The Level

As my family lived in Ditchling Road, we used to visit the London Road area for shopping. The Open Market was very busy and popular at the time, we usually had a cup of tea there. I can recall what seemed to me at the time to be a large shop called Bellmans, which was on the site of Somerfields now and my mother used to buy her knitting wool in there.

There was a small Sainsbury’s amongst the row of shops on the other side of the road, before self-service of course, where butter was cut off large slabs and handed to you wrapped in paper. The Co-op was also on our list of visits, and Buxtons where I would gaze through the window at the prams and toys inside.

Our shopping trip was usually combined with a visit to The Level. At the time it seemed to be a huge area. There was water, a bridge, swings and slides – heaven for small children. My mother’s sister and her husband came to stay frequently with us during the summer months and there was one occasion when they left my cardigan behind. Of course, nowadays that wouldn’t be such a disaster – they would simply buy me a new one! In the 1950s, however, clothes were more precious and that story has remained in my memory until now.