Among her souvenirs......

When I was six, meat, bacon, eggs, sugar...etc were all still on war-time ration.

The ration books were issued to the Co-operative, "The Store".

This is the story of the Store Horse. (SH). The SH was a big Clydesdale who pulled the Store Cart, making deliveries around the town. We had a dog called Prince - a labrador-ish kind of dog, who was very protective of his baby - me! Prince used to make a nuisance of himself playing around the feet of the SH. Then one day the SH raised his big foot, and clamped down on Prince - chopping off a claw.

Thereafter, when the Store Cart was heard on the road, Prince would shoot upstairs and hide under a bed. However, after months and months, one day Prince didn't disappear. He played happily in the roadway round the SH again. My mother said to the driver "Someone is getting brave!"

But it turned out that the SH was home sick in his stable - and today's horse was his brother. Identical! Although obviously not to Prince.