Laura recently received this fascinating letter from a ‘Doreen of Huyton’, who describes her time working on Bold Street in Fullers.
“Dear Laura,
My memories began December 1944 I was 14yrs old and about to leave school. I was called in by my Head Mistress and asked if I would be interested in going for an interview to Fullers Cafe in Bold Street as they were wanting a cashier I went for the interview and was accepted for the situation. In the years I was there I have many happy memories.
The Manageress Miss Bloore was very strict, I had to get used to answering the phone so I was quite nervous when it rang and was told I must answer it; it was a customer wanting to reserve a table so I put on my very best voice and replied yes that would be O.K. I thought I did rather well but was called to one side and told I must never use that saying again, it was very well Sir or Madam and not O.K. I dread to think what the young assistants would say to that now, but I appreciated the training I had. Every morning from about 9.30am. the managers from all the local shops, Watson Motors next door, Radiant House, Jaeger, there would be about 6 or 8 occupying one table under the stairs with roars of laughter they would be there for a couple of hours and then they would come and pay their bill 4d.each all paying for their own cup of coffee. Some job eh!
My friend Norah was about to leave school Easter 1945. So I mentioned this to Miss Bloore and so Norah got a job on the counter where they sold the famous Fullers cakes and chocolates. Tuesday we re allowed to purchase a sandwich cake. Norah & I where going to the Magnet Cinema in Wavertree straight from work and I was sitting in the Cinema with my cake box on my lap when a voice behind popped his head over and said aren’t you going to open that, I thought cheeky beggar, as he was a local lad I did know him but not well enough to share my Fullers cake with, anyway he is still a cheeky beggar and still likes his stomach and next month we celebrate our 55th. wedding anniversary.
The show on the Empire was {Perchance To Dream} with a well known cast including Zena Dare who came into Fullers for lunch asked me would I like to see the show and that there would be 2 tickets left for me that evening at the box office, I had to get in touch with Terry my then boyfriend and asked him to meet me there I had, nt told him then how I had come by the tickets so there we where in the orchestra stalls with my 2ozs.fruit drops and his 5 Woodbines . We thoroughly enjoyed the show though.
When miss Bloore got to know that I had a boyfriend she said that she was very disappointed as she had hoped I would eventually train to be a managers and Fullers did not employ married woman to be managers, so ended my career.
Sadly Blacklers Stores was bombed and they took over several small shops in Bold Street which brought a different class of customer to Bold Street including me I loved Blacklers especially the basement where you could rummage around for ages books etc. and especially a dumper full of crockery lids where you would find one to fit your tea pot or dish because you had broken one.
Most of the staff in Fullers were quite mature so Norah & I were referred to as the two kids. Sadly my friend Norah has passed away but I am sure she could have told a few stories too.”
Doreen of Huyton
I am 62 years old, and I remember going to The Kardomah Cafe in Manchester, with my mother, and having a piece of Fullers Chocolate Layer Cake. I can still remember the dark rich chocolate teast. I only wish that you could get one now-a-days. Peter.
Oh this is amazing. My Mum was Norah and so told us so many funny stories about working at Fullers. She loved her job there and was really sad to leave.
My Grandad Henry Fishwick worked as a commercial traveller for Fuller’s Confectioner’s. He would have been retired by the time Doreen and Nora were working in Bold Street, but as he was born in Liverpool, although moved to London as a young man in the late 1890s, maybe somebody reading your pages might have a memory of him or his family. I have happy memories of Fuller’s Walnut Cake, with white frosting on top and all down the sides - yum.