The Plastic Audit

Milk From Horrington Milk Hut, just one off the changes we are making to reduce our plastic usage.

We are a humble coffee and health food shop in a little town in Somerset called Shepton Mallet, people live here, people pass through here and people visit here. The footfall in our little town is low, with Mendip District Council refocusing the centre of town up by the retail park. The retail park is crammed full with well known brand names, whereas the high street still retains a certain innocence, there is still a bakery, some really good places to hang out for coffee and some cool vintage shops. The high street is worth a visit for it's quirkiness and character. It is a very different shopping experience and I would say it is a cheap place to shop, cheap and friendly. We also have a little market on a Friday, with fruit, vegetables, bread, meat and other local traders and we have a much bigger Sunday Market on every 3rd Sunday of the month, this is when the town really comes alive and all those people that were so busy working on the other days of the week are able to come and enjoy spending their money in their local community. It's so special that people even make the effort to visit from further afield.

So, that's a bit of a background to the location of our shop, just an independent shop on a very independent high street, driven by the passions and obsessions of the owners and what has captured my imagination is the challenge to reduce our reliance on plastic and to reduce the amount of it that we send out into the world as post-consumer plastic.

When we first opened 9 years ago, originally in Enfield on a train station platform, one of our main aims was running a sustainable business and we have stuck to that ethos and we hardly produce any waste. Gardners love to take our coffee grounds, we recycle or reuse our cardboard boxes, we make sure that we recycle our bottles, compost our food waste and so on, it takes weeks to produce a bin liner of rubbish but wouldn't it be great if there was no bin liner of rubbish and wouldn't it be great if the world saw everything as resources rather than rubbish?

Reducing Plastic in our Business and Post-Consumer waste

I have been going through the items that we sell and working on reducing our plastic and day by day making little changes. It is a matter of slowly transferring and changing but some things have been cut with no transition. So here is a list of the things we have done so far recently to try to reduce plastic usage in our business, or to reduce the amount of plastic that is released into the world post-consumer.

Washing up liquid is available on tap for you to fill your own bottle with and reuse.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available on tap for you to refill your own bottle with.

Dr Bronner's Castile Soap Bars are in stock, they have up to 18 different uses from washing your hair to even, if you are brave enough, brushing your teeth.

We don't use plastic straws, we use stainless steel straws in people's smoothies and fruit juices.

Stainless Steel and Bamboo Straws are available to buy.

We sell Bamboo Reusable Coffee Cups, with a 20p discount off your hot drink when you use your own cup.

We recycle any of our paper cups that have been used and left with us and we will be using plant made cups in the future, if people still need take out cups and lids.

We recycle any tetra packs that we use and make sure we pass on information to our customers, where they can recycle theirs after use.

We have stopped buying in products that have the misleading arrow symbol on them that looks like you can recycle the packaging but actually you can't and it just means the company has paid a subsidy.

We have sourced local milk that is supplied in refillable glass bottles and are phasing out our milk in plastic bottles, if this goes well.

We are committed, in future, to buying items in bulk that we usually store on our shelves in small packets and refilling your jars and packets with them instead. We are transitioning at this time. Lentils and buckwheat flour are already available like this.

Herbs and spices are now available for you to fill your own jar for 50p (Unless it is a very expensive herb or spice, then the price will be higher), or you can use one of our jars and it will be 70p. If we haven't got what you want, we will order it in.

We used to buy flapjacks in wrapped in plastic, they are now made by us everyday. They are vegan, gluten free and have no sugar in apart from the dates and bananas used in the very simple recipe.

We have teabags that don't have plastic in BUT they still come presented with a plastic film around the cardboard carton. Yogi Tea have been brilliant and don't have plastic in their teabags or around them.

We sell Toilet Rolls in home compostable film, made with plants.

We have If You Care parchment baking paper, that can be used again and again and can be home composted.

Our take out bags for cakes and toasties are paper bags with a home compostable film window.

Our customers are expected to use their own bags, or use a box from us, if we have one to hand, for their shopping.

We will continue to buy in things to order, if you want them but we will contact the manufacturer to remind them to update or change their packaging, if it is made of plastic, especially non-recyclable plastic.

Future Aims to Reduce Plastic in Our Business and Post Consumer-Waste

We want to buy our coffee in sacks, not in plastic bags but I still want it to be fairly traded and organic.

We want more fresh fruit and vegetables for people to snack on spontaneously, instead of wrapped in plastic snacks. The fruit and vegetables must be sourced from local and independent wholesalers, so that we can make sure that more of your pound stays circulating in the local community.

We want to write to the companies where I think the products are good, it's just a shame about the packaging to ask them to change it.

We have written to St Paul's School to ask if they will be come a collector of old writing materials in our area.

We will take responsibility for the plastic that we still have in the shop and take it off for the customer and recycle it, or if not able to be recycled, send back to the manufacturer of the product with a note to ask them to change their packaging.

We will continue to reduce the amount of things we buy which use plastic, especially once use plastic.

We will continue to research the best way that old plastic can be used and look at the details of what we are doing through internet resources and information.

We will continue to be transparent in this subject and to share with our customers what we are doing and the blocks we are experiencing in making changes.

We will stop buying hand towels wrapped in plastic and will either use kitchen rolls in compostable film if we can find some,  or we will use old but clean rags for spillages and cleaning.

Instead of plastic sponges we will source loofah sponges for cleaning, from our supplier and we will also stock them in the shop.

We are looking to find a wholesaler for tiffin boxes, so that you can use them for take out food, not only from us but from other local outlets.

Turning Back the Plastic Tide

It is hard and it is challenging, to make these changes. When I look around me at the world we live in and I see the amount of plastic we are surrounded by in our everyday lives, I feel very sad and upset and I really don't know how we can make a difference, when even as I write this, there is a factory somewhere, churning out plastic things. I think the people that have seen the light and know that this just can't go on feel very passionately about this and we do have to do what we can as each individual do, to reverse the plastic tide! So, whether you take one step, or several steps, it is worth doing. We have to do it, this is the only way we can communicate to the decision makers, to the manufacturers, to the factory owners. Our little actions together, will make big changes. Sometimes it can feel hopeless and it can feel futile and it can feel very overwhelming, especially as a business owner to try to make those changes but in it's turn, it can also feel empowering.

I have been inspired by other people in my community to make bigger changes and more focused changes, so hopefully, we can keep inspiring each other and sharing ideas and good practices. I am not saying it is easy, it isn't and it can feel very challenging in a mental health kind of way, like an I'm turning into a crazy woman type of way and the worst thing is the guilt but we just have to keep thinking positively and thinking about what we can do and what we have done to make things better and that is why I have done a plastic audit in my business and my home.

Please let me know about the changes you have made and the solutions you have found to the plastic problem.

