Beans bhajis the story of the corner shop, bbc presenter babita sharma, the daughter of shopkeepers, continues her exploration of the growing and shifting fortunes of the corner shop and its place in the social fabric of britain. She picks up the story from the 1980s and a word of warning, babitas film discusses the historical use of some language which some viewers may find offensive. What is it about the british and the corner shop . The corner shop has a lwa Ys Corner Shop . The corner shop has always been there for us, a british institution. There are almost more corner shops than there are corners. It was on the front line of what was happening in society from the 1940s to the 1990s. Happening in society from the 1940s to the 19905. It happening in society from the 1940s to the 1990s. It saved our bacon during the Second World War and it also became a Rite Of Passage for new immigrants, including my family. Iam the new immigrants, including my family. I am the daughter of shopkeepers and for me the corner shop sits at the very heart of the community. Its what mum and dad called the glory days and by that they meant a buzzing trade and i remember it really well, the shop being absolutely packed full of customers. I would sit on the shop counterand see all Walks Of Life come in through the front doors and you would know everything about them, the paper they read, theirfavourite box of cigarettes. But, above all else, you would know all the gossip in the town. This unsung hero has been at the centre of ordinary lives for more than 70 years. Its death has been predigged many times but still it soldiers on. For the last decade its been said that the days of the corner shop are numbered. Sojust how has it managed to survive . Music by by the 1980s by the 19805 50 by the 1980s 50 of independent corner shops were taken over by asian families. The traditional corner shop had evolved into something completely more diverse, the asian shopkeeper was now a key figure at the heart of the community, that paved the way for a new generation of migrants to take on the corner shop. Revolution in iran would propell another wave of migrants on to the british high street. Yesterday saw the worst clashes on the streets of tehran for several weeks. The worst clashes on the streets of tehran for several weeksli the worst clashes on the streets of tehran for several weeks. I thought you were married by now. This man escaped the revolution and went straight into the corner Shop Business in wolverhampton. Do you remember the first day that you opened up the shop . Yes, i remember it was 22nd june, 1987. The first customer came and asked for half an ounce of golden virginia. I didnt have a clue what he was asking for. When i served the customer, i said what is it, he said its tobacco, they roll it and smoke it. Thats how it started. After six months i knew every single name of nearly 1300 items in the shop. And staying true to corner shop tradition, the shockwaves of world events were discussed over the shop counter. The newsagents is where you went to get your news. People would start to immerse themselves in conversation. All you have to do is pick up a copy ofa all you have to do is pick up a copy of a newspaper, things about immigrants or lesbians and theyll have their tuppence worth, that would stimulate debate with the shopkeeper, and if the shopkeeper was half iranian or half english, it would broaden the horizons of yourself and the person talking to you. I think its just the idea yourself and the person talking to you. I think itsjust the idea of it being a community hub, the newsa g e nts it being a community hub, the newsagents in this country. The corner shop or the newsagents was more thanjust corner shop or the newsagents was more than just a shop. Sometimes running one called for special personal skills. I had a customer who was a very, very educated man. Well spoken. One day he came and said, what is the matter, you look very upset and sad. He started crying and i came around and i put my hand very, very proud man, i put my hand very, very proud man, i put my hands around his shoulders and said what is the matter, tom . He put his head on my shoulder and started crying and he said, hetty died, that was his wife. That is a part of life, that is a pa rt of that is a part of life, that is a part of my life which i will never, ever forget. I am part of my life which i will never, ever forget. Lam not part of my life which i will never, ever forget. I am not only a shopkeeper, i am a part of the community. But during the 1980s many of these communities faced stuff times. The peoples March Forjobs reached a climax this afternoon with a march through central london. Music they said you aint got a house. Britain was in the grip of a recession and the country was buckling under the strain of Mass Unemployment and growing social divisions. The tory government needed good news stories. The corner shop owner became the poster boy for the new Entrepreneurial Society championed by thatcher. The new Entrepreneurial Society championed by thatcher the new Entrepreneurial Society championed by thatcher. She wondered if there werent a couple of useful shops around the corner from downing street. Brown bread. New zealand butter. Asian shopkeepers have been incredibly use to have the tory party. The image of the shopkeeper is a powerful one and the shopkeeper is a powerful one and the image of the asian shopkeeper is useful across the political spectrum of ha rd useful across the political spectrum of hard work or