Welcome to a slightly later edition of my newsletter than usual! I hope you don't mind the delay, but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of news to share with you. Well, I hope you are enjoying this prolonged heatwave. The last time I remember anything like it was when my son was born in 1976, and the joiners at the store made him a beautiful wooden slide as his very first present! In those days we had two joiners, an electrician, and a decorator on the payroll – a far cry from today, when we have just one full-time joiner. Which brings me to apologise that the down escalator is still out of service. I know it has been an inconvenience for many of our customers, and I sincerely apologise. Please be assured that we are working hard to get it repaired as quickly as possible, and we hope to have it back in operation very soon. Whilst I am on the subject of improvements, I should mention the alterations to our car park, which are now complete. The new pay machines are fully operational and much easier to use, and I am pleased to say that the electric vehicle charging points are now up and running as well. There are now six electric vehicle charging points in this area, together with six disabled parking bays, conveniently located near the pay machines. The parent and child spaces remain on the lower level next to the pay station, with improved signage to discourage those who unfortunately choose to use these spaces inconsiderately. Just a reminder that all customers have a 15-minute free window from paying on Level 3 to exiting the car park, so there is no need to rush! I am delighted to say that we have now taken on the Hypnos brand of beds to complement our existing ranges from Relyon, Harrison Spinks, Sealy, Millbrook and Highgrove. All of these are backed by the National Bed Federation (NBF), giving you complete peace of mind. Each of these manufacturers has a really interesting story to tell, and our expert staff can explain the benefits of every brand, along with the history behind them. I was talking recently with one of our buyers, who has worked for us since leaving school many years ago, and she reminded me of a funny incident that took place on our linen department. Apparently, a very well-dressed lady, wearing stiletto heels, was browsing the department, which was then on the ground floor, selecting various items. As she walked around, she inadvertently put the heel of one of her shoes through a very large plastic bag of polystyrene mini pellets, which were used as refills for bean bags. The bags were enormous, filled under pressure, as light as a feather, and contained tens of thousands of tiny, almost weightless white balls. The moment her stiletto heel pierced the plastic, the bag erupted like a volcano, sending the pellets high into the air. The customer disappeared completely, only to emerge from the cloud covered from head to toe. Naturally, everyone rushed over to help her, but as soon as they did, the static electricity took over and they too became covered in white balls. The harder they tried to brush them off, the worse it became! Someone eventually had the bright idea of bringing in a vacuum cleaner, but it still took the best part of 20 minutes before the customer looked anything like herself again. Thankfully, everyone saw the funny side of it, but for years afterwards those tiny polystyrene balls kept appearing all over the store. Our Summer Sale and Blue Cross event came to an end on Sunday, and I would like to thank everyone who came along and supported them. We are now busy introducing our new full-price collections across the store, with plenty of exciting new products arriving over the coming weeks. Without giving too much away just yet, now would also be a great time to sign up for our new loyalty card. We have some exciting plans in store, and members will be the first to hear about what's coming, so keep an eye out for more details soon! Christine and I are taking a holiday at a house near Honiton in Devon, where the whole family will be gathering for our annual get-together – all ten of us! Nicholas Nicholas Atkinson Chairman, Atkinsons of Sheffield
