Comments on: Down The Roman Road

By: Steve Clarkj

Steve Clarkj — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 13:44:57 +0000

I worked in that toy shop as a teenager around ’68/69’ish.
A kid the year above me at Parmiter’s Grammar in Approach Rd E2 was a keen & successful slot car builder/racer who worked there…I had a keen interest too, so would be in the shop almost every day…where Stephen Moser would be building away when not serving customers & I’d hang around just out of interest.
He/that eventually led to a part-time job there myself…whereby we’d both be building slot cars no-stop.
We did indeed sell prams/cots (left window/side)…toys, including much Scalextric & everything associated with it, to the right.
The name Andersons doesn’t ring any bells but then it perhaps wouldn’t..now 50yrs on!

By: marie doughty

marie doughty — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:41:51 +0000

Lovely to know Denningtons are still trading ,they made my wedding flowers in the 50s I wonder if the young man who was ran the stall outside Woolworths on Saturdays is Sharon’s father ,my Mum used to buy me a two bob bunch of flowers from him every week .the Roman was a great market .I no longer live in London but when I do visit I try go down the Roman happy memories. Also the toy shop near the corner of Grove rd I think was called Andersons they also sold prams and cots my grandfather bought my son’s pram for us when he was born his first toys came from there my husband bought the biggest truck I had ever seen for our son’s first Christmas and he was only six weeks old he was much older before he could play with it .
Thank you G A .

By: Juliet

Juliet — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:03:11 +0000

I recently acquired a 1020s vintage treadle singer machine which needed some work.
Sew Amazing were recommended to me by a friend who was a professional costumier. I was delighted to find someone local who could get it back into working order, and at a reasonable price!

By: Di Corry

Di Corry — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 13:47:07 +0000

Good to see these traditional, family run businesses still surviving in Roman Road which has changed so much in recent years.
Denningtons the Florist (the corner shop) supplied all our family wedding bouquets in the 1970’s and 80’s and my Grandma used to say they made the best ‘Gates of Heaven’ for funerals……when she passed away we made sure her own ‘Gates of Heaven’ came from Denningtons. Long may these shops flourish and thank you Gentle Author for another trip down the Roman and memory lane.

By: Vita

Vita — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 09:50:46 +0000

Thank you Gentle Author for introducing us to all these joyful enterprises in stark contrast to the gloom so often found in your blog posts of other long-established businesses being hounded out due to commercial greed.

By: Dave Verguson

Dave Verguson — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 07:08:29 +0000

Does anyone remember the toyshop that stood near the junction with Grove Rd?

Coming to visit my grandparents that lived in Ellesmere Rd, we walked from Mile End Rd to Roman Rd and I always ran ahead at the junction to make time to look in the window!

(This would be about 1958 or so and we had move out to Romford, then in Essex.)

By: Annie G

Annie G — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 07:03:56 +0000

Time to take a stroll here. Never been.

By: Christopher Glen

Christopher Glen — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 06:07:38 +0000

Great to see local businesses like these with real Londoners running them. Such businesses are the lifeblood of the community, and everyone should remember that when spending their money.

By: Paul Loften

Paul Loften — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 01:07:16 +0000

I remember the sewing machine shop in Church Street in stokey . There may have been more than one actually but the one I remember was next to Gino’s the barber. But being a small lad when i lived around there I often used to go to Gino’s get my hair cut but the sewing machine shop always remained a place of mystery . Justa point of interest .Before Gino’s there was an amazing barber shop for kids called Curly Cuts where all the curly tots would sit lined up in the window in little toy cars and get their hair cut by a barber who promised that he cut the childrens hair in special way so that it would remain curly for the rest of their life. I dont know if that is possible but you do see a lot of older curly people in Stoke Newington