Thanks for reading. xx

10 Good Reasons To #SupermarketSwap Now!

Nigel: Serious about #SupermarketSwap

I am right in the middle of reading a very informative book about Supermarkets and the amount of power they have over the food industry and how the more we spend in them, the more power they have and the less choice we have.

The book is called Shopped. The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets and is written by Joanna Blythman, a leading investigative food journalist. The book was written in 2004 and things have disintegrated a lot further since then! Take for example two pieces of news this week,

The first being that Sainsbury's have announced in a meeting with Fairtrade Farmers, that they are going to create their very own brand of Fairtrade, their own Fairtrade label and they will put in force their own regulations and monitor themselves. The Fairtrade Farmers are extremely concerned that there will be no Fairtrade premium and that there will be no minimum guarantee and that the public will be confused about what Fairtrade is really about. Supermarkets take the Fairtrade Logo and use it on some of their products and yet happily screw their British suppliers into the ground by negotiating lower prices retrospectively and other massive companies like Nestle, will put a Fairtrade logo on some of their products and yet insist that access to clean water is not a human right and tempt African Mums to bottle feed instead of breast feed!  So, from taking small steps to support the ethos of Fairtrade, the supermarkets are now beginning to do what they usually do, take someone else's great idea, let that someone else pay for all the development that goes into it and then just do it themselves, where the only way they measure their success is profit and the bottom-line, rather than any ethical aim, or the long-term viability of a community, or of the world.

The second piece of news is that Tesco would like to buy out Booker Wholesale. Booker Wholesale actually supply independent shops across the UK! It doesn't take a genius to work out that this is going to make it virtually impossible for any independent using Booker Wholesale to be able to fairly compete with Tesco. Tesco has this week asked the Monopolies Commission if they could possibly speed up the investigation into whether they can go ahead with the transaction or not. Some board members have resigned over this idea and not one shareholder has been heard to show any enthusiasm over the idea, from reports online.

10 Good Reasons To #SupermarketSwap Now!

1/ You'll spend money on local traders who will pay tax, if they earn enough and then in turn will spend their money on other local businesses in the community, thus contributing far more to the local economy per pound than any supermarket.

2/ You'll enjoy a more personal service, where the number one aim is not necessarily to make a profit but to create a long term relationship that is a win/win situation for everyone, the supplier, the business and the consumer.

3/ No long queues. Mainly because everyone is standing in the supermarket queue and not in the independent shop's queue!

4/ You'll buy little and often, which is much better as there is less food waste and buying in an independent means you are less likely to over buy and over spend on stuff that you didn't want anyway. Read more about the waste generated by supermarkets, in an article by Joanna Blythmann, the Journalist who has written the book I am reading at the moment!

5/ It's good to support a local family that you know personally and you know they are getting your money, rather than a few directors at the top of a chain, that already have lots of money.

6/ You can ask an independent trader to get an item in that you specifically require and they will do their utmost to get it in, or point you in the right direction to another independent business.

7/ Each independent shop has it's own unique atmosphere that lends a unique character to our high streets across the UK. A local shop has its own individual brand of personality that stems out from the proprietors running them. A supermarket is a clinical practical place, there is no joy in Supermarket shopping,for most people. Going into an independent shop is a whole experience in itself, you connect with the shopkeeper at least and even with the other customers. Which leads onto my next point...

8/ Community! A good high street filled with independent shops, like the one we have in Shepton Mallet is an easy way for individuals to access the community, without actually knowing anyone in the first place.

9/ To promote choice. If the supermarkets have a monopoly, they can then charge as high as they like prices to the consumer and pay as low as they like prices to their suppliers. Every time you make a concerted effort to divert your spending into a local business, you are helping to shape the high street.

10/ Supermarkets want you to see them as the answer to your shortage of time and sell you pre-made meals at a premium but it really only takes a few minutes to create a dish from scratch with fresh ingredients bought from your local market, or shop. If you buy smaller amounts less often but better quality and containing better nutrition, those cheap rows of custard creams and fizzy pop look less and less attractive, especially when we take into account the unaccounted for costs to our environment, our health and our communities.

In Shepton Mallet high street, we have the Friday Market every Friday and independent shops up and down the high street, as well as some great charity shops too. Now is the time, more than ever to make one small change to your shopping habits. I am not saying that you should completely drop your supermarket shop, I am just saying try to challenge yourself and make a small change. When you are in a supermarket or chain, put just one thing down and come and get it on the high street instead.

When you find yourself in my shop, ask yourself what you can get from us that you would normally get from the supermarket and get it from us instead.

If you don't find what you want, order it in, talk to us about it! If you don't have the time to come in, tell us what you want and we will bring it round to you.

We can all decide that it's not worth taking up the challenge, we can all decide to keep shopping in the supermarkets and we can let our high streets slip away but we have to do something to challenge the way things are, the cost of your food is not just the price you see on the label, it's the price you pay with your health, your children's health, the well-being of our community and of our world!

You have the power of the pound in your pocket, please use it wisely.

When your supplier becomes your competitor...

What would you do, if you found out that one of your suppliers that you've been with for years and years was now supplying one of your customers and selling to them at the same wholesale prices that they sell to you?

I am writing this with a sinking feeling in my heart, as I try to untangle the threads of making a living, running an ethical business, dealing with ethical suppliers and having fun. Two of my friends have set up a buying group and my supplier is selling to them at the SAME wholesale prices as they are selling to me! It is an unusual situation where I am very good friends with the two people that they are supplying and they have been very open with me and as their friend, why would I want to sell them stuff at a higher price than they can get it for? So, they are only doing what they need to do in these hard times to get by and who can blame them. I wish that I could be the one that could be providing them the service that they need, buying food at affordable prices.

I called the supplier today and it seemed to me the obvious solution would be for them to give me a bigger discount on the things that I am buying from them, so that I can offer my friends a more competitive price and then it is a sustainable solution for everyone. Everyone knows that to get wholesale prices you need to be a business and prove that you're a business and that some wholesalers sell directly to the public but they sell at the Recommended Retail Price, so that you are competing on a level playing field and the final decision is up to the customer. 

The supplier told me that they were not competing against me, or undercutting me....but I explained that if I buy a packet of tea at £2 and then sell it for £2.50 to the public and then if they sell directly to the public, for £2, a wholesale price they are most definitely undercutting me. They asked me what I wanted them to do and I suggested that they changed their pricing tiers so that their direct to the general public prices are Recommended Retail Price, their prices to buying groups are a bit lower than that and then the wholesale price is to businesses only.

