What a wonderful sight – there were eggs everywhere you looked!
When we lived in Appleby Street, back in these times there used to be dozens of corner shops dotted around all over.
Now just at the top of the street next door, Burdon Main Row, there was a corner shop. To be honest I can’t remember the name of it. Now on the corner where the shop was when you came round off the main road (which was called Howden Road), you had a bit of a bank. As far as I can remember the man who used to deliver the eggs came round a bit too quick and, trying to dodge an oncoming car, shed his load. What a wonderful sight – there were eggs everywhere you looked! We kids even had a fight with some eggs before we got chased.
Now in this day and age, we had no such things as mobile phones so as soon as the driver went into the shop to report it to the police that was it. People started to appear from nowhere and help themselves. It did not take more than a couple of minutes for the driver to return but within this time half his load had disappeared into the sunset. Once outside he was going nuts, screaming and bawling and calling everybody rogues and thieves and God knows what else. But it was a waste of time because all were gone.
Now us being kids it never entered our minds to grab a box or two to take home. We just hid ours round the corner and had an egg fight and threw them all over the place. It was great fun at the time but when I think back, one way or another, we must have smashed around seven hundred eggs at least. Now can you imagine the ones who took dozens home to eat? As the old saying goes “do you want them fried, boiled, poached or scrambled?” These lot must have dreamed and saw eggs in their sleep for weeks after the crash. To us kids, it was all in a day’s fun and mischief but I bet the driver got a good ticking off when he told his boss.
Happy days once more.