May’s Greengrocers

People come in because they like to chat. You can tell. I think they feel seen. I hope they feel welcome. We became more aware of that in Covid. There were so many people isolated by not being able to speak to anyone. When they were getting deliveries from us or one of the other shops, we might be the only people they were speaking to that day when they made the order. And, the only ones they might see when we dropped it off. I don't think any of us take that community for granted now.

There’s an expectation that people in business should grow and open more shops. But this shop is so unique – its connection to the town is so special. I am not sure opening somewhere else would feel like success to me. My shop gives me a sense of belonging. It's family, friends, my home. And it's growing in its own way – there's so much potential as people think more about what they eat and seek out local, fresh produce. They are the goods I supply.

The character of the place, its history, adds a lot. Did you know Julian (You can meet local historian Julian in our voices section of this site!) has just posted two photos on Facebook from the Royal Arthur navy base and my great grandad was in it, doing his training back in 1951! Gramps couldn't believe it when he saw his father. His favourite bit of history, and mine now, is around Box Tunnel. It was designed by Brunel and considered the most difficult single engineering work on the London to Bristol route because of its steep gradient. It's now one of Brunel’s most celebrated structures and legend has it that on his birthday the sun shines right through.