Then
Back then you addressed adults quite formally. Mr Assert was the school caretaker. Mrs Rosling ran the post office. Mrs Austwick had the sweet shop and Mr Peers was the proprietor of the village's general store. Next door was a widow from Northern Ireland. She was Mrs Varley and she was a pillar of the church. She sang to the rafters when nobody else seemed to be raising their voices in praise of "The Lord". The village policeman was Sergeant Pepys. He had two daughters - Diane and Vicky and sometimes we played in what was once a rural court room - still part of their mid-Victorian police house. Our village employed a street sweeper. He was Mr Grubham and he was small in stature. Looking back, it is possible that he had learning difficulties. You would see him with his brushes and his bin on wheels, forever sweeping the roads and footpaths and titivating the verges. He never said much but he did his job and people were kind to him. Miss Spicer sometimes babysat us and Mum...