"That sneaky Mrs Mum! " Cries Granny Fortuna " Now she says she cannot help us with our shop tomorrow!"
" Why not Granny? " asks a worried Bruno
" Because she says it doll shelf day! and we will have to wait until the next day to set out our wares! "
"Well " says Bruno calmly " It is only one day and we can spend the time getting everything ready "
" One Day! One Day!" cries Granny " Who knows how many Christmas cards will be bought somewhere else because we are still shut! " building up steam granny continues " They will go to one of those great big supershops ... " " Stores" corrects Bruno " Store shops " Granny snaps "
where they will find everything under one vast roof.. and we will never see them ever again!"
Granny waits dramatically to see what Bruno will do ...... Bruno looks a little lost..... " But Granny everyone loves coming to your shop " he starts to warm to his subject since Granny's not jumped in " They love coming to see you and having you show them the things that you sell and tell them not to touch anything and to wipe their feet and tell them beggars cannot be choosers , although I don't understand that bit since none of them ever beg? "
Granny give Bruno as sad look.. " you do not understand Bruno...." she sighs quite dramatically... " they will be drawn in by the bright lights and shelves and shelves of tat! and seduced by the cheap prices.... "
Granny turns away sadly... " But Granny ! " Bruno says quickly " Them superstores don't have you! Who else will wipe Horrid Henry's runny nose , when he's sneezing and coughing everywhere ! Who else will sneak a little piece of chocolate to Annie Rose whose mum cannot afford to buy her any? Who? "
Granny pauses and her shoulders straighten a little as Bruno carries on " Who else can get away with clipping Lucas round the ear when he's being really naughty? Granny that's who! Them big old super stores don't have what we have .. you! "
Looking much happier Granny Fortuna starts to calm down and think " Yes , they are lucky to have such service in this village and we won't let that Mrs Mum stop us ! I have a plan ! "
Bruno sighs in relief as Granny says " Yes I have a sneaky plan of my own! Now come along Bruno we have things to do... we must save you from the life of climbing chimneys! "
Climbing chimneys? thinks Bruno.... why would I need to climb chimneys?... then he stops dead! and chases after a fast disappearing Granny.. " Granny granny... you cannot make me father Christmas.... I don't want to live at the north pole... it's cold.... Grannnnnnyyy..... "
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Nothing quite like that old fashioned personal service given by those small village shops. Which reminds me of a little terraced house shop in my childhood village of Audley in Staffordshire which sold almost everything and where my father had a 'TAB or slate' as it was also called. (A place where you didn't have to actually hand over the hard cash every time you bought something, instead it was written down in your book and an invoice was sent at the end of each month with the total owing.)
ReplyDeleteOne of my younger brothers always called it the FREE shop where you could pop in and buy sweets and pop etc. if and when you felt like it!!!
Good luck you two getting your shop ready and up and running for the grand Christmas opening on Wednesday.
The small local shops always seem to be more attuned to what their customers want. They don't have to try to please everyone like the big chain stores. Granny certainly seems to have a bee in her bonnet. I think if I were Mrs. Mum, I'd watch my back!
ReplyDeleteSteve
I love the local, small shops too and try to frequent them often and especially during the holidays. Looking forward to watching Granny's plan unfold! 😊 xxx
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