Sometimes, when you phone up as an individual to offer feedback and suggestions, they can see you as just an individual with a one-off problem but this to my mind is a massive problem that could effect small, independent retails businesses across the UK, as if we are not already having a hard enough time of it already. You see, if the supplier shifted their prices ever so slightly, to protect their business customers, the supplier wouldn't lose out, the buying groups would still get a good price, if they wanted to put the work in and the retailer would still have a sustainable business. If the retailer is not supported by the supplier's pricing structure, then the supplier will lose their retail network and have to deal with individual buying groups and members of the public, which is fine, if that is their business model for the future but the business model that this supplier is using at the moment is not sustainable for all parties involved, which leaves me with the following questions as a retailer:

1/ Do I want to keep using this supplier?

At the moment, there is no motivation for me to keep using this supplier. In fact, for my business model to survive, I will have to track down a supplier that has cheaper prices for wholesale, lower minimum orders and does not supply to buying groups, or the general public at wholesale prices.

2/ Is it financially viable to keep using this supplier?

It is not financially viable to use this supplier, as they are more concerned about getting their income from anyone, no matter what, rather than having strict trading boundaries and price tiers for different buying groups.

3/ How can I make it more attractive for my friends to buy from me, rather than having a buying group? 

The only way that I can make it more attractive for my friends to start buying from me again is to either encourage suppliers to put up their prices for buying groups, or to bring down their wholesale prices even further for retailers. This doesn't seem to me to be a very imaginative answer but maybe there is another solution that I haven't thought of.

This situation, to me, is just a sign of the times, people are trying to live as good a life as they possibly can on the low income that they have and the internet has made finding information easier. Also, I am very open in business and get my catalogues out for people to choose things they want to order, Then when they see the name on the catalogue they go straight to the supplier themselves, who wouldn't. Then because times are tough, the suppliers are welcoming any business be it from traders, or individuals on equal terms.

When I called my supplier they told me that small, independent businesses are very important to them, I just hope they back that up by setting up a sustainable situation, that is beneficial to all the parties involved.

What do you think the solution is, what would you do if you were faced with this challenge, has this happened to you before, what solution did you find? Please let me know by commenting on this blog.

UPDATE!

I have to say my suppliers got back to me really quicly and have offered to shift my pricing structure so that it is a fairer and more sustainable situation. I am now in a position where I can offer bulk items to my friend's buying group at the same wholesale prices that they were paying. This is great for me, as I don't lose trade, this is great for my friends as it should make it easier for them to budget and not have to accumulate such big orders, just to meet the minimum order level and it's great for the supplier too as they are protecting their independent retail customers and have made me feel the warm glow of loyalty towards them.

This is why I love dealing with ethical companies, made up of people who really do look at the bigger picture and the long term implications, rather than the short term gain. 

Could Online Shopping Help to Regenerate Our High Streets?

Karen Mercer, My Coffee Stop. Photo by Anne-Marie Sanderson.

Save time by not reading this article and just buy something straight away from my website, to see if my theory is correct!  

BUY SOMETHING NOW!

Ok, if you must, here is the article, enjoy! 

Where does my money go to, who do I buy from?

I specifically ensure that my money is mostly spent on independent local businesses! So, when you buy from us, no matter whether it's from our shop in Shepton Mallet, or online, you know that we filter that money back into the local, independent and small business, circular economy. Buy from us and we make a concerted and conscientious effort to spend it in our local high street. We go to Peppers, The Hive, Denela's, Dredge and Male, Steve's Fish Restaurant, The Swan, The Bell, The Club Lounge, Hidden Treasures, The Dusthole, Anna's Attic, I-do Vintage, The Furniture Workshop, Minsky's Barbers, C.H. Penn the Jewellers and Starlight Studios and support numerous home businesses and charities in the local area, doing what we can. I've probably missed a very big one out there! We even support Haskins by choosing to shop at Aldi and other shops in their building! So, when you buy from us, you are absolutely supporting your whole high street because we make damn sure you do!

I'd really like to do more and for that, I need your help, please!

What I am asking for you to do is to please help my family and myself to contribute even more to our town. 

Since closing our shop in Enfield, we are totally reliant on you making a conscious effort to buy from us. I know it's hard to come into town when you've been working all the hours that you can, that's why I have created a website, so that you can still support our family and our business ethos, by ordering online from us. We deliver FREE to you if you live in the BA4 postcode area, we also have click and collect as an option. If there is one thing that you can buy from us instead of a supermarket, then please do just that.

What if you can't find the healthy, or vegan, or gluten-free thing that you want on our website? Then please just comment on this blog post and tell us the product name and size that you are looking for and we will update our website, to sell you the things that you are looking for.

We don't lead an extravagant lifestyle, we don't have massive needs but we would like to provide you with a business that you want to use and sells the things that you want and need at a fair, reasonable price. We want to create a business that is successful here in Shepton Mallet. 

When we closed our shop in Enfield, I thought that our customers/friends would love to buy from our online shop, I imagined people buying our Yogi Tea Bags, or Protein Powders, or our Coffee but this hasn't really happened but I still feel sure that it could, maybe I just need to say, please buy from us, we need you to help us and we would like to be give the opportunity to sell you the things that you need.

Since closing our Enfield shop, we have had to claim Housing Benefit, to help us be able to pay our rent. I don't want to have to claim housing benefit, I want us to be able to sell our friends and our family the things they want, at the price they feel able to pay.

In writing this blog, I might earn a few pennies from advertising revenue and I really mean, a few pennies! In creating my website that takes many hours, I have sold a few things but it could do a lot better. I need my friends and my family and my children's friends, to make a concerted effort to use it and if there is something that you want to buy that is health food or whole food orientated, then please let me know. 

I understand that you can't always get to visit my shop in person, or even get to it EVER, BUT please support my family and I in our venture to continue our Coffee and Health Food shop on the high street of Shepton Mallet.

Anna Perra's shop on the high street is closing this month, I haven't been able to visit for ages to buy at least a little something because I just haven't had the money. I've seen Penny's Sweets go, I've seen No 21 go, I've seen Nostalgia go, Tina's Pet Pantry, Fred's Shop, Twice as Nice, Mendip Fireplaces and Just Jo all these shops added character, personality and enjoyment to our high street and now Anna Perra is going, there'll be another empty unit. Anna is keeping her business going as an online shop and doing events too, so she's cutting one massive overhead from her business and concentrating on creating an income from decreasing her overheads. Seeing another shop close is always a shock to residents and especially, I feel, to other shopkeepers. It is a reminder of our own vulnerabilities and how needy we are for your continued support. Yes, I look at Anna Perra's shop closing and feel scared, very scared for the future of my shop too.

I want to support the high street, I want people to know about the shabby chic charm of Shepton Mallet but I cannot do it on my own, I need you to help. This is a two way process, I will help you get the things you want and you can help me to stay where I am on the high street, adding a big dollop of personality and charisma to our wonderful town!

People used to say that online shopping caused the demise of the high street, I see online shopping as a tool to help regenerate the high street and keep supporting those little independent shops that you love, even if you're working so hard that you don't even get a chance to visit them!

