Cost of life

Steve Ramsbottom, 75, Helmshore, Rossendale

The familiar smell of vinegar and sizzling battered cod hung in the air as the shop doorbell tinkled.

It was 1954 and me and my sister, Lesley, were playing in the fish and chip shop run by our parents.

Lesley, two years older than me, was counting coins in her hand.

‘I’ve got 11p,’ she said. ‘If I had one more penny, I’d have a shilling.’

‘Here you are, Lele,’ I said, obligingly, and lobbed a penny over to her – Lele was my nickname for her.

She loved saving up her pocket money – but I