aspiration. Its better news from there this morning. Its also a very convenient way of suggesting that we live in a merotocracy we dont live in, its used as a way to suggest to Working Class that you should be able to pull yourself up by your boot straps so i think the idea of the successful asian shopkeeper has been useful politically for that reason. One Success Story was lord papet. He became a multimillionaire and is now a member of the house of lords. I think mrsthatcher made a big difference. She herself was a shopkeepehs difference. She herself was a shopkeepers daughter. She realised, she understood Small Businesses very well. She encouraged Small Businesses. I think there was some recognition of British Indians coming to this country, running a shop, hard work. She realised that oui shop, hard work. She realised that our values of hard work, education, enterprise, family, were the values of the conservative party. In the 1980s you were seven times more likely to be a millionaire if your name was patel than if your name was smith. Shops were the starting point to become a successful businessman. A shop is where you buy, selling, you do your own accounts. The qianlonger you put in the shop the more money you can make. The more the Family Health came in, less wage costs, higher the profit, the more banks want to lend you money and expand in growth for a second shop, third shop and move on. By second shop, third shop and move on. By the mid 1980s dolar had built a business empire. For him, it wasnt just about making money. Business empire. For him, it wasnt just about making moneylj business empire. For him, it wasnt just about making money. I think one thing it did help us, which is very, very important, it helped us to integrate in the art of talking to people, in engaging with people, learning english. And to make a success in this country, integration is key. In difficult Economic Times self made millionaires like dolar we re self made millionaires like dolar were the exception, rather than the rule. But a stereotype had been born. Ladies and gentlemen, may i please have your attention. My name is abdul. I am wanting to tell you the story of my success. It began when i was a little boy. My mother said to me, go out and buy a corner shop. It was at this time a loaded term entered our vocabularly. It was even a cce pta ble entered our vocabularly. It was even acceptable to use it on prime time tv. Whats the point . All the animals will be dead. Wont be able to grow nothing because all the earth will be contaminated. Where are we going to get something to eat . There will be a little pack shop open somewhere. Its probably not uncommon for there to be plenty of communities still in the uk where its normal to refer to it as the pack shop. Where does that come from, that term . |j it as the pack shop. Where does that come from, that term . I think it comes from the fact that lots of asians own corner shops. What i never understood about the expression was the logic of it. I would call something a lackey shop ifi would call something a lackey shop if i thought it was an acceptable shortening of pakistani, which it isnt, because, yeah, you can call an australian aussie, the reason is that you dont see aussies go home ona that you dont see aussies go home on a brick wall, you see pack go home on a brick wall. Also, what is pakistani about the shop, the soups arent, the bin bags arent pakistani. Why cant you say the corner shop or the shop . I never understood what the ethnicity of the family that ran it had anything to to with it, it was irrelevant. Thats what got me. For fahad his ethnicity was also irrelevant. This slur had become a catch all term to throw at any successful shopkeeper who wasnt white. What would they say to you when they said rude nameses . Bloody pack, what are you doing here . The usual. How did you deal with the racism . He is not pakistani for starters. Which is always interesting. Yeah, as soon as they tell me, i said, hang on, interesting. Yeah, as soon as they tell me, isaid, hang on, you interesting. Yeah, as soon as they tell me, i said, hang on, you want to listen, or do you want to continue to say what you want to say . If you want to know, i am not pakistani, start with p, but i am persian, not pakistani. Verbal abuse at times escalated into violent confrontation. Sunday after sunday white youths encouraged by the atmosphere created by the National Front went on the rampage, breaking shop windows and attacking passing asians. The sight of the shopkeeper a p pa re ntly asians. The sight of the shopkeeper apparently doing well during the era of recession lit the touch paper among far right groups. In the East End Of London the openly racist British National party take to the streets. The bnp want all non whites to leave britain. And theyre marching in an area where racial attacks, mostly on asians, have tripled in two years. Asians say its a provocation that can lead to violence. The idea of the successful asian shopkeeper bred some resentment. Having a corner shop was the dream for many migrants in the 1960s and 70s. But the dream was beginning to tarnish. The corner shop was increasingly seen as a the corner shop was increasingly seen as a soft target, a vulnerable space with little security and wide open to attack. Violent attacks on staff at small local shops have risen dramatically over the past year. Convenient stores are increasingly being seen as easy targets. A shopkeeper has been talking about the moment he fought off a masked robber who fired a crossbow at him. The corner shop owner often had to diffuse tricky situations. Even in dangerous moments where on a Sunday Morning theres been banging on the door at 4. 