"Available At All Leading Stores!"

The face of retail in the UK has changed incredibly over the past couple of decades. With Sunday trading becoming more common, out of town shopping becoming the norm, and more and more stores opening 24 hours per day, the way we shop and the times we shop nowadays bears little resemblance to how we used to 20 or 30 years ago...

Right up until the mid '70s, the local corner shop was a common sight, whether it be a grocers or a general store, many streets had them, but with competition from the supermarkets these gradually disappeared until there was little other than local newsagents and tobacconists remaining.

Then for a while in the '80s there seemed to be a resurgence in local stores. This new type of local shop was invariably run by hard working immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, and their policy was to provide whatever the local community might require, no matter that it meant that they'd have to work unsociable hours for very little pay. OK, so sometimes the prices were exorbitant, but it was often the convenience the customers paid the price for.

My friend Mick lived in a street of terraced houses in Leeds back in the late 1980s. At the end of the street was a shop run by an old Pakistani gentleman, who prided himself on being able to provide just about anything his customers wanted, at whatever time of day they required it.

Mick didn't make use of this shop very often, except for when his friend from London visited.

Mick's friend was bewildered by the mere existence of this shop, since they had nothing like it where he lived, and was astounded at the range of goods on offer, so much so that whenever he visited Mick in Leeds, they'd play a little game, where he'd challenge Mick to buy something from the shop which he was sure wouldn't be available. Mick always won this little game, because whatever his friend demanded was always in stock.

One day Mick received a phone call from his friend to arrange a visit up north that weekend. He'd be arriving early Friday evening, and he said to Mick: "...and this time, I've DEFINITELY thought of something the shop won't have!"

So it was that on their way to the pub on Friday night, Mick and his friend popped into the corner shop. His friend walked up to the counter and said to the proprietor: "Good evening. I'd like a can of BLACKBOARD PAINT please."

The shopkeeper looked a little confused and replied "Blackboard paint sir?"

"Yes," replied Mick's friend, "You know the stuff. It's black and you use it to touch up blackboards."

The shopkeeper said that he'd check his stock if they'd care to wait and disappeared into the store room at the back of his shop.

Mick and his friend waited for what seemed like about ten minutes before his friend said: "He's not going to have any, is he?" to which Mick reluctantly replied: "No. I think you've got him this time. It looks like you've finally won the game."

They waited a while longer, certain that the shopkeeper would eventually emerge and apologize for not having the required item, until the store room door opened, the shopkeepers head appeared around it and they heard him say: "I'm sorry sir...."

"Yes?" replied Mick's friend, confident in his impending victory, but being more smug than was really necessary.

"Would you like a large tin or a small tin" replied the shopkeeper.