Wonderful things, memories, even if with the passage of time they sometimes develop fractures or flaws.

It is getting on for 60yrs or more,if I recall correctly, when I first went for a meal at a Chinese restaurant that was then above Burton’s the Tailors in the High street Stourbridge. I think it was the first one established in the town but again I might be mistaken, To say I understood a Chinese menu and what the meal comprised of and looked like would be an overstatement, and like many other diners I probably ordered from the menu by numbers.But there again, I didn’t fall into the trap of using a spoon for the main course.

Those memories came back to me a few days ago when in a local supermarket and waiting for my wife to come through the checkout. I decided to sit down on a bench while waiting, and there was an elderly Asian gentleman also sitting there. He was someone I had seen walking out of town with his wife a few times but until now I have never had the opportunity to speak to him. I have always thought him to be the proprietor of the restaurant all those years ago,and I was curious to find out if he was..

I broached the subject and it pleased me no end to see his face light up light when telling me he was,and his wife was equally delighted with the chatter..Nothing much to write home about, you may think.But he is now coming up to his hundredth birthday, I am not revealing how old his wife is, but to be told by him end of our conversation that “very few people speak to us”. And that surely must be a poignant indictment of modern times and the local community.

JB Waldron

Stourbridge