Fordoing

My dad was browsing through some photos this morning choosing which ones to send to a friend of his who is making a book on the history of Bedfont. My dad grew up in Bedfont and and lived there untill I was born when shortly after him and my mum moved to Surrey where I still live today. With a lot of blogs I find them all very impersonal that’s why I have illustrated my own with things I enjoy doing and create blog posts with events and things that mean a lot to me.

These photos are mostly of my Grandad Anthony Tony Ford’s Butchers shop (H.H. FORD Butchers) and of Bedfont. The shop was in my family for just over 105 years my birthday being on it’s 100th year. It was well known in the area for being a family butcher. I remember the shop very well and have many fond memories of being with my dad and grandad eating ham straight from the slicer. I was told that my grandad would weigh me on thescales in front of his customers and sit me on the counter as he served.

The shop closed down in 1989 as did many local butcher shops of this time. The rise in Tescos and main stream supermarkets meant the lack of profit for local shops.

I have tried to give a varied view of Bedfont from the photos selected, some of the photos were taken as far back as the 1930s.

The photo of the School Trip at the shop had a funny story that went with it. The children from the local ‘Bedfont Green School’ came to visit the shop and at the end my Grandad gave them some sausages to take home to eat. They all wrote some messages on a poster saying thanks for the visit to my Grandad’s shop.

One kid had written “Thanks for the sausages I had them for breakfast the next day!” One that made my dad and my Grandad laugh at the time said “It was great I saw the butchers chopper!”

I hope you enjoy these photos if I find any more I’ll be sure to post them up.