Those were the days before the Co-Op Supermarket was built and also before Morrisons and other supermarkets sprung up on the outskirts. Looking back I just can't remember where in Cromer we did our shopping.
I do know that quite often we would drive up to a small grocery shop on what is known as The Marrams which, to those who know the area, is tucked away off the coast road on the way to Sheringham.
The shop was owned and run by a lovely man by the name of Syd Wild. I mentioned yesterday that I shared a flat with two other guys - one of whom worked for North Norfolk District Council and came from Morecambe. Syd also came from Lancashire and so there was a good bond of friendship between them.
It was some while after I moved from Cromer that poor old Syd hit the national and local news. He was bludgeoned to death in his own shop during a robbery that went wrong.
I have been able to track down information from the archives of the Eastern Daily Press newspaper from November 1984. By this time I was a sub editor for the Norwich Mercury Series of Newspapers in Norwich. That series included the North Norfolk News and so that may have been how I got to hear about the murder. It was well over a decade after working in Cromer but I still remembered Syd and still remember him to this day. Isn't it strange that some people you only have a passing acquaintance with stay in your memory forever? This is what the newspaper had to say.
"THE murder of popular Cromer shopkeeper Sydney Wild sparked off a massive police operation which lasted exactly a week. Mr. Wild, who was 67, had run the Westcliff Stores in Westcliff Avenue, Cromer, for about 30 years. He was found by a young customer visiting the shop at about 7.30 pm on November 27th last year, and died soon afterwards in Cromer Hospital. He had been hit at least five times on the head with a blunt instrument.
Search Officers from all over Norfolk converged on Cromer Police Station that night as a murder investigation was launched. The following morning, about 60 officers were drafted in. Some conducted house to-house inquiries in the area around the shop, while others combed gardens and alleyways and searched the clifftop and beaches for the weapon.
Three days later, another 40 officers were brought in and on the Sunday following Mr. Wild's death, Det. Chief Supt. Maurice Morson announced that two men had been charged with his murder."
Customers and friends of Syd described him as a "jovial man always willing to go the extra mile." Syd came from Rochdale but had lived in Cromer for over 40 years. Previously he had been manager of Cromer Laundry and also a guest house. Apparently everyone loved Syd and I can still picture him in his shop laughing and sharing a joke with his customers.
Of the two men charged, one was charged with murder and the other with manslaughter. I assume both got life sentences although I haven't been able to confirm this at the present time.
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Time to lighten the mood a little and relate something that had me laughing at the time.
We were staying in a lovely old house in Devon a few years ago with our eldest son and his partner. We noticed in the village that one of the pubs had a quiz on, so we went in and booked.
"We usually have seven or eight teams so you might want to get here a little early," said the landlord.
That wasn't a problem as we wanted something to eat before the quiz so we pitched up at about 6 pm, well ahead of the 7.30 starting time. We enjoyed a meal and the time slowly crept round to 7.30 but we remained the only people in the pub.
We checked with the barman that it was quiz night and shortly after the landlord came over to us.
"Can't understand it. This has never happened before but you seem to be the only team. Perhaps you are all geniuses and the word has got around," he quipped.
We were given the option of just sitting there for the remainder of the evening or taking part in a one team quiz. So we decided on the latter. Each person had to pay £1 to enter with the winning team getting all the money. So we paid our £4 to take part and, of course, got it back at the end of the evening.
Needless to say we won the quiz but in our defence we did beat the previous week's winning score when there had been seven teams.
At the end of each round there was a prize for the team with the highest score for that round. So after round one we got 50% off a round of drinks and the same for round two etc. Needless to say those of us who turned to tomato juice stayed fairly sober whilst those who continued to drink alcohol (and they shall remain nameless) got bladdered (I think that's the term).
Isn't it strange how, if the quiz had been a proper one we would probably have consigned it to the back of the mind by now but because it was such a farce we will always remember it?
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Hooray. I have booked my first COVID jab for next Thursday. Freedom seems to be a step nearer today.
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Finally today there are a couple of cuttings from the local newspaper on the local youth club's roof appeal and my piece on Alan Utting who lived in Hethersett is available at:
Tributes to former Norwich Union accountant Alan Utting | Eastern Daily Press (edp24.co.uk)