Well it’s been an exciting week in the village with TWO new businesses opening up. Two business that will bring people into the village, into Lower Street. Now I can hear you all saying… with a fabulous Flower shop and Wine Merchant what more reason could anyone have for visiting???

But let’s think about it, you’re a fit, young man who’s popped into Pulborough to have a look at the sexy new cycle frames, you would really like to splash out on a new bicycle but you want to keep your wife, girlfriend, partner happy too. You leave the bike shop thinking of that new frame and call into the Flowershop to buy your loved one the biggest bunch of flowers, just to say how special they are. Or you come to the village to buy a hand picked bouquet for that very special occasion, but it’s going to take 15-20mins to make it up. You could pull up a chair in the Flowershop or you could pop to The Little Bean Cafe for a coffee or a quick snack.

You can also pick up dinner and a bottle of wine while you’re at it. Or you can have your haircut, or the dog’s hair cut, or have your nails done, the options are endless (well almost). If you get the right mix of businesses in one place, they all support each other and make popping into the village a more pleasurable experience for everyone.

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With this in mind, I’ve been trying to make a little more room in the shop, in expectation of … ( I was going to say pleasuring more customers, but I really don’t mean that) entertaining more customers or maybe I should just stick to serving more customers, although that sounds a little dodgy too.

So, one day this week Rachel and I started moving things round, just as a huge delivery of flower turned up. The floor was strewn with electrical cables from the heater (a necessary item to stop us freezing to death in the ‘work’ area), the glue-gun (on standby for various emergencies) and the electric multi-tool needed for dismantling shelves and cupboardy things. I looked at the floor and remember saying to Rachel…

I hope no one from Health & Safety comes in!

“Mmm...” she replied. “I don’t think having buckets of water all over the place helps either”.

No sooner had she said it, when I tripped over a cable and kicked over a bucket of water.

Bouff!!!! The lights went out and we were plunged into darkness.

Luckily it was just a matter of finding the fuse box and re-setting the switch, but don’t worry I promise there’s no chance of being electrocuted as you step through the doors, there’s always a chance you’ll get a shock, but I now have a Health and Safety Charter.

Just ask if you want to see it, it’s somewhere n the shop.