Where was your teenage Saturday job?

Blackcats

@annieb64 - that was my nan's approach to decimalisation.  She announced that she preferred proper money not new money and thereafter tipped her purse onto the counter for the shop assistant to take what coins they needed.   

sillyvixen

Nelliegrace said:

My daughter started work on Saturdays aged seven, in the late 1980s, singing at weddings with the church junior choir for which she earned 60p.

I joined our church choir aged 12 and we got a small fee for each service we sang at, double for weddings or funerals! I did plenty of weddings as they were Saturdays, but could only do funerals in the school holidays as they were in the week. We got paid the full fee for morning services even though we went out to Sunday school after the introit and first hymn. It was the evening services I enjoyed most, despite being boring as anything we got to sing an anthem - I loved it. This was early 80's and I don't remember how much we were paid per service, but I loved getting my pay at the end of the month on top of my £1 weekly pocket money! As we were kids we also had our annual choir Christmas meal paid out of choir funds.

At the age of 15 I got a job in a local bakery shop, 6 hours on a Saturday at £1.30 an hour with extra days in the school holidays, I was still in the choir for Sunday services but had to duck out of the weddings and school holiday funarals as I had a better income stream!

At 16 and still at school I applied for a job at a fast food place that was opening in the town, I got it and so did one of my friends, we went for the initial training week and were blown away by our weekly pay at over £140, we worked 5 days a week the whole of the summer holidays, and saturdays in term time (occasionally when they were short I would do 2 - 8 on a sunday! School holidays were always full time. I did 11 months and left to revise for exams, I have to say I hated my time in the fast food place but loved the pay - it was character building!

London_1

I did a paper round at 12 left school at 14 on the Friday and started work on the Monday. Different times really, I worked full time until I was in my early 20s and stopped work two weeks before my eldest daughter was born ,followed two yers later y my youngest.
When she was three I went back to work as what with  the Oil crisis and mortgage rates went through the roof and we had a three day week and blackouts/ I then worked full time until I retired in 1995. I've never been unemployed in my life as being at home with the children I did home working, for peanuts really but any money came in handy with the children.

I now am a lady of leisure three weeks ago I moved with my daughter and son-in-law to live on the Isle of Wight.

 My son-in-law does all the cooking ( he is a superb cook )

 I usually put the washing on and hang the clothes out, and in the evening as we yet to have the dishwasher plumbed in (waiting for some renovation building work has to be done) I always wash the dishes up after dinner as he has cooked it, and my daughter works full time.She does the major cleaning and hoovering at the weekends (they have three dogs)

I have a nice stroll down to the beach 10 minutes away or I'll go to the library, and have a wander round the little shops in Ryde. or I will get a bus ride to one of the other towns . I started going to a coffee morning locally and find lots to keep me amused. I still drive but the holiday season has started so parking can be difficult but the bus service is brilliant, with my bus pass free  

DD said 'you've done your bit Mum now relax and take life easy'.

I helped her and my son-in-law bring up their 5 children, who now have all grown and flown so now my times my own and its lovely not having to rush around anymore.

I'm never bored as if I feel in the mood I will always bake some cakes or biscuits as I like baking.there is of course the garden which I potter around in although we do have a chap once a fortnight coming to do the weeding and mowing so I get to do the nice bits like working out what to put where.My daughter is a keen gardener so we are already planning next years cloud scheme and where things will go.

At the moment the past few days its been too hot to do much so I've been doing some more reading as I have a stack of books that are as yet unread.
I still have a fair bit of decluttering to do as well and fining homes for things as a lot of stuff is still in boxes 

So although I've spent a good few years working I'm now enjoying taking life a bit easier at last

JackieO xxx

Farway

London_1 said:

I now am a lady of leisure three weeks ago I moved with my daughter and son-in-law to live on the Isle of Wight.

JackieO xxx

Thanks for the update Jackie, waves across the Solent from the Big Island

maisie_cat

Age 14 working in the Royal Festival Hall for THF as the inhouse caterers, pay was £1 an hour and I worked 15 hours a week. When I left school at 18 I worked for a market trader £15/day sat/sun, in a pub three nights a week £7 or £8/night and as an office junior £3k/yr. I needed three jobs as I had rent to pay of £30 a week plus bills and was so relieved when I earned enough in my main job to give up one of the others

sunnyflower

I helped my Dad on his milk round from age 13/14 . I can't remember how much I was paid. All the milkmen had milk boys/ girls then. It's not allowed now I believe 
When I was 15 I got a job in RS Mcolls & learnt 47p an hour. Enough to buy me many LP's 😄😄.

Katiehound

My first Saturday job at aged 16 (just got my NI card in those summer holidays!) was in BHS.
No, the school did not want me to be working as I should be studying for O levels but I argued that one out due to poor home circumstances.
 I first started working on the underwear counter where the supervisor told me that I might need to measure for bra fittings. Help- I was a very very shy naive 16 yo. 
 Then I think I was moved to children's clothes. You were not allowed to sit.. SIT??? (yes, by law there was a seat behind the counter) , had to stand and were always tidying the counters. A customer would pull an item from the bottom of the pile even when you said , politely, 'Madam, the garments on the top are identical!' They never listened. the supervisor was always walking round....

At the end of the day you had to balance the till too and that could take an age. We were always taught that if we were paid with a note to leave it on the till until the customer had their change, that way if they told you they had paid with a pound you could say- what with this 10/-  note?

As the lowest of the low the lunchtime was first, 11- noon
One Saturday they were very short staffed and I got moved to lighting which was at the back of the shop & boiling.
Another Sat. I was told to report to the cafeteria. Nightmare: a whole day of washing up, clearing & cleaning tables. The following week I refused plain blank to go to the cafe and argued that I had been interviewed / employed as a shop assistant. I'm not sure how I got the courage to do that! but it worked.

Saturday pay was £1

I think I worked there for at least a year including a summer then I got a job at 'The Best!' Marks & Sparks- they were regarded as 'the bees knees' probably because of staff perks. I definitely worked there over one summer, likely 2. There we were taught to count the change into the customer's hand starting from the object price until you reached the amount paid. It ensured you didn't overpay them! I still use that method

When I went to college at 18 I managed to get a PO job at the sorting office for Christmas  3 years running. I was on the frame for Wales & Ireland- I had never heard of some of the places, 3rd year got frame for Kent... not a lot better!

First year at college had to get a placement for at least a week working with children. I worked at the now notorious Shirley Oaks children's home owned by Lambeth council.

sammy_kaye18

I worked in a garden centre called Hurrans. 
I loved it there. 
I joined just before Christmas so one of my first memories of the job was sitting at a table taking £2 payment for little children to go into Santas grotto. I did that for an entire month and loved it. 

I then worked on the tills and in the pet department which I loved because I got to be around the animals all day. But I loved that job, so much fun, everyone was lovely and I got a free pick n mix every weekend. 

From memory I earned £80 a weekend and that was my set wage. That was in 1999 early 2000. 
Jokes on me though because I fell in love with a baby bunny there and spent most of my wages buying her food and bedding and she turned out to be the most demonic little PITA you'd ever met. 

Farway

sammy_kaye18 said:

I worked in a garden centre called Hurrans. 
I loved it there. 
I joined just before Christmas so one of my first memories of the job was sitting at a table taking £2 payment for little children to go into Santas grotto. I did that for an entire month and loved it. 

.

Just jogged my memory, my daughter had a job as an Elf  at a children's zoo for Christmas