I found this graffiti on my walk home from work last night. Seasonally appropriate!
I was just reading about the demise of my favorite wine merchant, Oddbins. We have an Oddbins shop here in West Hampstead and every once in a while I'd take all the £1 coins we'd accumulated in our change bowl and go buy a bottle or two of wine. It was a good way to get rid of coins.
Oddbins has a sort of legendary status in the UK. It's been around for 60 years, and at its height in the '90s it operated a chain of more than 275 outlets all over the country. It was so well known that "Absolutely Fabulous" made a joke about the hard-drinking, Chanel-wearing character Patsy Stone living in a flat above Oddbins.
But apparently it fell on hard times about ten years ago, something about corporate debt, and then Brexit and the pandemic finished off its high-street shops. Last night I happened to walk by and noticed all the windows dark and the shelves stripped of stock. Apparently Oddbins is still trading as an online presence, but it won't be the same.
Funny thing, though -- I went down the street to our other local wine merchant, a little independent shop, and the guy who used to work at Oddbins is now working there! So at least he landed on his feet. Maybe Patsy can find a flat upstairs.
And since I never use cash anymore, I don't accumulate change. My need to get rid of coins is pretty much nonexistent.
Times are different!
This looks like a picture of nothing, and it kind of is. It's showing our newly painted hallway wall (foreground) which, before our recent renovations, looked like this:
You can see how it's much improved now, though the colors don't show up as well because of course I had to take the post-renovation picture at night. (It's always night at this time of year!) We had saved the paint from our earlier paint job so the contractors were able to use it and match the color exactly.
Today I have to get myself to work early because I'm doing two presentations to Grade 5 classes about the Newbery awards. I've certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of reading all those books a couple of years ago!
I love the snowman art. Too bad about the tagging. Your read8ng 9f all the Newbery books was inspired!
ReplyDeleteYour flat looks so charming and I love those high ceilings.
The Grade 5 youngsters will be as quiet as church mice when they realise they are going to be lectured to by "The Ogre From the Library" - expected Newbery medal winner in 2025, written by yours truly and loosely based on the life of a West London school librarian.
ReplyDeleteI tend not to lose sleep over businesses having to close up shops. Life is all about change and if we didn't change, we would still be buying our groceries at Mr. Olson's store on Little House on the Prairie. I see businesses all around me that open up and do well for a time but then never evolve or change with the time and eventually just disappear and board up their windows. Someone else will see that, come up with a novel approach and swoop in and take over their spot in the market until they too become stagnate. Sort of the cycle of life but for businesses.
ReplyDeleteSaying all this, I still miss a few stores that I have enjoyed over the years until the disappeared too.
Odd how cash isn't as useful. I only use it at the local farm stand in season. Everything else is card or check. I have a little purse of change, but no way to convert it.
ReplyDeleteI love a wine shop like I love a book store, so I hate losing either one!
ReplyDeletewe use a credit card for groceries and gas and other big expenditures but for day to day small purchases we use cash. for one thing, it limits our spending as we only get 'paid' twice a month. we would spend far more if we used a credit card for everything. for another, cash circulates. it gets used over and over.
ReplyDeleteI lived with 10' ceilings for over 40 years which I loved. it took some getting used to the 8' ceilings we have now but they do make it easier to heat the house in the winter.
So nice to have your apartment all spiffed up! Like you said, you get used to things the way they are and don't even see the imperfections (or as in our case- rather vast problems) that you live with daily. Until, of course, someone new comes over and suddenly you see it through their eyes and oh golly. Help!
ReplyDeleteChange seems to be the one reliable constant. Long standing, very popular shops closing seems to be happening frequently. At least you have another wine shop nearby and you know the man working there. Your freshly painted wall looks superb.
ReplyDeleteThat is sad news about Oddbins. I have fond memories of watching Absolutely Fabulous and then seeing Oddbins stores in person on trips to London. Now that you mention this, I realize that I did not see one single store on my trip there in October.
ReplyDeleteI don't like places going out of business, especially independent ones...as I sit here ordering a few things from the Evil Empire. Sigh, I'm part of the problem. Hope your talk goes well!
ReplyDeleteAs long as places accept cash, I'll keep using it. I'm a dinosaur.
ReplyDeleteAre you keeping up with the latest Newbery winners as they're awarded?
We had a BARGAIN BOOZE nearby when I was a boy, my mother said it was common
ReplyDeleteYes, things are changing. Judy carries cash with her but I almost never have any in my wallet. The cards are so much more convenient. I had never heard of Oddbins before but sorry to hear of its demise. And the hallway looks very nice and neat now.
ReplyDeleteI carry a little cash in case of an emergency but haven't had any emergencies so I gave the cash to the Salvation Army red kettle when I was out yesterday. Aren't you glad you read all those books? I'm sure your talk about them was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I love wine shops! It is sad to see one go. Hopefully the other one you mentioned will stay in business. When I taught elementary school eons ago, I used to do a Newberry book unit. I really got into it as there's nothing like a good book!
ReplyDeleteThe new paint is a big improvement. I still use cash and save the coins for my daily newspaper, milk too if I need any. I refuse to use my card for such tiny purposes when a handful of coins will do instead. And the shops need the coins so they can give change to others who still use cash.
ReplyDeleteThe reference to Oddbins in Ab Fab must have gone over our heads when we watched it as I haven't heard of the company until now.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Yes, we love the ceilings too. They make the space seem so open.
ReplyDeleteYP: Any book based on my life would not win a Newbery! Maybe a Razzy. (At least for the movie adaptation.)
Ed: You're right, there is a life cycle for businesses just as there is for everything else. I suppose missing a business is just another form of nostalgia, really. We remember the good and forget the bad!
Boud: Yeah, spending change is hard these days. Some places in London won't even take cash.
Bob: They're both libraries, of a sort!
Ellen: I actually love spending on a card. I don't buy anything on credit, though. I use debit cards so it's spending more or less in real time.
Ms Moon: Yes! That's been my experience too. I think I'm such a good housekeeper until I have guests and realize what a mess the place is! LOL
Susan: It did make me so happy to see that guy working there! I don't even know his name but it's nice to have a familiar face.
Sharon: Yeah, when I first came to London in 2000 and saw Oddbins, I finally got the joke!
Margaret: Well, it's hard to avoid the evil empire! I bought my gifts there too!
Kelly: I used to prefer cash, but during the pandemic a lot of places stopped accepting it, and that weaned me off cash and onto cards. I haven't read the last Newbery yet, but I've read all the others.
John: It certainly sounds common!
Catalyst: I used to always carry a pocketful of change, but now I never have coins on me.
Janie: Yes, that's one thing we still CAN do with coins -- give them to buskers and charities!
Michael: The Newbery winners are so reliable because they're good and CLEAN. You're not going to run into too much controversy recommending a Newbery book.
River: See, even for small purchases I have often resorted to cards. I still have a change bowl and if it accumulates enough coins I'll buy something with them, but that's rarer and rarer these days.
Andrew: It's a joke that a lot of non-British people wouldn't get. I didn't understand it until I first came to London in 2000 as a tourist!
Well done on the hallway! Looks great. I don't do much cash anymore -- a bit, but most of the stuff is on the cash-back card! (It becomes a bit daunting when the visa bill posts!) Not familiar with Oddbins. I'm glad that fellow landed on his feet.
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