By Robert Heaven

Baily and Woods Newsagent, Printers and Stationers - now occupied by the Coventry Building Society was once an Aladdin’s cave of paper treasures: a long cavern of coloured paper, albums, glue, paper hinges to affix stamps, hole punches; an endless list of things to spend your pocket money on.

Trinders in Castle Street sold similar items but also sold polythene bags of mixed used foreign stamps.

The bags could be bought in different sizes from about a shilling for a small bag up to a princely five shillings for a big bag.