I look forward to receiving your order today!

BUY SOMETHING NOW!

I'd rather have the shop empty!

There is a definite problem with some landlords, in Shepton Mallet keeping rents artificially high. I am lucky enough to have a landlord who understands the difficult economic times and who has been flexible enough to negotiate the rent with us. They told me that they would rather have someone in the shop than having it empty.

Today, I took the liberty of phoning a different local landlord, who was not being at all flexible on price, to have a discussion about this problem, that is not helping to regenerate the High Street whatsoever!

The landlord said, 'I would rather the property stayed empty, than rent it out for less than I want to'!

I replied that surely it would be better to let a business be in there for nothing, or at least a reduced rent, with a signed agreement stating they would get out as soon as someone was available to rent the unit at the required price. The landlord said that there was no way that they would entertain that idea.

Although the person I was talking to seemed to me to be on the defensive at first, I think they understood that I was looking for common ground. We had an interesting conversation where we agreed that the public, the shopkeepers and they, as landlords, would all want to see the regeneration of the High Street, however, whereas shopkeepers like to blame the lack of business sustainability on the landlord for charging too high a rent, this particular landlord likes to point a finger at the public and blame them for choosing not to shop at the local shops and choosing not to support them. The landlord said that the public need to support the shops and use them, if they want them. Then the public have made noises about Shepton Mallet High Street saying that the shopping choice isn't strong enough, that there needs to be a Marks and Spencers, or Waitrose, to draw people in to the centre. The shrinking Friday Market is another issue that needs addressing. Some people have said that the market is held at the wrong time of day, on the wrong day of the week, saying that if you work, you can't use it. Others have complained that the quality of the fruit and veg is hit and miss. Some people say that the market needs to start at the top of town, so that it can be seen from Tesco and draw people into town and some say it needs to go back around the market cross, off the road and that the road should be kept open, instead of being closed on market day.

Would we be worrying about these things if the economy was strong? I don't think so, things would just be ticking along nicely.

Perhaps the reason that it's so difficult to run any business at the moment is because the economy is so poor and generally, people do not have the money to spend, so the landlord waiting for the public to support the local shops with the limited amounts of money they have is futile, they are looking to the people who are struggling the most, the people whose wages have decreased, or stayed the same despite inflation and VAT increases, to spend at the same level they always did but they cannot, they are expecting people who have been made redundant, or had their hours at work cut, to maintain the same level of spending as they did in more affluent times. In asking the public to support their customers, do the landlords of the buildings in the High Street actually come into the high street and support the high street, do their shopping there, do business meetings there, do they think about where they shop and where they spend their money? Hang on a minute, this is ringing a familiar bell in my head, once again an image is conjured up in my mind of someone at the top getting people to spend money with them and then those people deciding not to spend their money in the local community and it all gets drained away to goodness knows where, just like a messed up water cycle, where if it's not sustainable, it will dry up and there is nothing left for anyone.

I don't know what the answer is but I do know that shopkeepers, landlords and shoppers are all stakeholders in the High Street and we all have to work together, not to keep things the same but to move into the future, to embrace change.

If we all point the finger of blame at each other, we will get nothing done, we have to innovate and create a new way and we have to learn how to understand what motivates a landlord. Maybe they are correct not to budge on the price, or is there a way of calculating a shop's worth with a formula, could it be that a fair rent for the unit could be, affluence grading of the area (where the higher the disposable income, the higher the grading, from 1 being an economically challenged area to 10 being an area with a large disposable income) x shop size (where the biggest is 10 on a scale and the smallest is 1) x average footfall per day, as measured over 1 year = ?  Then divided by 3 = your monthly rent in pounds.

It tickled me when in The Journal rents in Glastonbury, with much higher footfall and more disposable income and in Wells where again, there's more cash and feet about, were compared to the rents for similar properties in Shepton Mallet and judged to be in line but unfortunately, the footfall and affluence of the area wasn't taken into consideration.

The properties in Shepton are in general, priced too highly for the footfall and the area. A campaign, not against the landlords but to work with the landlords to consider what could motivate them to make changes, would be an amazing step forward, I believe.

Maybe the law needs changing, maybe there could be a law saying that no unit can be empty for more than two months and in that time, the local council have responsibility for using the shop front as a way to advertise other local shops, businesses and services, like a big colourful billboard.

I'd love to hear your ideas about this.

What can be done to regenerate our high street, to move forward with the times?

Another Shop Shuts in Shepton.

Helping Mike Alford and his family and in turn, helping to protect our High Street by successfully campaigning against Tesco installing a Timpson pod at The Townsend Retail Park, gave me a warm glow and a real sense of achievement. Today, though, I feel like a firefighter who has been fighting one blaze, only to turn around and see that another fire was burning and the sustainability of another business on our High Street has been under threat. That business, Penny's Sweets, right next door to our shop, has now closed. Jenny Penny is pleased to take on new opportunities, which is a good thing but I feel gutted that they have closed.

I came to Shepton Mallet with the aim of helping to revitalise the High Street, to help visitors and locals to realise what brilliantly cool shops we have. Right from the word go, Jenny and her family were very welcoming, as our shop neighbours. I particularly enjoyed the support that Jenny and I gave to each other. I sent customers to her, she sent customers to me.

The closure of Penny's Sweets is a real blow to the High Street. To me it looks like a row of teeth with a space, where one has been knocked out, there's a gap, a big, vacant screaming gap. I'm trying to be thankful that the only casualty seems to be the shop, rather than Jenny or her family. Taking the decision to shut your shop is a very difficult process and it can destroy some people, so I take great solace in the fact that Jenny has retained her sanity and health. However, on a personal level for me, I feel so upset by this, I can hardly gather together my motivation to go into work today.

I've never thought about what it feels like for the shop keeper of the shop next door to the one that closed, before. In this instance, this shopkeeper feels very, very upset and sad, it is almost like there has been a death. I feel like crying and do, sometimes, when I walk past that closed door. I have in my mind the image of a happy, lively place, which is now a tombstone. I might get that a bit more into perspective soon but that's how it feels to me right now.

My morale is rock bottom and I want to blame someone. Basically, it's your fault because you didn't pop in enough and you didn't buy enough, or is it the fault of the economy, with the prison closure, the Co-operative bank closing and so on, or maybe is it the fault of the council, the accountancy firm at The Mill moved to Wells, as they couldn't get planning permission to expand their offices here in Shepton, or maybe it is my fault, I was completely focused on saving the High Street from the Timpson pod, depleting footfall even further, whilst in the meantime, my neighbour's business closes? Now I pose myself the difficult question, did my business help or hinder the business next door?

