Notting Hill Diary

Soon to be ex-Woolworth’s on Portobello Road

Sadly, as we all know, Woolies, at least the one on Portobello Road, isn’t to see another Christmas. I popped along there between the soundcheck and the gig at Inn on the Green last night to see it for myself and it’s quite a maudlin affair.

These pictures were taken at around 8:30 in the evening as staff were - well doing whatever staff do at 8:30 in the evening. The woman in the first picture was also taking photos and she turned out to be an employee. She told me that it had been on Portobello Road for 68 years. Now I’m sure that when it first arrived, my grandparents, who lived on Oxford Gardens, objected to a multinational chain moving into the neighbourhood just as much as we don’t much care for Coffee Republic and Star*ucks taking over opposite corners of Westbourne Park Road now, but it’s been established for so long that it feels like it’s a bit of our own lives that’s being taken away.

An attempt to view the fixture-and-fittings sale board

My mum dragged me round Woolworth’s as a kid and yes, I do remember the pick ‘n’ mix and that the shelves were wooden. It was shabby years before shabby was chic and suited post WWII austerity to a T, but the trouble is that their idea of moving with the times has been to put the word “Local” in friendly, “hand written” script after their name in response to Tesco’s “Metro”.

Cheap? Well yes. Cheerful? Not really, but it had an atmosphere of its own and was so bloody convenient (listen to me, I’m talking in the past tense already).

The woman outside pointed out that you could see the board with all the prices of their fixtures and fittings, which is what I tried to take the second shot of. After I’d done that one of the staff inside came running to the door, thinking that I’d been voyeuristically taking photos of or gawping at them. Woman-outside explained that I hadn’t and woman-inside wandered away muttering something about being unemployed in two days, which made me think twice about writing this article at all.

I don’t expect there are any plans for the space that they are about to vacate yet, but I do hope that The Portobello Blog’s predictions of a giant supermarket don’t bear fruition.

Farewell Woolies! I bought my first, multipurpose screwdriver there when I bought my flat. It was the best £3.75 I ever spent.