Double domino to the Rescue in Lockdown. Mick Burton, continuous line artist.
Leeds is in “lockdown” and Joan and I have been playing cards to help fill in the time. We would have welcomed other games but I took the Monopoly etc up to my daughter Kate in Glasgow last year. An old tin from the attic was found which was filled with dominoes.
In our second game with the dominoes, Joan started with double six and I responded with six & five. Joan had a six and played that. Very symmetrical !
We checked all the dominoes and found that we had one complete set with black backs and a faint fish pattern, plus one dominoe with a black back and a faint greyhound which was also six & five.
M.C. Hitchen & Sons Ltd, Briggate & Kirkgate, Leeds. Tin full of dominos. Mick Burton, continuous line artist, Leeds.
The tin looked medieval, with pictures of Old King Cole, and around the lid “M.C. HITCHEN & SONS LTD, THE SILK HOUSE OF THE NORTH, BRIGGATE & KIRKGATE, LEEDS.” ( No postcode ! ) “Always at Your Service”.
M.C. Hitchen & Sons Ltd. Back of tin full of dominos. Mick Burton, continuous line artist, Leeds.
On the back was a blackbird pecking off someone’s nose.
I wondered if the company was still around.
M.C. Hitchen & Sons Ltd. dissolved October 2019. Mick Burton, continuous line artist, Leeds.
No, it was dissolved last year – only just missed it. In fact M.C. Hitchen & Sons, Limited was a large department store in Briggate, Leeds until it was taken over in 1952 and became Littlewoods which closed in 2004.
Checking whether we had a complete set of dominos was interesting. Here is the layout.
Line up of dominoes to check whether complete. We had one extra. Mick Burton, continuous line artists, Leeds.
Mick Burton 