I like to think that I bought more visitors into town and I promoted Penny's Sweets to my customers and to all my visitors, I also talked about Penny's Sweets on social media. I like to think I helped the business next door to me but did I truly? I set up a Shepton Mallet Shops website to support all independent shops and businesses in the area and a Facebook Group, Discover Shepton Mallet, to let everyone know about these kinds of hidden gems. It wasn't enough, more needed to be done. Doing more in these times is like riding a ship in a storm, with one hand on the steering wheel, (If that's what it's called on a ship), whilst bailing out water, with a bucket, with the other hand.

I know I can't take on responsibility for the whole High Street but I do have to accept at least some responsibility for there now being an empty shop, next to mine. If I don't then I deny myself the power to make changes and make a difference in the future.

So, for the while, let me feel sad and analyse what I can do better in the future, with your support.

We said 'No'to Timpson at Tesco and they listened!

I received a most delicious phone call yesterday from Fuchsia at Shepton Mallet Journal, telling me the news that Tesco had withdrawn their application for a Timpson pod!



As, at the time of writing, I am not aware of any comments made by Timpson or Tesco, I assume the withdrawal of the application is as a direct result of our online petition, set up in July of this year. The power of well over 500 signatures and over 150 strong comments, combined with great local press coverage by Shepton Mallet Journal, a supportive mention by Kevin McCloud in his Grand Designs Magazine and supportive retweets from local business man and creator of Kilver Court, Roger Saul and his other connections, which attracted more and more support.



Our online petition was set up using change.org, the format of their website was extremely easy to use with really useful articles and tips to help us garner extra support.



This is the first time I have ever set up a petition to campaign against an economic injustice, or any kind of injustice and to think it has been successful, is incredible. A massive thank you to you, if you did anything in any way to support this action!



Now to focus on the changing face of our High Street! Together we can make change.





Shepton Mallet shops triumph as application for Timpson at Tesco is withdrawn | Shepton Mallet Journal

Celebrity TV Presenter Supports Our 'Say No to Timpson at Tesco' campaign!

It's about time you had a good old update about our campaign to 'Say No to Timpson at Tesco', isn't it.

In July, James Timpson, the Managing Director of Timpson, gave me a call to have a chat about the situation in Shepton Mallet, where a planned Timpson pod, installed in the Tesco retail park will threaten our high street, even more. I was really looking forward to that chat, knowing full well, that he would of course listen to sense, community duty and ethics, I was looking forward to putting the phone down and rushing to tell Mike Alford, the cobbler's son, the good news. I knew that we would make a difference and I knew that James Timpson would acknowledge that the Townsend location, as an edge of town retail park, would prove to be a valid threat indeed to the high street and I knew that he would reassure me that he would ask Tesco to withdraw the planning application.

Oh, but this didn't happen, at all. Mr Timpson did try to reassure me but unfortunately he tried to reassure me that when he has a shop in a town centre and then he opens one on a retail park, the takings in the other shop, on the high street are not affected and if they are then only marginally so. I pointed out that this was an edge of town retail park, rather than an out of town retail park but he didn't really seem to take that point on board. He also told me that what they were doing was not morally wrong in his eyes. He also said that if Timpson thought for one minute that it would affect the shop already in the High Street, they would not do it.

I asked Mr Timpson, if he would come to Shepton Mallet, to have a look at the situation and to also meet with the shop keepers, to see what they thought and felt about the planning application to put a Timpson pod in the Townsend Retail Park, that invitation was refused, although he said he would maybe pop in for a coffee one day.

To say I was disappointed with that outcome, wouldn't do my feelings justice. I felt very, very wronged indeed. It was good that Mr Timpson took the time to call me and to talk and to be interested but I am afraid he did it just so that I could spread his word of good intentions and he wasn't actually interested in a conversation, or a negotiation about where his Timpson pod could go. I know where I'd like it to go but that's another matter.

I felt that was a blow to the campaign and I hadn't achieved what I set out to do.

The next blow was when one of my new Facebook friends was looking for a job in Shepton Mallet and came across an advert for a trainee shoe repair person, for their branch in Shepton Mallet! I couldn't believe the cheek of it! Can you imagine interviewing people for a position for a job in a pod, that hasn't even got planning permission? Can you imagine doing that? Can you imagine being interviewed for that job, you're skint, been unemployed for ages, spend time, money and hope on sending off your CV and then being interviewed and there isn't even actually a JOB! That is just so wrong.

Then one day, Mike Alford, came rushing into the shop to tell me that the petition had been mentioned in Channel 4's Grand Designs Magazine and that the TV Presenter Kevin McCloud had signed it. It's in the October issue! I am so grateful to Kevin McCloud for supporting our campaign in this way. This has given the campaign a real boost, with front page coverage from Shepton Mallet Journal and they've also printed the link to the petition in the paper, which is fantastic. I can see the petition is now reaching more locals, with more signatures trickling in. At the time of writing we are on 486, getting to 500 would be great!

Please sign our Petition.

Then, after signing our petition please take the following steps to support our campaign:

1/ Please share this petition with your friends, via social media and email.

2/ Please email Tessa Munt, to express your opposition:    Tessa.munt.mp@parliament.uk

3/ Spend at least £10 a week in your local independent shops instead of Tesco! Don't forget Shepton Mallet's Friday Market, with Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, Fish, Baked Goods, Plants and Flowers, as well as our unique High Street!

Shopping Psychology and Town Transformation

As an independent shop keeper, it is definitely in my interest to keep up a powerful campaign to encourage people to choose to shop local and independent, it's also in my interests as a human, who needs sustainability, a strong circular economy and ethics, so the people in my community, my family and my friends, can enjoy jobs, stability and a cohesive and supportive community in which to live. Having a viable High Street, that looks good and works well is a part of the formula for a strong community. Independent shops act as little social hubs, where people meet to connect, chat and find out new information, as much as to actually shop.

After having opened two coffee shops, I have observed an interesting phenomenon, that I would not have been able to predict at all before opening those shops. I am certainly learning more about the psychology of shopping, every single day, it's a mind game and I am definitely hooked.

The question is why do newcomers to an area, whether they've been there for decades, or have just moved in, seem to find it easier to first of all, notice a shop, second of all to walk into a shop and third of all become regular customers, passionate supporters and after a time, true friends?

In my Shepton Mallet shop, I see locals choosing to walk all the way up the High Street, shop at Tesco and then walk down again, with heavy bags of shopping, without stopping at one independent shop in our town, without even glancing in any of the pretty and well presented windows.

People do have a choice and that is their choice, even though there is a Friday market which sells better and much cheaper fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and bread, is more fun to shop at and is closer to where they live, than Tesco! It doesn't seem logical to me. So what is the psychology underlying the decision to shop in a large chain where most of your money is siphoned off, away from the local economy, as opposed to shopping local and independent, where studies have shown this creates a stronger local economy for the community, with around 70p in every pound being re-spent in the local community. Bearing this in mind it stuns me when I see independent shop keepers choosing to spend their money in Tesco, especially in this town, where Tesco has too overwhelming a presence.

