18th Picture

This Spar Shop in Skellow is the reason we first moved to Doncaster back in 1983. We lived above the shop and my bedroom used to be the furthest on the right.

My bedroom was right above the shop and every time the front door bell rang or the cash draw was opened I’d hear it upstairs. So unless the store was shut, I never had the opportunity for shut off from work, even on my days off.  

Moving to a village and being the outsiders is bad enough but also being a different colour was a strange experience. I think we were the first brown faces to move into the village! To be honest I’m not too sure who had the bigger culture shock us or the locals!

Growing up in a multicultural town like Huddersfield where you get a mix of different nationalities all with their unique culture and ethos living side by side was normal to me. It wasn’t always ideal but it’s what I was used too and what I called home.

To then move as a young 17 year old to a village this classed anyone not born there as an outsiders was totally alien to me.

Having said that, most if not all the locals were very hospitable. We lived above that shop for over 4 years and apart from one drunken brawl outside the shop which resulted in our shop window being smashed we never experienced any trouble.

In a way we were sad to say goodbye to these folks who we regarded as friends, they didn’t have much money but they had a wealth of love to share.

Ammo