And finally… shop talk
A bit of Yorkshire cultural history is up for grabs, with the corner shop used in the BBC’s Open All Hours set to go under the hammer with Mark Jenkinson this month.
A Doncaster hairdressing salon on Lister Avenue, Doncaster was used for external shots of Arkwright’s shop in the long-running show featuring Ronnie Barker and David Jason.
Saved from demolition in 2008 by campaigners, the end-terrace building, which is currently a vacant hairdressing salon on the ground floor with two tenanted, self-contained apartments above, will go up for auction on 16 October.
Sheffield auction house Mark Jenkinson, part of the Eddisons property group, is selling the building on behalf of joint agent Kembles Estates, with a guide price of £150,000.
Mark Jenkinson associate director James Vandenbrook said: “The shop is instantly recognisable from the outside as the backdrop to the drama that played out between Ronnie Barker’s spendthrift grocer Arkwright and his long-suffering errand boy Granville.
“It really is part of television history and of course that has created lots of interest in the sale from potential bidders. It will be interesting to see what happens when the auction closes – and what the next episode will hold for this totally unique end-of-terrace Doncaster property.”
Presumably, some form of electronic money transfer will be used should the property be snapped up, but it would be good if a cash deal could be made compulsory, so that the infamous, lethal lightning-fast till drawer could catch some young whippersnapper unawares.