I suppose part of the problem could be that many locals have seen businesses start up and then fail, they lose their confidence in the viability of the town centre and then give up.

Thinking about it, there's a similar problem, with our shop on Platform 1, Enfield Chase Train station. There had been five or six businesses before us that opened up for at the longest 6 months and then closed down. Local people's perception of the viability of investing their time and money into that business and relying on it for their coffee, has been eroded over the years by consistent closures. Some people, when I get round to having a chat with them, have stood on the platform, every day at the same time for years and years and tell me they didn't even know there was a coffee shop there let alone one that has one several awards, produced a local Fairtrade Directory, appeared on Television several times and in the local papers too! They don't notice the signs, I mean real signs, printed ones, in the ticket hall, along the platform, on the platform and the other signs such as the aroma of coffee, freshly baked cakes and other people holding cups of freshly made coffee! Although one of our long time customers is a partially sighted musician. How on earth did he manage to find us, when we are tucked around the corner of the wall and others that can see, can't see that we are there but he can? Not one to be backwards in coming forward, I asked how he could find us, when plenty of seeing people couldn't! He said he followed the gorgeous smell of coffee and found us. This makes me feel that there is a kind of 'local blindness' where people just do not see the new shops and aren't interested anyway.

So, is the explanation that some people feel open-minded and ready and are actively seeking new experiences and others are focused on their routine, that works well for them and at that time, they do not want to have a new experience, it would be simply too stressful, too challenging, too far outside the comfort zone, however, when they go on holiday, have more time, feel more relaxed, they also feel more like cherishing and enjoying new experiences. Does that maybe explain why newcomers to an area discover our shop easily and feel good about walking in? They are a self-selected band of person who has already proven that they are open to new experiences at this time in their lives, as they have moved from one place to another, tourists and day-trippers have also ear-marked themselves as more open to new experiences and more open to choosing to shop independent.

Just yesterday, in our Shepton Mallet shop, it was near closing time and three very open and friendly people came in, two wanted coffee, the other wanted a cold drink with no added sugars, she loved our Raspberry Ginger Zinger. Whilst waiting, they spotted Agave Nectar and Cashew Nut Butter and bought two lots of each, they bought some cake too. Just as I opened the fridge, to tidy away the milk, I spotted the gorgeous Booja Booja, handmade champagne chocolate  truffles, made with agave nectar, that are gluten-free and dairy-free. I felt I had a duty to tell them about these truffles but on the other hand, didn't want them to feel obliged to buy them. So, I told them about these truffles, which I absolutely adore and start to positively drool if I think about them and it's even worse if I talk about them. I actually had to apologise for drooling. They bought two little boxes of my truffles and saved them to enjoy later. (I call them my truffles because I buy them from myself too, so they are all mine, unless you buy them). I really enjoyed those customers, they were open-minded, receptive and they wanted a great experience. Where did they come from? Were they local? No, they were day trippers, from Bristol and they will be back! Earlier on that day I had another lovely group of people in, relishing coffee and cakes and soaking up a special experience. Where were they from? New Zealand! They thought they wouldn't need a loyalty card because they are not from here, I assured them they would need it, as our coffee is so good and they will want more, even if they think they are driving away, I said they will not be able to go without having more and will have to turn back. Yup, that loyalty card was all used up in one session!

We always ask where people are from, especially in our Shepton Mallet shop, one day I had seven customers in the shop at the same time, I asked where these individual customers were from, they were all from London, like me! We've been in Shepton Mallet for a year now and our customers are a lovely eclectic mix of mainly creatives, thinkers, tourists, people that have moved into the area, day-trippers and other local independent business owners. When we first opened, I imagined that our core customer base would be people born and bred in Shepton Mallet, relieved that another lovely shop would be coming to the High Street and willingly wanting to support it, our customer base is completely different to that. Why? It doesn't make sense when the born and bred locals are the loudest in complaining about the High Street and the newcomers are the most enthusiastic advocates. This isn't the case in just Shepton Mallet, a facebook discussion reveals that some born and bred locals in the Frome area choose to take a bus to Trowbridge to shop, rather than go to the local independents, or even the chains. It is reported that they perceive the High Street as being unable to fulfil their needs. Yet other people travel from other places to enjoy their High Street.

So, what is going on? Is it the 'grass is always greener' syndrome, where people appreciate far more what they haven't got, than what is right on their doorstep? What is in their town is maybe perceived as run down and not commercialised enough, whereas a newcomer sees the town through interested eyes full of anticipation, looking for the possibilities, noticing the beauty, the potential and the positives.

It's a different mindset.

Is it like blackberry picking where the fruit furthest away looks more plump, shiny and juicy than the ones easily in reach? Is that the underlying psychology here? Is it that we always want what we haven't got? Is this just another symptom of a society that is weary and jaded and projects that feeling onto the surrounding environment? Are people fed up and tired and miss the positives happening right under their noses because it's always been bad?

In Enfield, it took me about 3 years of going outside the Enfield shop, chatting to one man in particular that I felt would enjoy our shop, until one day, finally he stepped inside and ordered a coffee! Now, he is one of our faithful and supportive regulars and he loves us and our shop. I have the feeling that if we were a recognisable big brand name like Costa there would be no, or little hesitation in walking in. Is that maybe because of the high levels of consumer trust that Costa have established over the years? Is it the high comfort level of knowing exactly what the environment will be like when you walk in, knowing what the coffee will taste like, knowing that this is a low risk situation, with a high chance that you'll get what you imagined you would get? Having put it like that, I can see how easy it is to walk into a recognisable chain and how difficult and challenging it can be to walk into an independent, after all, your time and money is at risk. Economic times are hard, so you want to lessen the risk and deal with what you know.

It's easy to trust a Tesco or Costa, as they are everywhere, you know more or less what to expect and you don't need to step outside your comfort zone.

I notice that when people walk into either of my shops, they look around and completely get it, within 5 seconds, or I have to say, hello, we are a coffee and health food shop. Holiday makers, creatives, day trippers and other independent business owners are the people that are attracted to walking inside our little havens of coffee and community.

If we had one of these shops on every High Street, people would instantly recognise it and feel very comfortable walking in, as they have walked in to many of these before. It would feel safe and easy for them.

Sometime independent shops close due to illness, family issues, or a holiday. It's a catch 22 situation, where it is perhaps not financially viable to take on staff, so independents are perceived as being unreliable. Now, if you love independent shops and are a strong supporter of the revitalization of the High Street, you take it on the chin and go back when they are open. If you are looking for convenience only, you'll feel fed up and go to a chain that is always open. Which means another customer is lost.

