The shop has been closing down for two years and three months.
To be fair, it’s only been ‘closing’ most of that time. Mum thought writing ‘down’ on the window was too negative.
Last month she finally wrote the whole thing.
There was little reaction from the public so she painted around the letters in pink to make it stand out.
No one believes us but this time we’re not bluffing.
In fact we weren’t bluffing before. It just takes a long time to clear a three storey building that has been gathering stock for over thirty five years.
We put a sign on the door: 8 weeks to go.
That provoked a bit of panic.
“I better hurry up,” a customer said and then disappeared, leaving us wondering if he was talking about buying a light or catching the bus.
Inside the shop we put up the customary signs ‘Everything Must Go!’
Then we worried that the hagglers would be ruthless so Mum wrote ‘Nearly’ in front of each one so they wouldn’t think we were desperate.
There are lots of bargains so if you want a chandelier now is the time. You have eight weeks, honest.
Someone else is moving in so we can’t change our minds.
I’m not sure we can imagine life without the shop.
What will we all do?
“It must be magical working in here,” a customer said last week, her eyes widening with each sparkle of crystal and I didn’t know what to say.
Obviously it’s not magical working in a shop just because it sells sparkly things but you don’t want to dampen the mood.
We’ve had fun times but it’s exciting to be going.
It’s like being a baby bird about to be pushed off a cliff. Isn’t that how they learn to fly?
Harsh but effective.
I think we’re all ready to swoop off.
So hurry, if you don’t want a chandelier but still fancy a reminder of our lovely shop, my book is only a click away: Shop Girl Diaries