Barkingside Home Hardware

I returned from working away for a week yesterday to read in the Ilford Recorder that more local shops were having to cease trading including Barkingside Home Hardware. I was a regular customer at this shop and whilst not often a big spender, I enjoyed the polite, friendly and knowledgable service that I received and was always impressed by the wide and diverse range of goods stocked at very competitive prices. This morning (Sat 30th Jan) I’d hoped to pay one last visit to the store and wish the staff and owners well but was sad to see that I’d missed the opportunity to do so. I think its terrible that more is not being done to support local traders; especially those that have served this community well for many years if not decades. I have lived in this area most of my life (more than 40 years) and Barkingside is now in danger of suffering the same demise that the once flourishing Gants Hill did several years ago. Why is this being allowed to happen? At a time when much of my hard earned wages are being used to prop up failing banks that won’t even extend my overdraft facilities and rip me off at every opportunity, why isn’t more being done to help small businesses survive these harsh economic times? Yes I know the growth of the internet and superstores havn’t helped and I have used both and its easy to be seduced by them; but lately I have preferred to walk to local shops as much as possible. My car stays on the driveway so I am not burning expensive fuel which in turn is better for the environment. Also I can only purchase what I can carry so tend not to be encouraged by impulse buys which means I spend less! To the personnel of Barkingside Home Hardware; I wish you and your familes all well and hope that you can see better times. I thank you for your many years of service and will miss you. Dominic Malvern (Barkingside Resident)