Monday 24th May
Owing to the arrival of some unexpected guests - and indeed unexpected weather - I rushed out last night to the Lightwater Wine Shop to get some supplies. Ever since I moved to Lightwater in 2002 I have religiously used this off-licence and have witnessed the efforts of Chris Crews take it through the turbulent Threshers handover and our recent financial crises.
I like that off-licence. And provided you can avoid the angry parking neighbour, its a lot more convenient than rushing up to Heatherside (yikes!), so it was with some surprise that I was met with mostly empty shelves. The time, Chris said, had come to call it a day.
I'm not often lost for words but I was truly dumbstruck. I had thought that Chris' efforts over the past 18 months since he had taken on the franchise personally had worked. Regrettably it seemed that the combination of dwindling footfall and massive supermarket deals had caused the business to close. Indeed, Chris even said that the final straw was the announcement that a major supermarket was to sell Fosters for £7 for twelve during the forthcoming World Cup Football Tournament. He can't get a tray of twelve for £10.
Increasingly, small businesses are taking an utter pounding in this part of the world as everybody looks to make household savings and shops at the hypermarkets. Sure, competition is a major factor of trading, but its extremely sad to see people like Chris who put a great deal of effort into similar businesses, being rewarded in such a fashion. But the malaise is spreading. Long time readers of this blog will recall our efforts to support Bagshot keeping a bank. The same applies here;
Use it, or lose it.
I have to say that I was trying to support Chris and Debbie throughout this time, by buying what I could from there, and I am very sad it didn't work out. He and the shop were a Lightwater institution and will be sorely missed!
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