Behind the counter

Napoleon once said, "England is a nation of shopkeepers."

However, due to online shopping, supermarkets, rising rents and changing consumer habits, small, independently run British shops are rapidly disappearing from the streets of England.

In the 1930s, there were nearly half a million small shops in the UK; by 2010, only 30,000 independent shops remained.

Despite this, small shopkeepers are resilient. They work longer hours to compete with the bigger chains. They often have a personal connection with their customers, serving different generations of the same family over the years. Their knowledge of their product goes way beyond the employees of the big stores. Their shops are not just their livelihoods but the centre of their lives.

The small shop used to be the heart of the community, and this project aims to document this fast-vanishing part of British life.

 ROY

Ads-One ltd hardware has been on Streatham Hill in South London for well over 100 years and Roy has run the store for over 20. It was hard to get a shot of Roy as he kept laughing and joking the whole time. My tactic of taking loads of shots eventually paid off when I bored Roy into giving me this more natural pose.
While I was there, a few customers came in and it was great watching Roy find exactly what was asked for in a matter of seconds amongst the mutitude of stuff that was crammed into every square inch of the store. Having personally spent hours wandering around places like Homebase and B&Q looking for something and getting nowhere, it was refreshing being in a shop where somebody actually knew about the stuff that they were selling.
Roy said that business has been tough over the last few years but actually picked up during lockdown however, now that the larger stores are re-opening, he’s already noticed a decline in trade. I will most certainly be visiting Roy’s shop again.

Ads-One permanently closed in 2023.

RAJ

Raj has owned the Balham News Kiosk at Balham Station for just over 10 years. I had to get the Tube the other day so went in to buy a face mask and we had a chat. Raj has lived in Britain since he was 6 months old. His parents came to the UK to escape the dictator Idi Amin who oppressed the Asian population of Uganda in the 70’s. Raj lives locally, he loves to play squash and snooker but obviously, that’s off the cards at the moment until this pandemic ends. The piles of unsold newspapers stacked up in front of Raj show just how quiet business must be. He’s hoping that an antidote will be created soon as business is dire and he’s going to have to start paying rent again on the kiosk soon. The station has also created a one-way system to reduce social contact which means that only people entering the station get to pass Raj’s kiosk. Despite the above, Raj was an easygoing guy with a positive attitude. ‘This will end’ he told me and added, ‘In the meantime, I will just carry on as long as I can’.

Raj and Balham News Kiosk made it through Covid.

BOB

Bob is the owner of F.Cooke pie and eel shop in Broadway Market East London. The shop was opened by Bob’s Grandfather Fred in 1900. Bob was born in the flat above the shop and has worked there his entire life. He has made literally millions of pies and there’s nothing he doesn’t know about Eels. Bob has eaten pie and mash every day that he has worked there. As a kid I would come in to this shop with my dad and brother on a Saturday morning before watching Leyton Orient loose at football. Sadly, after over 100 years, the shop is due to close soon.

F.Cooke permanently closed in 2022.

Jeanette Fashions

Maurice took over Jeannette Fashion from his parents. They came to England from the Ukraine when he was a kid and set up the haberdashers in the 1950s.

Maurice still runs the place and lives in the flat above. He’s virtually spent his entire life behind the counter of 20-22 Clapham High Street. Even though he is beyond retirement age, he continues opening the shop every day because he doesn’t want to let his customers down.

Rip Maurice Dorfman 1934-2021.

Jeannette Fashion permanently closed in 2021.

KIRPAL

This is Kirpal Nagpal. He’s the owner of ‘KNG Designs’ in Tooting. He kindly let me take this shot of him standing in front of the ‘Imitation Indian gold jewellery ‘ that he sells.

KNG Designs also sells suits, Lenagas (A long Indian skirt) and other Indian fashion items. Kirpal’s shop is quite new, very brightly lit and at night, stands out like a beacon on the Upper Tooting Road. Kirpal is originally from Delhi and has lived in Britain for 20 years. He told me that he likes Tooting but would rather be back at home - in Kingston Upon Thames where he has lived with his family for the past 14 years.

