Marlene Tolley – The cash desk

Marlene: Some things in life you remember and some you don’t, and the more you think about it, the more it makes you feel quite happy to think you’ve gone through that era really. ‘Cos when I go to a shop now, and they give you your change and they say, “Here ya go.” We used to have to count the change out to people although that’s not quite true.

There was a Cash Desk. You used to have to go to the … they paid at the Cash Desk, but latterly everybody counted the money out to people .

Simon: Oh, that changed eventually, the centralised Cash Desk then came Tills.

Marlene: Yes. It didn’t become Tills. No, I think you did a stint in the Cash Desk in case anyone was away. Not very often, but you had to know how to give change to people.

No, I’m telling you lies. You took the thing to the Cash Desk; they gave you the change and you gave it to the customer. Yeah, that’s it. But you had to count it out properly and it was Pounds, shillings and pence in those days. You know, 22, 24, 30.