Carmichael's Declared Open!

Local shop owner Wasim and his family have invested time and money to ensure the people of Coldstream continue to receive value for money and have a local shop with better facilities.

Carmichael’s closed it’s doors on the 11th of February for 10 days whilst a major refurbishment of the premises took place.

Although the shop opened its doors on Monday 22nd, it was officially opened by local MSP John Lamont (who kindly provided the photographs) with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday 24th Feb.

The opening was attended by local patrons of the shop who were greeted with a buffet and a glass of wine (or 2) to celebrate the fantastic achievement.

Even shoppers who called in to shop during the ceremony were greeted by Wasim, and being a true salesman, he guided them to the buffet or offered them a tray of food or a drink during their visit. He did slip out on occasion though, but only to take plates of food to owners of other local shops who couldn’t attend.

John & Naureen

The conversation was primarily about the new shop, and everyone agreed that the transformation to the Carmichael’s they had known for so long, had not only made the premises look bigger, but the shelving made it easier to reach the products.

However, the conversation was dominated by expressions of how pleasant, hardworking and friendly Wasim, his family and all the staff are.

I wholly agree with this and would also add, what a fantastic chef Naureen is! and live in hope that her meals will soon be seen on the shelves in Carmichael’s.

Many commented on the new chillers, that accommodated a range of soft drinks, beers and wines and all were very happy to see the change to the old shop.

Wasim & Naureen with John Lamont

Wasim and Family moved to Coldstream from Glasgow less than 6 months ago, and have quickly earned a place in the hearts of many Coldstreamers and forged solid friendships. This blog follows on from a previous blog that highlighted the importance of local business during the time Coldstream was cut off by the snow, when the larger corporations like Co-op failed to obtain supplies of milk, fresh bread, fresh fruit & veg and fresh meat, it was the local businesses that came through for us.

I would also like to congratulate G.J Sanderson our local butcher on winning top awards for their Haggis & Black Pudding Pie and their Steak Pie. Out of 83 contestants, our butchers won joint first. Starting off with 100 points they lost only two points, resulting in 98 points for their product.

And this also highlights the commitment our local business’ have to our continued custom. Carmichael’s has not only undergone an expensive refurbishment but a change of supplier to ensure that prices maintain to be competitive and affordable. Our butcher has gone to great expense to ensure their product is proven to be at the top of it’s class.

Our small local businesses do a great deal behind the scenes to attract our attention and favour our custom, I for one have noticed and I am applauding their loyalty to me, a local.

Sean

Luckily Coldstream still has local Bakers, a Butcher and a Hardware store. Supplies of bread, milk and meat are still strong in these essential local shops, the milkmen keep delivering to the doorstep, whilst the larger concerns run out.  (Not that I’m crowing about that as a Co-op member!)

More emphasis is starting to gain momentum for supporting the dwindling local shops as they fall to the larger supermarkets. And with extremes of weather comes an even greater need to support and sustain what is finally seen as  important services to a local town,the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.  Luckily he hasn’t been needed yet as the electricity has held out. 

Also useful as our dispersed electronically dependent business model has continued to function through days when the main roads were shut, it went down to -11 centigrade, the buses and trains were cancelled and the world became silent beautiful and potentially deadly.  We’ve all been able to communicate with each other, clients and the media; written parliamentary briefings and lead articles for the papers; arranged broadcast interviews; and researched and promoted policy papers.  Rural based doesn’t mean we’re other than resilient, reliable and ready!

All around local people pull together to keep us all open for business and supplied.  Special thanks to Henry Wallace and the Scottish Borders Council team and to Colin Macgregor (and Richard who dug us out, especially!) at Coldstream Mains for their tireless efforts.

The floods hit Coldstream in the evening but thankfully no major issues were reported.

However there is a crucial sustainability issue that also needs to be considered.

On the Tweed, Ghillies cover the river beats, and speaking to one  Ghillie who covers the Tweed between Coldstream and Cornhill, he was matter-of-fact when it came to the flooding and the inability to fish the river during the floods:  “You just can’t fish!” and this is the recognition of many fishermen during the floods. We know of certainly one Welshman who travelled up for a day’s fishing on the Tweed, only to be greeted by a river that was 1/2 a mile wide in areas.

Needless to say that Fishing day was a “wash out”.

The flooding of Leet Water was high, not the highest, but enough to make cars, buses and people stop to look.

The area in the photos is a natural nursery for the Salmon and Trout:  many parr are seen here. And the Leet Water is usually only 5ft wide,.  But what is of concern to the Ghillies is the affect that this huge volume of water will have on the redds of the Salmon and the impact of it will only become apparent in 3-6 years time. The Tweed generates a lot of business and is one of the few places in Britain that the Atlantic Salmon can be caught reliably.