LULA

Lula and her husband Zac run 'Adams Fish Bar' on the Kingston Road, Morden, South London. Adam, Lula’s father was the original owner of the shop. He set up the business 50 years ago after he came over to the UK from Cyprus in the 1950’s. Lula has worked there since leaving school.

She and Zac live above the shop and told me that they really love the area. They are friends with most of the locals and although Adams fish bar is on a very long and busy High Street, they say that every mile or so it's like a different village with its own community in each.

Zac and Lula were great people to talk to. I’m sure that it’s their friendliness and positive attitude that makes their fish bar so incredibly popular and a real focal point for the local community - That and the fact that they do absolutely brilliant fish and chips.

Richard has always lived in Merton, SW London. Every Friday he’s always enjoyed his fish and chips at Adams Fish Bar. Richard’s first job was as a Saturday boy aged 12 delivering paraffin for a bike shop. He continued to work in the same store for the next 65 years eventually becoming the owner. Sadly, he had to close down the shop recently. ’I was sunk by the internet’ he told me, before going back to his fish and chips.

Elvis

Elvis is originally from Mumbai, India. He came to the UK 8 years ago and now works as a shop assistant in ‘Shoppers Stop’ in Islington. He told me that he is named Elvis because his parents are huge fans. They still live back in Mumbai and Elvis misses them terribly.

Bill

Bill has worked at Austin Mowers in Garrett Lane for the last 40 years. He took the place over from his dad, Austin, who set the shop up in the early sixties. His family lived in Wandsworth for as long as he can remember but recently moved out to Reigate in Surrey for a bit more space.

When Bill was a kid, he would drive his parents mad because he loved taking his toys apart and putting them back together again. Bill told me that he just loves understanding how things work, so it's hardly surprising that he followed in his dads' footsteps and now repairs lawnmowers and other garden machinery.

ARFA

Arfa is the proprietor of Begg Travel, Tooting Market, South London. Arfa is originally from Nairobi in Kenya and moved to Tooting 32 years ago. She specialises in travel to the African continent and can speak English, Urdu, Swahili & Punjabi.

She loves living in Tooting and especially the fact that it’s so cosmopolitan, which reminds her of Nairobi which is also a real ‘melting pot of different cultures’. She informed me that ‘we all eat from the same plate, so we should all live together as one.’ 

Manjit

Manjit is originally from the Punjab region of India but has lived in the UK for the last 30 years. He is pictured here in his shop  ‘JK Auto Electricals’ in Willesden, NW London. His shop specialises in alternators and starter motors which you can see lined up on the shelves behind him. (I had no idea what they were until he told me and still don’t know what an alternator is). I thought that the motors were brand new but they are in fact reconditioned. Manjit and his son, who also works in the shop, have rebuilt all the motors from scratch using recycled components. This saves their customers money and avoids wasting car parts. Recycling has become a big thing recently, but Manjit and his son have been doing it for years.

GLORIA

Gloria was born in Jamaica in 1943. She came to the UK when she was just 15 years old. She says the reason she looks for good for a 76-year-old is that she ’no smoke, no drink and no bleaching’ (bleaching means -staying up late). Gloria has had quite an eventful life. She used to be a model (see below. Gloria is the girl on the right). 

In the late 60’s she worked at Bobby Moores’ leather coat factory in Liverpool Street. She told me that the England legend would often come into the factory and that he was a 'decent man'. She was working in Harrods when it was bombed by the IRA in 1983. Luckily she was in the canteen at the time on one of the upper floors so was unharmed. She’s worked for the Ministry of Defence and was working as a chef in Wandsworth prison in the 90’s during the infamous riots. Again, she was lucky that she was in a part of the prison that wasn’t affected.

