How things have changed

Doris Challis worked as a sales assistant at Sainsbury's during the Second World War, when many foodstuffs were in short supply:

'Talking back slang amongst the staff was very important.  One could not say in front of customers, sugar has just been delivered, or bacon etc. It has to be RAGUS for sugar, NOCCAB for butter, RETTUB for bacon etc.'

(Doris Challis, written reminiscence, 1984)

Customer Mr A.D. Holland remembers seasonal product displays at Sainsbury's:

‘There was two outstanding feature about Sainsbury for Easter - there was the coloured eggs of many colours (which you were privileged to get on Easter Monday for there were no chocolate eggs at this period and what a disappointment it was to find the colour had disappeared in the cooking) and the other feature was the piglet with an orange in its snout at Christmas in the window with all the turkeys hanging outside the shop on the long metal bars.’

(Mr A.D. Holland, written reminiscence, 1989)