Monthly Archives: October 2010

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Peter Burke at the Fobel Shop in Carnoustie.  Like most traditional ironmongers, his shop is a hub for community conversation, information and advice.    

You can buy local theatre tickets there as well as pick up DIY tips from the very experienced staff.  And Peter’s skills mean that he’s as likely to offer to fix a broken kettle, lamp or other small electrical items as to sell you a replacement.   Driving inland to Kirriemuir, the birthplace of J M Barrie, I found the ironmonger A B McIntosh fronted by a statue of Peter Pan.  I regretted not having taken my garden shears in the car when I heard that McIntosh’s still provides a mower repair service and, like the Fobel Shop in Carnoustie, will clean and sharpen garden tools.   

On Sunday I woke to discover that someone had been in my shed.  I might have thought I’d left the shed open overnight and let in a stray cat if the intruder hadn’t closed the door so neatly (with both swivel catches in place whereas I, lazily, only ever close one).  Happily, the nocturnal visitor wasn’t a thief as my bike was still propped behind the shed door.  But it made me realise I had to take action.  So it was, that I found myself, the self-styled champion of traditonal community ironmongers, driving to my local ‘big shed’ B&Q desperately seeking a hasp and padlock.  On my return, the job was a skoosh thanks to the detailed advice I received a few months ago when choosing a handdrill in Buick’s Ironmongers in Alloa.  

That quality of advice, alongside theatre tickets, electrical repairs and tool sharpening is something you’re unlikely to find in the big sheds.  But then, they are not community ironmongers.