The Wonder of Woolies!

'Feelings' course, undated, but circa 1988

I was sorting through some old paperwork today, trying to find various documents, when I came across some old certificates, one of them from my time working at Woolworths in Fareham. Suddenly all those memories came flooding back, as if it was yesterday. In today's blog, I thought I would go back in time, not as far as the black and white photograph above, but when I first left school in 1987 and got my first job at our local 'Woolies!' The photograph above shows my local Woolworths, probably in the 1950s, although I couldn't find a date. If you actually click on the black and white photograph, a link will take you to the Woolworths Museum website, an interesting read for people like me, who used to work there.

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Woolworths, Fareham, 1987

In 1987, I left school in Fareham, preparing to start courses at the Tertiary College, as it was then. I thought it was about time I got a job; at sixteen years old, I wanted my independence, being able to buy the things I wanted, without asking Mum and Dad. Like most school leavers at the time, I applied for a job at Woolworths, in West Street. The interview was good; I can even recall what I was wearing; an 80s Christmas jumper; remembering it like it was yesterday.  Within a few days, I discovered I had got the position; just a Saturday job, paying the equivalent of 1,80€ an hour. Looking back at those days now, with fondness; it was and probably the best job I ever had.

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Nancy and myself, circa 1987

When I started at Woolies, there was very little technology to speak of. The tills were old fashioned and cumbersome, the credit card machine, was an old fashioned manual card swiper and the cashing up was just as papercentric. You  also had to know how to add up and give the correct change, something that doesn't happen today. Everything seemed so much simpler then. The late 1980s were a fabulous time for me; finally able to stand on my own two feet, something that has been difficult to achieve in Spain, let alone as a teenage boy.

The photograph on the left is of myself and one of the supervisors, called Nancy, who was a joy to work with, as were all those in charge. Within a few months I was promoted to supervisor myself and was put in charge of the Saturday shift

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Saturday Supervisors Book 1988-1990

I also found my old Saturday Supervisors Book today, something I haven't seen in nearly thirty years. It is strange the things I kept, little bits of my past, memories and a link to happier times. I had a flick through the pages earlier, which did make me cringe a little. Reading between the lines, I think I must have been a bit of a tyrant at times. I guess Management has always been in my blood, and I stayed in the same field of employment, even after leaving Woolworths. I did become very attached to people at Woolies during the three years I spent there. For me, it almost became a social outing each weekend and didn't feel like work at all. I remember my two closest friends, whilst I was there, were Marsha and Elenor. We would spend lunch time, together, popping over to Marks and Spencer, next door for sandwiches, or on week days, if I was doing overtime, there was a subsidised canteen, where all the food was freshly cooked each day, unheard of today, as is the hour long lunch break, we enjoyed. Times were certainly different, a lot more care free, better, enjoyable; it was a pleasure to get up and go to work. We may well be better paid in 2017, but take me back to the 1980s any time!

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Woolies Christmas Party, 1990

I seemed to spend more time at Woolies, than I did at College, getting into trouble on a number of occasions for missing lectures. I started to go into work  after College to sweep the shop, before closing; well it was more money, and it wasn't too far out of my way, to walk down The Avenue and into work.

In 1988, the shop was  refitted, myself and another colleague volunteered to stay overnight, while work was being carried out. Now my memory is a bit hazy, but for some reason, I remember, I spent the night upstairs in the canteen getting absolutely trollied. I can only assume, that we had just had the shops Christmas Party, which were also legendary, and there was rather a lot of alcohol laying about.

I ended up with my head now the Managers executive toilet, until the wee small hours, throwing up. To this day, the rest of the staff don't know what happened that night. I am damn sure if they did, I would have been sacked on the spot. However after nearly thirty years, I think enough time has passed to mention it.

In the morning I was taken home by one of the supervisors, I can't remember who, claiming I had got food poisoning from the canteen. I literally got out of that one by the skin of my teeth, having the worst of hangovers. To be honest, it was no worse than turning up for work every Saturday morning, with no sleep, after a night drinking at 'The Swordfish' public house (Now an old peoples home) at Lee-on-the-Solent; our local student hangout!

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Bobs last day. That's me on the far left

We were given a new Manager in 1988. I don't want to mention his name, especially as the gentleman in question is no longer with us. He wasn't someone I enjoyed working with; rather arrogant and in my opinion a little strange. I remember during the summer of 1989, I was working with the stock room Manager, who also, just happened to be called Darren. It was hot, I had my top off, wearing a pair of shorts. The store Manager came up the stairs, while, I was sat on a bench having a drink. The look of horror on his face was cutting; then he began shouting and screaming, giving that look he always did, that pierced right through you. Needless to say, I was fully clothed within minutes. In the 1980s Your Manager could really talk to you, as he or she thought fit and there was very little you could do about it

I did get myself in a few scrapes, having a couple of disciplinary's for speaking out of turn, as well as pulling a prank on another member of staff, which went horribly wrong and I was caught in the act as it were. The store Manager didn't see the funny side and I was hauled off to his office. I actually thought I would lose my job, but despite our mutual dislike, he let me off with a caution and a wink with his left eye!

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Leaving Card

Leaving Card

All good things have to come to an end as they say. In 1990, I was offered a job in the Civil Service, so I duly handed in  my notice and prepared to leave, the only job I had ever known. It was a hard wrench leaving, such a fantastic group of people. I had made many friends there, even keeping in touch with a few, still today. Your first job is always the most special and the memories of my time, spent in Britain's most famous general store are still with me today.

It was a sad day when Woolworths left our high streets. Woolworths has a special place in people's hearts. My Gran used to work for them, on the deli counter: many of those I went to school with, also worked there, it felt like a right of passage into adulthood. There is talk of shops reopening in the near future at a local level, which would be fantastic for all of us, who began our working lives, filling the shelves of pick & mix, restocking the records, as the top ten changed each week and pulling the eyes off the seed potatoes, so nobody would ever know. That was the wonder of Woolies, something, today's generation will never really know!

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