A quick trip to Leicester Market - in the days before that bin van!
This busy, nostalgic shot was taken on a sunny lunchtime at 12.20pm, on April 16, 1949.
It shows the Market Place looking towards Eastgates, in the days before any thoughts of pedestrianisation and parking restrictions had occurred to local planners – cars, vans and cycles all took their chance with the throngs of shoppers and city workers.
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Suits and trilby hats were the order of the day for most gentlemen, who seem to be out in force during their lunch break.
I don't think many people would have difficulty in recognising the scene, as most of the buildings are still there, although the corrugated iron roof covering the market stalls has long gone.
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The sun-awnings also add a "period" flavour to the scene, as do the old gas lamps, which must have produced an eerie glow on a winter evening in those pre smoke-control days.
The shops on the right of the picture will bring back fond memories for older readers: Gee Nephew, milliners; Marshall and Snelgrove department stores; Folwell's butchers and, another old Leicester favourite, the Mikado Café, where you could see coffee beans being roasted in the window. Facing into Cheapside, on Eastgates, is Phillips' house furnishing store.
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