Peter North

There was Mr. Frank White from Wolverton who came into the village every day with provisions, if you asked for anything which he did not have on the van he would be back with it within the hour. There were two bakers who both delivered twice a week, Mr Jack King from Wolverton, who used to deliver with a horse and dray but later had a motor van, and Mr. Tom Adams from Stoke Goldington who always had a horse and trap. He came into the village about 7pm, left his horse on the Village Green (The Green was open ground was where the house called Red Roofs stands today) went straight to The Greyhound and delivered the bread after turning out time, after most of his customers were in bed, he would leave ours in the outhouse round by the backdoor and we would get it in the morning. The bread was often black on top, but his dough cakes were delicious, I have never tasted any like them since. More then once he left more than the normal amount of cakes and when he collected his money would say “I won’t charge you for the cakes I forgot to put the sugar in”. All the time I knew him he had the same horse and it knew every stop. Which was a good thing, as there were five gates to open and close on the road between Little Linford and Gayhurst.

The butcher was Jack Little, I believe he lived in New Bradwell, he had a butchers shop in buildings behind the old Post Office. He would buy his animals from the village farms, kill them on the farm with the help of the farmer and sell them round the village. I remember he once went round with some sausages and offered them at half price, nobody would buy them, everyone was suspicious of what was in them, next day he offered the same sausages at the normal price and sold the lot.