Today, I made the decision, that in the grand scheme of things, it was more important to finish this blog post, than anything else, that's my creative side being unleashed and allowed to breathe. The shop however, is not open because I am at home writing this and just could not stop my flow.

So, for my final questions:

Is it a problem if local people choose to shop somewhere else? Is it necessary for the success of the High Street, to encourage locals to shop there, or would that be like trying to get people that enjoy coffee to enjoy herbal tea, or vice versa?

Is it inherent in human nature to have a stronger ability to see what's good and be more attracted to new ideas when we are outside our usual environment. Could be that we like to hunt, we like to seek, we like to experience and for everyone of us, this only feels like the real thing, if we are not in our usual territory?

Could it be that, going on a shopping trip that is away from your own town is a great way to enjoy a day trip somewhere, for a reason, without feeling guilty for doing it?

As a business woman, I know that it is easier to make more sales to your regular customers than to gain a new customer, it is more cost effective to nurture and reward your current customers, than to attract a new one. So, on that basis, I feel that it is better to build positively on what is seen to be working.

The High Street is undergoing a massive transition at the moment, we need to embrace that transition and work with it, not against it. Maybe a part of that transition is that in the past the High Street was full of essential services and goods and every High Street had the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. With the internet and retail park revolution, High Streets are now full of services, charity shops, coffee shops, estate agents and so on. These things are physical and can't be done on the internet, or are a unique offering, such as crafts, clothes boutiques records or second-hand shops. So shopping on the High Street is transforming into more of a leisure time, treat yourself type of activity. Rather than day to day essential shopping, although there are some essentials still in place on the luckier High Streets, such as here in Shepton, where we have The Shepton Cobbler and our own Denela's Bakery, which has queues of people out of their door for freshly made sandwiches. We also have the Co-op in Town, the newly established ABC International Foods supermarket and Little Daisy Deli where you can get your food supplies from.

I am really, really proud of Shepton Mallet High Street and the small but effective weekly market and after a year of being here, there are strong signs of regeneration and attraction of investment in the town centre! A new Italian restaurant is opening up soon!

Let's go with the flow, let's dance on the waves of transformation, rather than trying to convince locals to shop on their High Street, let them choose to go elsewhere. The key to future success, is to build on the positivity that is already manifesting, in both Shepton Mallet and Frome, where those High Streets can be held up as examples of having an offering that is so attractive they draw in trade from tourists and regular trade from returning day trippers! That truly is something to celebrate and something to shout about and I feel proud that My Coffee Stop has been able to play even a small part in the ongoing transformation, just by having a shop on the High Street! And now I'd better get myself to work and open up that little shop!

A Guest Blog by Chantal Allison: #Transition Towns #Shepton Mallet

Why it's a 'No' to Timpson in Shepton
By Chantal Allison, from Transition Shepton.

Once again, the turning of the 'clone-town' screw is being felt in Shepton. One major argument for inviting large corporations into our local economy is to create jobs for local people. What doesn't get said is that these jobs are usually for minimum wage and are probably only part-time.

The proposal for a #Timpson, offering shoe repairs, key cutting, watch repair and dry cleaning will, I believe, create 2-3 full-time jobs at best. However,  three local businesses will be directly  affected;  The Shepton Cobbler, Wash Tub and C H Penns, the independent jewellers. That's at least eight jobs that I'm aware of that are at risk. This is not taking into account the impact on other businesses as the result of the reduced footfall in the High Street.

Timpson are a corporate entity in their own right, who  have over 1000 pods throughout the UK in #Tesco and Sainsbury's. This arrangement of course, works in favour of the supermarkets, since it encourages people to shop in their store, with a so-called one-stop, 'convenient' shopping offering.  

The one-stop shopping approach has at least two, perhaps unintended, consequences:

1/ All profits made from local labour is funnelled straight into the corporation's central coffers away from the local economy, thus further impoverishing the town. 

Local businesses do not do this. They promote the circulation of wealth within the local economy.

2/ A sense of community can diminish.

 A thriving High Street often creates and invigorates the local community.

Promoting local businesses is not just a romantic hankering for the good old days. Large corporations such as Tesco could not function without oil. They need it both in their distribution of food and goods and in the running of  their over-lit and over-refrigerated stores. This will become more difficult to sustain and justify as fossil fuels become more scarce and more expensive to extract. The move towards fracking is evidence that easy options for extracting fossil fuels are running out. The corporations will inevitably pass all the necessary price hikes on to you, the consumer. And if they're the only show in town, then they'll charge what they like.

Shepton needs a long term vision which ensures local businesses can thrive, local people can prosper, and the unique character of our High Street is promoted and preserved. The wider benefits of a prosperous and vibrant High Street is an increased sense of community for local people, more visitors who bring wealth into the local economy and perhaps most importantly, increased resilience against the anticipated price hikes in energy and oil.

Come on, Mendip District Council! Show some imagination and innovative thinking! Use your  committment to regenerating the High St by finding long term solutions that benefit the whole community. 

Allowing a Timpson outlet at Tesco in the Townsend Retail Park, is not the way to do it.

***********************************************************

Thank you to Chantal Allison, from Transition Towns, for contributing to the My Coffee Stop Stories Blog.

Transition Shepton is part of the Transition Towns network, which is a nation-wide grass-roots movement  promoting ways of reducing the carbon footprint and encouraging towns to create their own initiatives.

#Tesco Expansion Plans with Timpson, Threaten The High Street and Not Just in Shepton Mallet!

Tesco have teamed up with Timpson and plan to provide Dry Cleaning, Watch and Jewellery repairs, Engraving, Shoe repairs and Key Cutting Services at their Shepton Mallet store. This is the information that I learnt today, from a fellow trader on the High Street, in Shepton Mallet.

To be honest, the Tesco here in Shepton Mallet is a sore point with the locals, many people actively refuse to step a foot inside the store but many people that live in Shepton Mallet, work in Tesco and visit the High Street too and the site does provide a couple of hours free parking and it doesn't mention you have to be their customer in order to park there. So, as in many situations there are positives and negatives and many mixed feelings.

I decided to Google about the Tesco and Timpson situation and have found out that there are several other places that have had exactly the same kind of planning permission application! Applications have gone in for Shepton Mallet, Bridgend, Cheltenham and Royston and I discovered those after just a five minute search, so there are bound to be more coming our way, across the UK. Looks to me like Tesco is trying to cope with a shrinking market. Yes, people have less money, the economy is down, they too have to find ways to increase their profits.

I however, envisage the High Street going into decline, with the footfall falling even more than it already has done, over the past year that we've been here. It is distressing to hear of shops, beautiful, quirky independent shops having to close, not because they have failed but because it is unsustainable to continue renting on the High Street, so the business runs but online, or from home.

