Retail’s death roll continues. Fresh juicy thinking wrung out by years of squeezing out the goodness. We seem to have forgotten that a shop is rarely just a shop. To illustrate here is a story about my Great Aunt Eleni, who lived in Athens, and her daily visits to the bakaliko (grocers).
for most of the world a ‘shop’ isn’t just a ‘shop’.
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012
example: my great aunt used to go to the grocers on the corner everyday to have a cigarette because her sister wouldn’t let her smoke @ home
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012
she used to pinch a cigarette off the grocer (everyday), sit in her designated chair & watch the world go by, pontificate, whatever
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012
Many years after she had passed away my mum happened to be in the neighborhood and asked if he knew the 2 old ladies who lived nearby…
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012
‘You mean, Mrs Eleni?’ he asked. ‘An absolute legend!’ And he went on to uncover her daily ritual for the first time.
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012
basically, a shop is only very rarely a shop.
— jimmy greer (@jimmygreer) February 29, 2012