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Tina and I have been together for a few years now. She owns and runs an old fashioned corner store. It is, as most are these days, a family run business. Her Mum bought the shop over 35 years ago when it was totally run down and had very little trade whatsoever. Many years of long hours and hard work saw the business develop into what it is today, a thriving little corner shop that serves the local community.
Tina was born in Chirk, 1961 to parents Tony and Enid. After having Tina her Mum and Dad decided one child was plenty, I think I have to agree with them. Tina has since lived in the same area all her life, not moving any further than a few miles down the road. With all her local knowledge of the area and the people who live here, it is not surprising that she is so well known in the local community that she serves.
Due to the opening hours of the shop, eighty hours a week in total, we have precious little time together, what time we do get is usually spent walking the dog. Tina loves cooking but, unfortunately, due to time constraints, she rarely has the opportunity to show off her flair.
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Around ten years ago now, her Mum, Enid, suffered a double heart attack, and ever since this Enid’s general health has suffered, so much so that she now has no part in the day to day running of the business. It is quite worrying really when you see what working an eighty hour week, with no holidays other than the occasional day out, has done to Enid’s health and then try to come to terms with fact that Tina is following exactly the same pattern. Tony and Enid divorced back in 1974 and since that time Enid threw herself into the business. She also needed an extra pair of hands so Tina was drafted in whilst she was still a young teenager. Tina is now in her thirtieth year working at the shop, it will be the first and only job that she will ever have.
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When Enid first took over the business it was being run purely as a grocery. Over the years it has since been developed into a full blown convenience store, with an off-licence and newsagency being added. Most of Tina’s regular customers know that this is one shop where they can come and get virtually anything needed from a grocers store. It is quite amusing to see the expression on customers faces when they ask Tina if she has a particular item that they have had difficulty buying elsewhere, only for Tina to reply, “Hang on a second, I think I’ve got that in the storeroom”, and then to the customers amazement she produces the item in question.
One of the shops specialties though has to be the cold ham, beef and turkey that are all cooked on the premises to an old fashioned recipe. Some customers travel from quite some distance away, to come and get their cold meat supplies. Another bonus has to be the bakery that is just one hundred yards down the road, these bakers have supplied Tina for many years now with what is commonly regarded as some of the best bread in the district. She also has a local butcher supplying her with home made pies, sausage rolls and pasties. Even her bacon comes from a local supplier and she buys it in both sliced and unsliced to be able to offer her customers a choice of thickness. This generally seems to be much appreciated.
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