You think you're loving, but I want to be free...

When I was little, and by little I mean 3 or 4 it was before I started school; we had a corner shop. The corner shop, handily enough sat in the centre of the crescent on which I lived.

It was called "W J Stevenson", but we called it "Stevie's". It was years before I realised that Stevie's name was actually Wallace. Stevie's had everything - a cold counter with cooked meats and a big slicing machine, fruit an veg, baking, and sweets.... lots and lots and lots of sweets. In my little 4 year old mind, half the shop was given over to sweets.

You could go with a one penny piece and get any number of things for that one penny! A Penny mixup. The Counter to the right of the door was all glass covered, but all the sweets were clearly visible to me. Shrimps, sweetie cigarettes, parma violets, jelly rings, tablet, so many things and every one a temptation.

What a treat. On the shelves behind the sweetie counter were the jars of sweets - bonbons, liquorice comfits, pontefrat cakes, and above them were the boxes of crisps. Plain, Cheese and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Tomato Sauce;n those days, a bag of Golden Wonder Crisps were 2½d!!

On the right of the serving counter was the chocolate sweets - Mars Bars (12½d), Marathons, Galaxy, Buttons and Bars. I never really bought anything from there - my favourites were the little bitty things so many for so little money.

Stevie's is long gone now - incorporated fully into what was the Stevenson's house - but I can still see the shop front when I turn the corner and look where it once was.

This is another sweetie shop - one in my series of One Street - my Portland Street.

This is the Cookie Jar, a dangerous shop full of lovely treats. All the little things I used to get 10 for a penny are available here- but in 99p bags. They also have more exquisite things; expensive chocolate bars with any imaginable filling, meringue, chilli, ginger, salt; home preserves, laden with alcohol.

The best part of this shop is the home baking.

A father and son are busy behind the counter every day- the most beautiful cup cakes, cookies, hand made chocolates. They had a run on Christmas Cakes last month, but they do sponge cakes, and fruit cakes to order. You drop by the counter with your 99p bag of lemon bonbons, and ooh, you just got to have a cappucino cup cake, and oh, maybe a packet of home made gingerbread (heavenly dipped in coffee), and drat, they put the fresh tablet out too.

Is a beautiful little independent shop, and is full to bursting with stock and well worth a visit if you are in the area.