Rita Grundy

Rita talks about how the shops and shopping habbits have changed

We had a wonderful shop called Bon Marche, you could get anything in there. Woolworth's was down the High Street, and then it moved up to where it is now on the corner. Boots used to be in the High Street too, on the corner as you come out of the Market into High Street on the right. On the corner, opposite there was a shop where you could get butter that they took off the pats, there used to be a huge slab, and it would be done up for you in a packet. Everyone shopped daily in those days, because no-one had a fridge or freezer, every house had a pantry with a marble slab where you kept your butter and bacon, but you always popped down to the corner shop to get what you wanted. We used to go into town on Fridays and Saturdays. On Fridays all the shops were open until 8pm and on Saturdays they were open until 9pm. Gravesend Market was a marvellous market, its nothing now compared to how it used to be, you could buy anything you wanted there.