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Description

Joyce worked in a grocer's shop for two years before going into the sweet factory, in about 1952 when she was 17, where she worked for two years. The factory made Spearmint Chews and lollipops for holidaymakers and it was seasonal work. From November till March they'd be out of work. She wrapped the sweet by twisting a piece of paper round, and there were two men in the back who mixed the mixture in big bowls, and there was a machine that pressed the chews out. If something happened and the machine broke down, they couldn’t keep up with the chews for the girls to wrap, and they couldn't do their full quota . There were no doors between the back and the main room and the acid in the lollies got into Joyce's fingers. It built up like a boil, and she used to break it and clean it and put a plaster on, but one broke out under her nail, for which she had to go to the doctor. She also had the job of tidying of the storeroom as it was a bit of a jumble in there because the girls used to just dive in and grab the papers and grab the boxes, drop things everywhere. There was a good camaraderie, and the girls weren’t bad. The hours were long and there was no messing about. After leaving the sweet factory, Joyce worked in the milk bar in St Asaph and then in a hospital, becoming canteen supervisor.

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