HICKLING in the 1920s:
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Fred “Toddy” Lambert - continued
I must diverge a bit here. Easter was a tall kindly man; he wore Post Office uniform with a pillbox hat that had a peak fore and aft. He rode a heavy red G.P.O. bicycle with carriers front and rear and this machine had a pneumatic seat, the only one that I have ever seen: might have been of his own creation. It had an oval wooden base through which the valve came and the top appeared to be a small cycle inner tube over which was nailed a shiny piece of thin leather.
Mr Easter delivered letters and parcels to the greater part of the village and our Toddy did the outlying areas of Whinmere, Palling Road and Eastfield. The remainder ofToddy’s day was then spent in his cobbler’s shop, but he was also telegram boy and of course he had the odd grave to dig.
Toddy’s shop appeared rather dingy. It was lit with a small oil lamp and one candle. The candle served a two-fold purpose as it provided the heat for melting the heel ball which finished off the repairs. The walls of the shop were covered with wooden lasts of all shapes and sizes for Toddy was a good craftsman and he turned out many a pair of boots for the locals who could afford to buy them.
