Another memory I have is going with my mother to get some NHS powdered baby milk and orange juice from an office in Oldham St, Manchester. Also, just a few shops away, was an electrical hardware store that my dad sent me to for some gramophone needles, so he could play his 78's!
At the top of Oldham St, at it's junction with Oldham Rd and Great Ancoats St, was a huge, very ornate, horse trough. They were still around in the 50's you know!