it was just a temporary job I was after. A few weeks later I set off to college in the big city miles away on the other side of the country.

[ACE]

It does not matter which beer you use, it is the sugar content that makes the batter crispy. You get a crispier batter if you dilute sugar into the mixture without wasting the 'falling over water'


I worked part time in a chippie years ago and the head frier always splashed a drop of sugarwater into the deep frier when the fish was added with a great big hiss the batter came out loverly. The use of oil instead of lard was purely economics. You could filter and clean oil, the lard had to be dumped.

Chips were made with king edwards, the only spud availiable and as long as the lard was the correct heat and not too many  chips put in at a time they were the perfect chip. Plus the chipping machine cut a bigger chip in them days not these stupid thin things they use nowadays.  Wrapped in newspaper (proper recycling) with loads of salt and vinegar is the only way to eat them.

[Ninnyscrops.]

Ahah another interesting turn on the home cooked batter ACE, I always add vinegar to the mixture too, just a slurp  ;) and if the pickled onion jar is looking more vinegar than onion later in the year, that goes in! ;D

Let's not forget this is a Woolworth thread though - hijacking sorry :-[

[Aden Roller]

Let's not forget this is a Woolworth thread though - hijacking sorry :-[

Timmy Whites was quite close in our High Street  ;D

[powerspade]

I remember the old styled Woolies with the wooden floors a and the girls behind the counters. I bought some of my first garden tools from the one in Bargoed
Dutch Hoe 2s 3d
Draw hoe 1s 6d
Trowel 6d
Hand fork 9d
Still got them and still use them but they are looking very thin and worn down.
Used to buy my seeds from them too. Who remembers Bees seeds and Cuthberts seeds?
Woollies have been replaced by wilkies and that where I get most of my stuff from these days

[Aden Roller]

I remember the old styled Woolies with the wooden floors a and the girls behind the counters. I bought some of my first garden tools from the one in Bargoed
Dutch Hoe 2s 3d
Draw hoe 1s 6d
Trowel 6d
Hand fork 9d
Still got them and still use them but they are looking very thin and worn down.
Used to buy my seeds from them too. Who remembers Bees seeds and Cuthberts seeds?
Woollies have been replaced by wilkies and that where I get most of my stuff from these days

Some of Woolworth's stuff was brilliant when I was very young - good quality for the price and it lasted.
My mum still has the milk saucepan she bought when I was very little (50+ years ago) and still uses it to boil eggs. Good value? Dead right it was.

I've heard of Cuthberts Seeds.... are they still around?
Bargoed South Wales? I've been there!!!  :)

[jimtheworzel]

bumping this thread up

[Stevens706]

I was in Munich last week and they still have Woolworths - don't know who owns them

[Digeroo]

I was a Saturday girl at Woolies in the 60s, on the sweet counter. I loved the dinners in the staff canteen- pie, mash, mushy peas and the most delicious gravy-great stuff.

I also had a 60s holiday job there but no canteen.  Very unhygenic, we had to serve potatoes and then biscuits with only a bucket of dirty water to wash in. 

Bought a great set of mini greenhouses there just before they closed, I would like some new covers.

[Aden Roller]

I was in Munich last week and they still have Woolworths - don't know who owns them

Wasn't it only the UK ones that closed down?

[lincsyokel2]

I remember the old styled Woolies with the wooden floors a and the girls behind the counters. I bought some of my first garden tools from the one in Bargoed
Dutch Hoe 2s 3d
Draw hoe 1s 6d
Trowel 6d
Hand fork 9d
Still got them and still use them but they are looking very thin and worn down.
Used to buy my seeds from them too. Who remembers Bees seeds and Cuthberts seeds?
Woollies have been replaced by wilkies and that where I get most of my stuff from these days

I have a hand drill of my Grandfathers, its was sold in three parts, the drill body, the handle and turn gear, and the chuck, 6d each, 1/6d for the whole drill.

[Aden Roller]

Just searched for Woolworths to see if there are stores still operating abroad and found this:

Link to: Woolworths.co.uk...An on-line store

Did anyone else know that this existed or am I the last to cotton on?

[Stopp]

and if your missing all those lovely sweets

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/picknmix/en/Pic-n-Mix.page?cm_re=Header-_-USP-_-Pic+N+Mix&searchTerm=pic-n-mix&cmtag=o

 :P