Guest blogger: Fil Campbell
In the middle of a very hot spell in July Tom and I were getting excited about Belinda’s news that she might be opening a second shop and when it all fell into place almost overnight we were roped in to help with the set up and initial staffing. And what a joy it’s been.
I’ve been doing two days a week regularly since opening and after months of slowing down, staying slowed down and not being able to plan for anything in my regular music world, it was a pleasant shock to the system to have a routine - pack a lunch, get dressed, head out for the day and meet people from all over these islands.
Good Craic 2.0 is full of gorgeous local crafts as well as souvenirs and there is new stock arriving on a daily basis – always something new to discover. People have been surprised to find all these delights in a place where didn’t even expect to find a shop let alone one that sold more than postcards and maps.
Visitors to a gift shop are (mostly) in very good humour because they’re on holiday or present shopping or having a leisurely look around a new or favourite space, so the chat and the craic is always good. And with people staycationing this year there have been lots of local visitors who’ve spent years travelling abroad and were having a ball discovering what’s on their doorstep. Along with visitors from England, the Isle of Man, Scotland and the South of Ireland, it’s been an interesting summer and hopefully a successful one for Good Craic’s first year in Silent Valley.
While I’ve appreciated having the break in routine since last March, I need deadlines to work to and we all need to see people or it becomes far too easy to stay isolated - so once we all figured out the systems between two shops and discovered how to not get the boss too stressed (!) having to do specific tasks each day has eased me back into the real world again and I’m now (almost) ready to get back to performing and leading choirs. But I hope I will continue to be an occasional shopkeeper.
Update: Thanks for that Fil. With more and more things opening up Fil has unfortunately (well... for me, fortunately for her!) returned to her real job of teaching and playing music. She has been fabulous to have in Good Craic and I hope you've all enjoyed the craic if you were lucky enough to come shopping while she was in charge. With any luck she'll still help me out from time to time.