WAHP-Food
Asian food was not readily available in the fifties, but by the sixties as more Asian communities were established the need for spices and lentils were recognized and Asian businesses were set up to meet this demand.
Q. Imam Saeed tell me about the type of food that was available when you first came?
“ Oh my goodness, food, there was organic culture that time I remember very tasty apples even you can have this tasty but very high you have to pay high price you see on a high store but you see now standard has come very, very low you see I don’t take my apple, apple and fruits from ordinary shops or Lidl.
No I go to very high quality and because this is what I was habituated from the very beginning you understand and vegetarian and I remember there used to be a King food shop it was big queue there used to be a big queue.
I think it was part of the history we must remember just like the hole in the wall, old shops of Walsall so King food shop, very famous I mean these grocers if somebody is you see senior citizen of Walsall he cannot forget it so I used to take fruit and vegetable from it and used to, he was famous in quality and in price and these days Jasbir.
I can’t believe the whole you can be loaded with this fruits and vegetable within the price of three pounds, three pounds money you can’t carry this you see into your two hands these bags now you have to spend thirty pounds for equal to that amount of good fruit.
Yes these days I remember that phrase; an apple a day keep the doctor away. I believe that used to have a delicious apple every night and that is whole of my family you see, today children don’t eat fruit here, they’ve gone to junk and gone obese and come up with many others you see, you know it but those days, were wonderful days yes. “
Q. Tell me about the type of food that was available when you first came?
“ The type of food was very limited when people came to this country in those days if I could remember it rightly there was only one grocery shop in Willenhall and people used to go to either that shop or shop owner used to deliver grocery in people home and people didn't have much choice regarding the Asian food it was very, very limited. “
The full transcriptions are available from Walsall Archives.
