Surfladle

And what a week it has been. Last weekend’s weather has kick started the season and the email and calls we have encountered during the last five days have slightly overwhelmed the Mega Store customer handling systems (James and myself…). It’s a nice sort of overwhelmed in one way but we were already hard at it trying to keep track of delayed customer orders and suppliers asking for next year’s pre-orders.. it’s only the first week of March and feels more like a High Summer Bank Holiday week! We will do our best to keep on top of everything but please.. never be afraid to remind us if you think we have forgotten YOU! Last weekend also brought along something we really were not expecting and not so pleasant, namely a visit from Worthing Police.

 

They came along to see us on Tuesday (I think in this case it was lucky they came along on our day off) which was then followed up by an email, which started my Wednesday morning off on a bit of an ‘Oh No’! They had been informed by a member of the public that there were a lot of people gathering outside the shop and that customers were seen trying on kit, which was deemed to be outside of the current Government guidelines for retail trading. In our defence the gatherings were not of our making as the tables outside of the restaurant next to us were being commandeered by visitors to the beach to eat and drink there takeaways from the local food shops (the restaurant has now put notices on their tables saying they are not for the public’s use) and others were sitting on the pavement directly outside our shop window. The trying on of kit was as far as I know a one off occurrence where the people concerned had arrived at the beach and were going out on their SUP boards. Quite rightly they came along to ask if they had the right water wear for the conditions.

Note. I am so glad someone took note of my Blog last week! That was Catch 22 for us, as what do you do. It has to fit correctly or it’s a waste of time and they were not able in this instance to take it home and then come back to exchange etc, which I think most of you will know is exactly what we had been doing up until then. No point grumbling about it though and the Police were very reasonable, as it was a warning and will go no further. So we now have a new system to ensure we give no one a reason to think that we are breaking Covid rules, which are of course in place for people’s safety. We can no longer allow anyone to try anything on outside and we really will have to run to Click / Collect  rules, which basically means a short as stay as possible. That also rules out trade- ins and looking at kit outside until we are able to open the doors and trade again openly. James has fitted a Door Bell (I have not seen it yet so no idea where)  that you will need to press for ‘service’ , as the doors will be locked to prevent anyone from just walking in, which could end up with us being fined. Really sorry but we can do nothing about this, as I guess we are under observation. Please bear with us as usual!

 

Right, the Weekends weather and Tides!

Saturday is dry but Freezio (where the heck did Spring go ..) with a High of 6° with winds from the East at 10kts (real feel probably 0°). Tide is High at 16.25hrs on a 5.2m.

Sunday still dry but 1° chillier as the winds move around to Nor’East at 8kts.

The tide is High at 17.46hrs on a tiny 4.8m.

 

As usual, do spare a thought for everyone working away behind the scenes to keep us all fit and well (my personal thanks to the Medical Staff, Horsham Cycling Club and the Council Volunteers that worked so hard today to put another 1000 people through the vaccination centre at Christ Hospital.. such a slick operation!) and sadly for some there is no Rugby on the box (typical as it is COLD) so good luck with whatever you have Planned!