We're open!

There are still a few things to sort out like phone lines and computer networks, but we're up and running! Feel free to visit. Bring plenty of cash - you're sure to see something you'd like.

The Last Farewell

If all goes to plan, this should be our last weekend at the old premises before we cross the road. There are still a number of teething problems to sort out, mainly involving phones and computers, but the team are on it and we have to trust them to sort it all out in the end.

We lined up at lunchtime for a last picture in front of number 10, for which we will retain a lot of affection.

From left to right: Debbie, Angela, Gillian, Rachel, Rosemary and Heather. You'll see them all in the new place.

Counting down

The shopfitters are cutting, nailing, sticking and sawing at pace and assure me that they will be finished by Saturday evening ready for the builders and decorators to return for a last whizz round.

Now that the shelving units are in place and we have toilets fixed to the ground rather than wrapped in large sheets of clingfilm, we can begin to see what the new place will look like. We took our staff for a sneak preview and I think it's fair to say that they are energised at the thought of having a new, clean work environment.

With the new place comes some new ideas. We've always tried to stress our personal service, and we'll do that more over the next few months. We have three completely new ranges of product with which I'm personally very pleased, none of which are currently available in the Truro area.

It's a few years since we last had a shopfit, but I recall that then we had some customers who were worried that we would put up our prices to make them pay for it. That won't be the case. If prices go up, it's because prices are going up everywhere. We will have some slightly more expensive lines because we're looking for some high quality products, but we've also been very pleased with the response to our £1 specials and we'll keep those running when we move. (These are items we can sell for a pound or less, which we may not be able to get again at that price.)

If you've walked past The Globe in the past week or so you may well have seen Stuart, Dave and Chris working late into the evening to get it ready. They tell me they're enjoying being in Truro and that they think you'll be impressed by what you see when the doors open. We hope they're right!

Fitting out

The shopfitters have been hard at work since Monday and already you can see the building taking shape internally. We opted for wooden fittings rather than metal. They're more expensive, but they suit the building better and they can fit awkward little corners. Here's a shot of the dispensary. The front fitting will be behind the counter so we can serve you with medicines by just turning round.

The wheelbarrow is about where one of the tills will be, but there'll be another at the other end of the counter, so we hope to reduce queueing.

The kitchen has had a great amount of work done on it, with new walls, windows, ceilings and floors, and now the units are in place too.

The place is a beehive much of the day, with three shopfitters, painters, electricians, plumbers and a lot of carpenters hard at work, but now we're really moving forward at pace.

I'm not going to give too much detail on this blog from here on, because I don't want to spoil the surprise when we fling the doors open at the end of the month!

Enter the shopfitters

The first part of the downstairs rebuild is pretty well complete now. The carpenters have been replacing any rotten sections of panelling with sympathetic replacements. To make this more effective, some sections have been moved from one room to another, so the café has entirely original panelling, with all the new stuff going into the treatment room.

The electricians have also been busy installing the downstairs lighting.

You can also see the frame for the automatic doors that will greet you when you enter through the double doors. The black padding is only to prevent them being damaged and will be gone soon.

It's hard to believe, but both the builders and the shopfitters agree that the shop and café will be ready on the 22nd. New stock is beginning to arrive so we can make a bit of a splash when we open.

We've awarded a contract for traditional signwriting. The previous signs were made of vinyl and have been difficult to remove - so much so that we've had to put a plywood front on some of the signs - but the new ones will be handpainted, just as they would have been 172 years ago when the Globe was opened.