Parades of shops looked very different 40 years ago.
When I was a kid growing up in Croxley Green our local parade was known locally as the 'Top Shops', and it's evolved somewhat since then.
295: This used to be Forbuoys newsagent and the Post Office, somewhere to buy my sweets and comics and to get my first day covers stamped, it later became JJ News, then last year the Post Office closed and today it's Greens Essentials, 'hardware for the people of Croxley'. 297: This used to be Wilyman Chemists, somewhere to buy cough syrup and to get my reels of photos developed, and is still Wilyman Chemists to this day, even down to the lovely nostalgic lettering above the door. 299: This used to be a bakery, I can't remember the name, but they had the most gorgeous cream cakes in the window and did a cracking iced bun round, but now it's a unisex salon called we are... Hair For You, and I much preferred it when they did sliced white loaves and cream horns.
301: This used to be Peter Webb, the local grocery store stacked with tins and packets for when you didn't have time to walk down to Budgens on New Road, and it's still a supermarket but without the personal counter service, it's been a Londis for ages. 303: This used to be L & G Meats, a proper butchers with red meat in the window and a man in an apron wielding a big knife, and hell yes even in 80s Hertfordshire we had a deli counter, but eventually Londis took it over to create a double-sized store so it's more chiller cabinet than raw beef these days. 305: This used to be H Willoughby, the local greengrocers, we knew the lady behind the till so Mum was always dropping in for a chat, later it became Roberts Fruit for all your fresh fruit and veg needs, and more recently The Grocer on The Green which is a bit more up itself with prices to match. 307: This used to be P Beckford, a hardware store, you could get anything here, just look at that genuine 80s advert from the village newsletter, whereas these days it's another beauty salon called Bliss Beauty, and although a new hardware store has appeared at the other end of the parade it's not the same. 309: This was and still is The Corner Plaice, a family business that's been known to win national awards for its fish and chips, it's so traditional that the current owner started working here in the early 90s when he was 13, I don't think I ever realised quite how lucky I was to have a chippie like this at the top of the road, proper fried bliss.
