A day in Heanor !

So much has happened this week, it began with a trip into Heanor to choose Joseph's new glasses and get his eyes measured, the opticians we have used for the past two years was called Lancaster and Thorpe, recently though, following speculation over closure; their jobs were saved by the company Scriven's.  I must admit I am really happy the team have had their jobs saved, they are such lovely women, always interested and friendly.

During the appointment I got to talking about the local business community and what I and others at Link4Growth were doing and the response was REALLY encouraging.

I usually pop into the local Lighthouse charity shop have a look at some of their wares, they are a local charity that works in the community with the youth of the area, they do amazing work and I have supported them as much as I can since moving here 8 years ago.

I had noticed that there was a new market on in the square and decided to check it out, after getting some lunch with Joseph.

We popped into Heanor Home Discounts on the way to have a look around, and picked up a bread-maker for a tenner, its the same one I had looked at on Amazon for over 5x the amount nearly new, it was immaculate, and then I spotted something I had wanted for ages a tape deck stereo, so I put a deposit on it and arranged to collect the next day.

During my visit to the shop the woman that was there was called Kayleigh and she was lovely, very friendly and bubbly, eager to help and so into supporting the local business community, which she describes as strong and keen on doing something, anything to make the plight of Heanor shop keepers a better one.  She said she would be happy to pass the message along about the Link4Coffee event in September and put a flyer/poster up in the window, and she confirmed my thoughts regarding the venue for the coffee morning.  I have to say that if you are local and want anything for the home, furniture, brick-a-brack and electrical items, this is the place to go in Heanor.

With bread maker in arms and Joseph at the side of me we set off next door to Jan's Cafe, and sat down, I went through the menu, good home made food, we chose (Joseph chose) a plate of cheesy chips and an orange juice and I went for a milky coffee.  As we waited it was good to hear the stories and banter about family holidays past and present, Eastbourne, Brighton and the like.

It's so good to sit and relax and not rush, there is a sign on the wall that sums it up beautifully.



We chatted about Link4Growth and that we would love to meet at Jan's cafe, I was thrilled when she agreed, we settled on a Wednesday morning between 10am - 12pm, her quietest day.  Just need to get some leaflet and flyers printed to hand in for the windows etc.

The atmosphere is great, and the food is wonderful, and the humour is everywhere, little signs which show how much of a sense of fun the people have around here.
So we have our first venue and date (slightly altered) is Wednesday 24th September 2014


Following a lovely lunch at Jan's cafe Joseph and I walked around the market with has been there for a couple of months as a bid to regenerate a local market which is severely lacking in custom, very sad really as the whole area has been a market trading area since feudal times I am led to believe.

Joseph was somehow convinced he could get a pet pigeon from the market lol no pigeons Jojo just lots of other things...

The first store was run by John, brimming with goodies for girlie's to do their hair bows, bobbles, clips and grips, frilly scrunchies and all sorts.  I noticed the same hair extensions my daughter bought for £8 on amazon were only £2 on his stall with no posting and packaging prices either.

He also stocks a variety of jewellery, which since I am rubbish and hair do's I opted for those... I chose a silver nose ring, not bad £2 and a claw set pair of nose studs.  We got chatting about how well the market is doing and how the summer holidays are effecting business, many people are away at the moment.

John's Jewellery and Hair Bling Stall

Next was Jan, she was lovely and she runs two stalls, a shoe stall and a car boot type stall, some of the shoes were lovely, sadly not in my size, however I did buy some really comfy toe posts for £3 swapped them for my heeled sandals aah much better, now I remember why I stopped wearing them.  So they have now been donated to the local charity shop.  Jan was lovely very into supporting the local businesses and the community in general.

Jan's Shoes Stall

Finally was Steve, running two stalls, one was nightdresses and underwear etc, and the one I was interested in was the bookstall, loads of novels on offer all sorts of genre's too, and what was great was it was £2 a book, but £1 if/when you exchange it for another one, great scheme I thought.  A great guy very helpful recommending a book by Stephen Leather that my son Jack would enjoy.  Sadly for some reason the photo's pf the other stalls didn't save to my phone...

Steve's Book Stall

They all gave permission for photos to be taken for the blog and I want to thank them all for being just great.

Joseph and I caught the bus back home to Langley Mill laden down with bread maker, new shoes, a book and a new ring in my nose lol, after having a lovely conversation with some people at the bus stop all about shopping locally, they all agreed they would do more of it if they knew what was about...

Guess that is where Link4Growth comes in :)