STEVE Sims, one of the members of our Facebook group We Grew Up in Newport recently posed this question to other members: 'Who can remember the pet shop in Maindee?'

His question received 162 replies from some of the 12,700 members of the group who reminisced about the shop, which was called Norths.

Tina Kerslake: "I used to love going in there, always used to talk to the parrot and mynah bird."

Paul Jenkins: "Loved it as a kid in the 50s and 60s. Use to love the smell of the place."

Shirley Sandercock: "Yes, my son and his friend came home with two white mice. They ended up in the coal bunker and the next morning we had two families of mice."

Sara JoAngle: "Loved going in to look at the fish"

David Scarf: "Had a mynah bird called Micheal."

John Webb: "And Michael used to swear, if I remember rightly! Lovely shop; lovely memories!"

Cheryl Bendall: "North’s - a lovely pet shop. They had a mynah bird which said hello when you walked in. I think his name was Michael."

Caroline Draper: "I used to walk to Maindee, from Moorland Park every Friday with my babies in their pram. Always called in Norths for flowers for my Mum who lived in Albert Avenue at the time."

Sue Witchard: "I went there every fortnight to visit Buster and Priscilla. They were parrots. There was another one Henry, and a macaw. Micheal, the mynah bird always used to shout his name.

"I spent many happy hours there with Buster on my arm, talking to him. He would talk back. The only trouble with Buster was that he never wanted me to go. He would peck me and screech so the shop owner, Mr North, always had to get him off and when I was walking out of the shop he would always say bye.

"I loved that bird, and I think he loved me. When I went into the shop he used to screech and shout hello.

"I went to visit him one day and he wasn't there. I spoke to Mr North said he died. I was heart broken. I cried all the way home.

"He was the best parrot ever, very brainy bird. I was gutted, couldn't go back to the shop, he was the only parrot that talked."

Yvonne Davies: "Loved Norths. Maindee was a lovely area to shop back then, how it's changed!"

Janette Leverson: "Bought the biggest and best hamster in the world called Teddy."

Nadia Power: "I remember those days. I worked in Boots. Loved Maindee."

Ann Davies: "Yes Maindee was a great place to live and work back in the day. I don’t recognise the place now."

Joanna Ellen Hale: "What joy Norths gave us. How lovely for us to share such happy memories. We would always pop in for rabbit food or just to see the birds."

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