About...

Imagine June 1979, Anita Ward was singing ‘Ring my Bell’ and Maggie Thatcher had recently moved into Number 10. I’d almost finished my six months training as part of a ‘Youth Opportunities Programme’ at a local silk screen printing firm after leaving school with less than impressive exam results the previous year, and had popped into the local jobcentre to see what other work was available. Back then, you could pick a card off the wall with job details on it, hand it to the lady at the desk and she’d set up an interview for you. I spotted a factory job in Lavenham which paid more than I’d been getting on the ‘YOP’ scheme, plus they provided free transport, so I took the card to the desk and an interview was arranged. In those days, as long as you turned up and didn’t say or do anything particularly outrageous in the interview you were almost guaranteed to get the job – so that’s what happened…

This postcard shows Lavenham in the 1980s – just how I remember it…

If you have any additional stories, photos etc you'd like to share just email me