CLOGS are my favourite kind of footwear. They're warm in winter, cool in summer and are extremely good for well-worn, dodgy old feet.

Perhaps without realising this, reader Carole Pennington has forwarded a little booklet which has struck a cloggy chord within me. It was issued long ago by the old Practical Clothing Club of St Helens and lists St Helens shops where goods could apparently be purchased on the 'never never.'

And among the register of traders there's E. Whalley, the clogger, of Robins Lane, Sutton.

Asks Carole, too young at 49 to remember the days when the less well-off exchanged Practical Clothing checks for goods: "I thought you'd get a kick out of this (get it?). I wonder whether the clogger was a relative of yours."

Tell the truth, I've no idea, although my Whalley family roots do lie deep in Sutton territory.

Incredibly, that little 16-page booklet (measuring only about 4ins by 3ins) contains more than 100 local businesses. These, presumably, participated in the Practical scheme -- based in Imperial Buildings, Ormskirk Street -- which extravagantly claimed, on the booklet cover, to be "The fairest credit system in existence."

There's no date on it, but it must have been published in pre-TV days, as no television dealers are listed, though there's a section for radio spares and repairs.

A few of the local businesses on the list still thrive today, though some names will be familiar only to those veteran shoppers who bought goods by credit check.

H. Barton and Son, of Duke Street, is listed under the fireplaces, rugs and carpets, crockery, glassware and fancy goods sections; while the Eric Bromilow business (then of Liverpool Road, in addition to its present North Road location) is shown as the place to go for motors, toys and prams. Darwins of George Street, then as now, was dealing in musical instruments.

But Oxley's department store, which dominated the edge of the town centre, is now a fading memory. In those long-gone days (when business telephone numbers ran to only four digits) Oxley's, which also ran stalls in the fondly-remembered Covered Market, had a finger in an astonishing number of pies.

They are listed as selling drapery, children's wear, hosiery, bedding, dance frocks, millinery, mantles, costumes and robes, knitted and woollen goods, tailoring, headgear, rainwear and brollies, footwear (pause for breath)... carpets, rugs, oilcloth, wringing machines, watches, jewellery, fancy goods,toys, prams and bathing costumes.

Makes one wonder how such an Aladdin's Cave of a company managed to go out of business!

Also among shops and stores once familiar to our shopping hordes, but now on the 'lost' list are: Barrows the ironmongers; jeweller and pawnbroker Corrins; furniture dealers A & E Fay; C. Wood, the second-hand clothing shop; Frank's Household Goods; Wright Brothers, photographers; the L & C Rubber Company which, among other items, stocked surgical appliances; cycle dealer Frank Waring, and 100 more along with them.

OH, and yes, of course, Clogger Whalley, one of the last of this particular breed. Does anyone have a clue about which was the last clog-shop to exist in the St Helens area? Come on now, write to me about your cloggy memories!