She now owns ‘Gloria’s’ in Tooting Market which specialises in Caribbean groceries. The market is changing with lots of new trendy food stalls coming in but Gloria has her regulars and is doing good. She loves living in the UK - ‘You will not find another country like this. If you are livin’ in England - You are livin’ good! - there’s nothing better than the English- I’m not going to ever live nowhere else’.  It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Gloria and if you are ever in Tooting market, pay her store a visit - it’s easy to spot, it’s the one that’s as colourful and bright as it’s owner.

Gloria’s permanently closed in 2021 after Gloria passed away.

K.C. Patel

This is KC Patel. He’s originally from the Gujarat region of India and cane to England in 1968. His first job was working at Balham Post Office in South London. He set up 'Little India' gift shop in nearby Tooting in 1973 with his brother (who now owns the shop next door). KC has always lived in Tooting and says that over the last 51 years, ‘Britain has been very good to him’. He loves where he lives and knows many of his neighbours.

KC has two daughters who both have jobs in the city. One of KC's daughters works for a large American investment house, but was in the store chatting to a customer when I took this shot. It’s Diwali, and during this busy holiday time of year, KC’s daughters take time off from their office jobs to help Dad in the store. He really appreciates their help as Meena, his wife of 66 years, who always worked alongside him, sadly passed away 2 years ago.

KC loves his shop. He loves the sense of community that comes with being a local shopkeeper. He said that unlike English stores, people are always popping into Little India to chat, even if they don't need to buy anything. KC told me that children that once came into his shop now come in as adults with their own children - he's watched them grow up from behind the counter.

KC will never retire. 'I will work here as long as I am physically able' he told me with a small smile. England has always been known as a 'Nation of shopkeepers' and KC, with his love of his shop and customers exemplifies that famous saying.

Julie and David Fry

J C Fry in Southbourne has been repairing TVs, radios and other electrical equipment since 1928.

The store is run by Julie and her husband, David Fry.

David's dad, John Cecil Fry, born the day the Titanic sank, took over the store in the 1960s. He worked there until he passed away at the age of 91.

Julie works behind the counter while David goes out in the van on callouts.

The store is in an area with a large elderly population, and its main trade is helping people set up new equipment.

Thanks to electronic goods now being considered disposable, the repair side of the business is suffering. TVs are even sold in supermarkets nowadays, so people don't bother getting faulty ones repaired.

The couple told me that some days, they don't get any customers visiting the store at all. This is frustrating because TVs are surprisingly easy to repair. Julie showed me the inside of a modern TV. There was nothing to it - it's just a 30cm long rectangular circuit board called 'The mainboard'. A TV can often be repaired simply by replacing a faulty component on the mainboard, which is easy if you know how to use a soldering iron.

The problem is that spare parts are difficult to come by. They come from China, and hardly any suppliers are willing to sell such small and cheap items.

David said it’s so wasteful, especially as most TVs are designed to break after 2-3 years.

The couple are both at retirement age, but David can't bring himself to close the store forever because he feels like he would be letting his dad down, so they solder on.

Ahmad

Ahmad runs Morden Repair Centre in South West London.

He came to England from the Punjab in 2005 and has 5 daughters and 1 son.

He loves living in the area because it has a real sense of community. As I chatted to Ahmed, everyone passing the shop seemed to know him and several people came into the shop to say hello.

He has been repairing electrical items for over 20 years and business isn’t too bad at the moment because there are so few places left that can repair things.

Recently, an old lady came in with a lamp that needed the wiring changing. He told her that it would cost £20 to do this and it would probably be cheaper to get a new one, but the lady loved her lamp and told him to go ahead and was delighted when Ahmed fixed it.

Ahmed said it’s the small things like the above that give him a lot of satisfaction and he loves his work.

Graham

Graham is the owner of Northcote Pet Stores in south London.

His family has owned the store for 99 years. Three generations have worked there, and Graham is the last. He was born within a mile of the shop and loves the local area. However, he told me he is sad that the road where his shop is based has changed so much. The market has virtually gone, and small everyday shops like hardware stores and greasy spoons have been replaced with estate agents and coffee shops.

Graham is looking forward to the store’s centenary next year, but when he retires, the shop will shut for good.

Northcote Pet Stores permanently closed in 2022