Incredibly, as I was writing this piece, a couple walked into our shop, in Shepton Mallet and needed a refreshing and revitalising cup of tea. As they sat down, we chatted together and I mentioned that I was writing a blog about Tesco and Timpson teaming up. The gentleman, Simon, mentioned that the managing director of Timpson was his God Son. He told me that James Timpson started off, originally, as a shoe retailer but stopped that and moved into repairs, he went on to say that they were good employers and re-trained ex-offenders, so they could have a secure job and re-intergrate into the community. As he mentioned this, the humanity behind the business came into focus, there's a real man with his dreams and visions and his chance to contribute to our society and he's doing it successfully.

Where does that leave us? Where does that leave our much loved High Street, which quite honestly, if it was loved so much, would be used more? What if they were to actually open on the High Street? Maybe we should thank our lucky stars that they are targeting customers for the retail park and they are not plonked on the High Street, I am really not sure what to think. I know the High Street is definitely changing, do we embrace the change, or do we fight for what we know, love and enjoy? If we know we love and enjoy it, then we have to use our money not to 'Support' local businesses but to keep them there and to enjoy them. If you love a local retailer in your High Street, don't keep walking by the shop, thinking that you'll go in there one day. You have to change your habits and make buying things in there a part of your routine. I say that people get the High Street that they deserve, it's the consumer that has the final say in the changing face of market towns. If you shop mindlessly, then you will get an impersonal High Street full of chains.

The way I see it, Shepton Mallet has a wonderful High Street of quirky, independent shops, the Townsend Retail park is an altogether completely different experience, based more on the idea of convenience. The two concepts can live side by side and thrive. I like the idea that I can shop late if I need to at Tesco and pick up a last minute item, or a magazine, they do Sushi and no one else here does, that is very convenient. I've heard it said that when they first applied for planning permission, they said it would be a food only store, I'm not sure if this is the correct information but if no limitations are put on their trading what is the next thing they will do? They are expanding because their market is shrinking. Is their market shrinking because local businesses have closed because Tesco haven't really contributed enough to the regeneration of Shepton Mallet Town? Does that mean that the owners of the small businesses that have closed, can't employ anyone, so unemployment is higher, the town looks more desolate, people have less money, when one trader goes, then there's a knock on effect, for all the traders in town.Traders lose the cross promotion with other businesses and miss out on business from each other in a circular economy that makes sure the money is kept locally. The reason why communities are breaking down and High Streets across the UK look run down is because some landlords keep rents artificially high and because retail parks do NOT contribute to the community enough!

I've been told that there was a promise by Tesco when they first came that they would make sure that the town had maintained hanging baskets of flowers on the High Street, even if there wasn't a promise, why don't they sponsor something like that? The amazing Tesco staff collected over £800 to support Collett Park Festival 2014 but it was Tesco, the company that was asked if they would like to sponsor the festival, amazingly the company itself didn't come up with a bean! Tesco show a lot of support for the community but I'm not sure if it is support from their profits, or whether they profit from the support. Take for instance the Happy Landings Collection point in the store, you buy dog food, or toys, from Tesco and put it into their collection point! I can understand why people feel angry, 'Every Little helps' we just didn't think it meant, every little business and every little contribution from the public and from the staff, helps Tesco to create more profits, diverted away from the community to individuals! Tesco started from a market stall in East London, five years later the name Tesco was formed and the company grew and grew and grew. That entrepreneurial spirit is bound to be admired and respected by most small business owners but when it comes to ethics and morals, it does seem that things have got out of hand.

I feel if Timpson can contribute massively to the economy of the town they are in, if they offer a very basic shoe repair service and recommend the local cobbler for complicated repairs, if they pledge to help and support our town and really give something to the community then they will find their place. At this stage, I personally do not feel that I can support Tesco's application for these new services because of the devastating impact it will have on our Town. I believe that because of this negative impact, that the outlet will not succeed because the local economy will be driven down even further and again the market will shrink and again Tesco will choose to dominate another service and again they will cause the shrinkage in the economy and so on like a spiral, down and down. It is for this reason that I feel I have to oppose the planning application for this outlet.

Please join my Say No to Timpson at Tesco campaign, by clicking on the link below and signing the petition it brings up and sharing with your friends too. Thank you.
Say NO to Timpson at Tesco!

You can also log an objection to the planning application, directly to Mendip Council, using this link:
Application Objections

24 hour SHOCK Cash Mob!

I have heard reports that the landlord of Sheels Bookshop in Lancaster Road, has put the rent up by 50%, forcing this Enfield business to relocate to Hatfield instead. We can now see for ourselves that the changing face of the High Street is not just because of changing shopping habits but also the greed of some landlords in keeping rents artificially high in these hard economic times. 

SHOCK Cash Mobs are a small drop in the ocean to help local and independent businesses, just as the BBC Reporter suggested when I was interviewed on TV about this community initiative.

I feel Landlords need to be forced by law, to take responsibility for their community, or even supported by grants and special initiatives to enable them to have filled shop spaces and a fair income in exchange. I don't know what the correct approach would be, as I have never been a landlord, so I need landlords to connect with me and share with me their ideas. After all we are all in this together. Communities are becoming fractured by our broken up High Streets, drastic action and innovation needs to happen now! 

In the meantime, please join me in an online SHOCK Cash Mob for Sheels Bookshop, just over 1 year after the one we did to them in 2013! 

So, for 24 hours from 9am, Tuesday 3rd June to 9am on Wednesday 4th June, pop into Sheels and spend a tenner or more on books! 

Or go online and order.

Or phone up and order.

Please comment to tell me that you are going to do it. Then please tell me when you have actually done it! 

So, who's in? Xxxxxx

What did very small-businesses get from this #Budget13?

Picture by Anne-Marie Sanderson

After the excitement of ITN News coming round and filming us for the budget and our 10 seconds of Prime Time TV, once at 6pm and then again at 6.30pm, let's look at what the budget really brought for small businesses.

1/ £2,000 NI relief

Businesses can claim relief for NI contributions of £500 a year for up to four employees. This is something that the Federation of Small Businesses have fought for and they are really pleased.

However for small business owners, like myself there are already massive financial barriers to employing someone, or even taking on an apprentice. The budget has not changed that situation.

2/ £10,000 threshold before tax.

This could help people feel like they have a few extra pennies for spending in their small, local independent businesses, so this could trickle down to the small business owners.

3/ Corporation Tax brought down by 1%

Some small businesses are run as a Ltd company, so this could help them, many micro businesses are not Ltd and have a different trading style, so this won't help them directly.

That's It!

I'm not an economic expert but they are the only three things that I can find.

So, seeing as the really small businesses of Britain have NOT been particularly highlighted or helped by this budget.....

I pledge to keep up my SHOCK Cash Mob Campaign, to help small businesses boost their profits and profile.