CONTINUING our Weymouth and Portland shops of yesteryear series, which is largely inspired by Sylvia and Dennis Mould, this week we are taking a look at a shop that is now just a sweet memory.

Sweet shop The Dainty was at 8 Trinity Road and was known for its front window, which was crammed with jars of sweets and boxes of chocolate.

Alf and Emily Frampton ran The Dainty for many years and set up a second Dainty - two doors away - when 6 Trinity Street was up for sale in the early 1960s.

The couple altered the window to the same style as the old Dainty.

Alf Frampton, speaking to the Dorset Evening Echo in 1998, recalled: "Those were the days when children could buy four marshmallow shrimps for 1p, or a halfpenny chew, a sherbert fountain with liquorice straw for 2p or a quarter of sherbert lemons for 7p.

"At The Dainty, we also sold black and white view postcards for 1p, or coloured ones for 2p, and even the Dorset Evening Echo, which in those days cost 3p.

"Emily often related the story of two little boys coming into the shop for a 2p packet of five sweet cigarettes. The packets contained a picture of a footballer of the day and as they both collected the cards they came into the shop more and more often until it was four or five times a day because they only needed one particular card for the set.

"Emily looked right through the packets in the box until she found the cards they wanted.

"She didn't charge them and gave them the packets of sweet cigarettes. Result? Two very happy little boys.

"I believe they both still live in Weymouth."

Alf formerly worked in the Echo's composing room for 35 years before retiring in 1984 as deputy overseer. He would work at the Echo while Emily was managing the shop. Emily died in 1990.

Alf, who continued to live along the harbourside, died in 2006 aged 86. He was a veteran of the bitter Second World War conflict at the Battle of Arnhem, having been a corporal with 181 Air Ambulance.

He pent a year on Dorset coastal defence installations before volunteering for the 1st Airborne Division, also serving with them in Norway, North Africa and Italy.

*If you are one of the (now grown-up) boys who Emily Frampton went above and beyond to find the special cards for, we'd love to hear from you at Looking Back. Get in touch the usual way.