Used to have various vans coming round selling sweets or cake, you know, it was a recognised thing. Milkmen used to come round into the hop fields, you didn't really have to go outside the hop field because all the vans used to come round periodically. It was only if you wanted certain things that you'd go into the local village.

You don't know what you missed! When it was nice, we used to get some really beautiful weeks in September, 'cos that's when the hop picking really starts, about the 2nd or 3rd September and it usually goes on to about the end of September. But there were times when the weather wasn't quite so good, but you still had to out. I mean, we used to start at seven o'clock in the morning 'til twelve and I think it was half an hour lunch we had and then it was half-past twelve to half-past four I think it was, or five, but we were always up at half past five in the morning, you know...'cos what we 

used to do, we used to get the fire all ready first thing in the morning. I always remember the tea we used to drink - you'd probably say ugh! I wouldn't fancy that - but what we used to do, a pot, an aluminium pot, and you'd get the water boiling, in would go the tea, in would go the milk, in would go the sugar and give it a good old stir...beautiful, beautiful tea.

What used to happen was...the summer holidays used to...finish at the beginning of September. Well I always used to be missing the first three weeks didn't I, see, well me and my brothers and sister and we always used to get told off for missing the first three weeks of the term. It wasn't our fault!



London Road, Hinckley