Part 5-December 20th 2019
and onwards..
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Friday 20th December, 2019 |
The village was delighted with the total transformation of
the shop, now a lovely airy space, filled with light. The
shop had become open plan from end-to-end, thus increasing
the selling area and providing space for a wider range of
products. Ventilation was greatly improved.
The Post Office remained largely as it was, due to contractual
security requirements with Post Office Counters Ltd.
A new suite of
high-efficiency refrigerated display units was installed; also a new
shop counter area and shelving system.
Inevitably much remained to be done, and in the months to come all the
shelving systems would be updated, and other exciting innovations were
to be introduced, but more of that later. On day one it looked like
this... |
If it is in-stock you can see it! |
Much greater display area! |
Up-to-date refrigerated
display cabinets |
A large stock of greetings
cards |
'Fancy goods' is a popular
innovation |
Stationery stocks for school,
home and office |
Unfortunately the re-opening of Winsham Shop and Post Office came too
too late to benefit from the substantial pre-Christmas trade that was
enjoyed most years, despite the valiant effort to keep the shop
functioning during the renovation period, by taking over the Parish
Office located in the Jubilee Hall. In the first two months of 2020
business was good, during what is traditionally a quite period , while
customers seek to recover from the gastronomic and financial excesses of
Christmas and New Year Celebrations. |
But what was to follow was completely unprecedented in the long history
of the village shop, indeed the whole parish. |
The Covid-19 virus
lockdown
Early in
2020, news of a new Corona type virus located in China, was
reaching the media with increasing frequency. At first it attracted
little attention. New viruses were always coming and going. Nothing to
worry about!
However, by February it was into Europe, with high death rates among the
elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions. By early March
it had reached the United Kingdom. In response, the UK government
instituted a major lockdown on social interaction to minimise spread.
This included the closure of most retail businesses, except for food
outlets and other vital services.
Winsham Shop did not have to close, unlike 'The Bell'.
There followed a remarkable demonstration of the importance of village
shops and their value to small communities. Following the strict
instructions laid down by government, relating to social distancing and
customer and staff hygiene procedures, Winsham Shop, with its dedicated
staff and team of volunteers. was able to provide a vital retail
service, including an ordering and delivery service, especially
important to the more vulnerable categories of
residents - those
over the age of 70, the disabled, and/or with underlying health
conditions. This service minimised the need for residents to travel into
nearby towns such as Chard and Crewkerne, thereby reducing the risk of
catching and spreading the
virus.
Many vulnerable customers (over 70 or with
'at-risk' conditions) opted for shop deliveries
organised by volunteers. Younger and fitter customers were
allowed in, but just one at a time. |
The law required the
installation of counter and
cash-point screens to protect both customers and staff from
airborne risk of
infection. |
On March 17th, the Shop Management Committee issued a statement,
along with other village organisations, via the Winsham E-Letter,
the Parish Web site and the community Facebook page, and with
posters around the village. It expressed its intention to stay open
during the restrictions, reassuring residents about continuity of
supplies of fresh foods. It also called for volunteers to help with
deliveries to 'at risk' residents, and to help with maintaining the
enhance bio-security needed. Needless to say , the response was
unprecedented. To read the statement
Click HERE.
There followed a difficult three months or so, but during this
period Winsham Shop and Post Office was a beacon of stability in
daily life that gave confidence to many who lived or worked in the
parish, that one day things would return to normal.
Despite all this, work on up-dating the shop and its methods
continued. New shelving systems arrived and were installed.
Trade flourished, despite the growing on-line presence of the major
supermarkets and others.
Easing of the Lockdown
As Spring eased into Summer the contagion rate -the 'R' number eased
nationally to below 1, and there was a gradual easing of
restrictions, although the shop continued to meet its government
required bio-security measures. Nevertheless, life did begin to
become more 'normal'. The South West enjoyed lower rates of
infection throughout this period, compared with many parts of the
UK, despite the tradition of it being a holiday area, visited by
many people to enjoy its coast line and its beautiful countryside.
Sadly
this was not to continue.
At the time of writing-late Autumn 2020, the spread of Covid -19 is
accelerating rapidly, especially in the north of England , Scotland,
Wales and N. Ireland, with severe lockdowns being applied in many
parts.
Fortunately they are not yet applying to the South West, although
the danger of increased contagion is ever present.
To minimise risk, the wearing of Facemasks by customers has become
necessary, also by staff when not working behind the protective
screens. Numbers of customers within the shop at any one time are
also limited. Nobody knows what the next few months will bring. A
promised vaccine, may become available early 2021 year-lets
hope so!
BUT LIFE GOES ON....
And the management of Winsham Shop continues
to innovate!
As explained in Part three of this narrative
of the fortunes of Winsham Shop and Post Office over the five years
spanning 2016 to 2020, competition has intensified and people's
shopping habits are changing
During the pandemic, a general nationwide reaction has resulted in a massive
increase in home-delivery by most of the major supermarket groups and
others, including Amazon, as a result of on-line shopping. At the same
time Winsham Shop has seen a significant increase in turnover
during the early part of the pandemic, although in recent months the
level of business returning to more conventional levels. It
raises the question; what does this mean?
The Management Committee of the shop and post-office are reacting
positively to both the challenge and the potential opportunities presented by the
situation. They recently introduced a simple -to-use, on-line
shopping system, using a very sophisticated web site,
that compares well to those being used by the major supermarkets.
Clearly such a system would be beyond the resources of Winsham Shop
to develop, but the management committee's far-sighted on going
involvement with the Plunkett Foundation, the charity set up to help
community resources such as village shops and pubs, has enabled them
to be an early participant in a system that will become increasingly
available to village shops throughout the UK
Payment is made on line via Debit Credit Card, and collection is by
arrangement.
The above is a screen shot of a typical 'shopping page' of the new
website. These are linked to an easy to use menu system which
quickly takes visitors to a wide range of choice
Authors Note:
I n
preparing Parts 3 to Part 5 of this record of the history of
Winsham Shop and Post Office during the period 2016-2020,
I have spoken with many people involved with various aspects of the
struggle to keep the business going. Although I met with differing
views, nobody that I spoke to wanted the shop and post-office to
close. Some were vehemently opposed to 'The George ' project, and
feelings sometime ran high on this.
In the end , most-if not all, accept that the present situation, in
terms of location, has worked out well.
For my part, given the limited scope of the web site, I have tried
to give a fair and balanced account of a testing few
years.
Before closing , a few weeks ago I was approached by the Chairman of
Winsham Shop Management Committee enquiring if I could include a
small tribute to one of their
Directors. When I saw what they wanted
to say, I had no difficulty in agreeing:
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At the request of the
Directors of Winsham Shop Post Office, special mention is
made of Paula Bramley Ball, Commercial Director. Paula is
praised as being a driving force, leading the efforts
described above in ensuring the continuity of the village
owned business.
Winsham Shop and Post
Office were very fortunate to have such a person with great
experience and expertise among their team. Before moving
away from Corporate life to live in Winsham with her husband, she had worked, since
leaving University, for the UK’s leading
supermarket, rising to a senior executive post at their
head office.
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The Directors of Winsham Shop and Post Office during
the period 2016-2020:
Sarah Gleadell (Hon. Sec.), Jean Spurdle, Margaret
Long, Paula Bramley Ball (Commercial), Eric West, Denis McCallum
(Chairman), Gill Spence, Sally Cunliffe, Stephen Miller, Rita Miller
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