News from the shop front

Bertram Valentine, one of our theatrical customers, left to work for ENSA a while ago. He was intent on quoting Shakespeare to the troops. Sadly for Bertram Valentine, the troops didn't wasn't to listen to Shakespeare. Instead he had to tell jokes & fall over a lot! He came back after a few weeks, seemingly it was the constant request for George Formby songs that was the final straw! He found it all very trying, but we did try to warn him before he left.

During the air raid the local haberdashery shop got bombed. The couple were very shaken & have decided to spend the rest of the war with family in the country. I bought their haberdashery counter & bomb damaged stock. Our customers & friends helped to move it in,=. So we now have a haberdashery department as well as the grocery department. Mrs T is in charge of it, but when she is out the customers help me to pull out fabric.

Sometimes I'm able to get something a little bit different for my customers. Here I have managed to get some unlabelled tins. I'm calling them 'tinned surprise'. It's splendid fun and at 4d each they're a bargain as well!

After a particularly bad air raid, we decided the best thing to do was to sandbag our frontage. I did this on a very hot day so Mrs T fanned me cool with not one, but 2 fans. I am a very lucky chap indeed!

I'm up early when we are lucky enough to get fresh milk although it keeps going up - at the start of the war it was 3d now it's up to 5d. Enid said she'll be buying a cow soon if it goes up any more!

I managed to get some sweets this week. Children first though. They proved very popular & sold very quickly. I had a good look in the jar & I definitely sold them all!

I managed to get some baked beans from the wholesaler - yes that's right, baked beans! There was mayhem in the shop when word got out about them. At 7d each they all soon went.