00 and guys who have been high on ecstasy and drunk, banging on the door going, open the shop, and my brother does. I am standing there going, oh, this is going to kick off. My brother will go, and there will be this really palpable tension where my brother will go, hello, robert, how is your mum . This robert quy robert, how is your mum . This robert guy willjust go, all right, charlie. And go, you ok . Are you going to get home all right . Yeah, i am fine. You would think it was going to kick off. It could, it could go either way. My brothers Just Brilliant at being able to dissipate that. Having said that, you know, he has seen his fair share of grief from and racial abuse from lots of people, from kids, to adults. In the early 1990s out of nowhere a bigger threat loomed, sunday trading. Lets be honest, corner shops have been exploiting a loophole in a very unclear law. What you could and couldnt buy according to the 1950s shop act was bizarre. There is a famous saying you could buy pornography on a sunday but not a bible. Corner shops, many like pornography on a sunday but not a bible. Cornershops, many like ours for 40 years, traded illegally on a sunday. But that all changed in 1994, the big supermarkets said enough is enough. They wanted to cash in on the money corner shops we re cash in on the money Corner Shops Were Making and they too wanted to open up on a sunday. Sunday in england and wales will never be the same again after last nights commons vote. The government plans to turn sunday into a family shopping day. I think the main people who will benefit from this are the millions of people who already shop on sundays. There was a warm welcome for the vote by the Big Out Of Town stores. Small shopkeepers say theyll be trampled by the giants. Its devastating. The reaction of Sunday Opening has not only took the customers away from us, its halved the days trading. I feel if this carries on much longer all the Small Businesses will go to the wall. Overnight the corner shop Profit Margin dropped drastically. Up to 50 of weekly takings had been made ona 50 of weekly takings had been made on a sunday. The corner shop felt the full blast of corporate competition. By the 1990s many corner shop owners, including mum and dad, were getting out. A Great British institution, the asian corner shop, could soon be a thing of the past. New Research Suggests up of the past. New Research Suggests up to 4,000 have disappeared over the past decade. The face of britain is changing, tonight we wanted to mourn the passing of one british tradition, the asian corner shop. Once open all hours, according to the british retail consortium, the last one will be gone by 2015. Closing time. Perhaps that was a big overdramatic. But for my family it was indeed the end of the road. For some the shop was just a means to an end, to educate their children and make money. For others, such as our family, it was a way of life. What was going through your mind when you decided to sell . It was setting getting a bit too much. Plus, we we re getting a bit too much. Plus, we were tired. Really tired. Its time to sell the shop. Were you sad . When igoto to sell the shop. Were you sad . When i go to the town, if i see all my customers, they say hello, we are missing you. How are you . And the children, they say, thats mrssharma, then i felt something. Yeah. Like my parents, fahad worked 14 hours a day almost seven days a week. He was completely exhausted but worried about the future of his shop. Because its a small corner shop. Because its a small corner shop and you are so connected to your community, you couldnt leave the shop with anybody unless you made sure your ideology, your principles were carried on. But there was a problem. My generation, born and brought up in the uk, didnt want to take on the shop. Born and brought up in the uk, didnt want to take on the shoplj think the hours, the physical strain of actually running the shop were immense. They were 14 hour days, huge days. I became a journalist. Sanjeev huge days. I became a journalist. Sa njeev became a huge days. I became a journalist. Sanjeev became a comedian. What you have now is the next generation who have now is the next generation who have options. Its hard work. The whole point was to educate the kids so whole point was to educate the kids so they didnt have to work in shops, thats why they dont want a pa rt shops, thats why they dont want a part of it any more. They can work on the Make Up Counter at boots, theyre options, this low return retail thing, as lucrative as it can be, its a lot of hours and a lot of graft. So, its no surprise that theres a generation that arent interested in taking over. Nitin became an actor but his family are hanging on. We still have the shop. My mum and dad still get up at 3. 30am and do the papers with my brother who runs the shop for my dad. Whenl brother who runs the shop for my dad. When i go back i do the same sort of stuff. Having worked so hard to make the shop a success, and make it the vocal point of the community, the family were not ready to let it go. Its a tricky situation. My brother provides a service that supermarkets wont provide, which is a personal service. Knows what you want, what you like, what paper you read, when customers come in its already on the counterand he has a conversation with you, but my brothers been working in that shop since he was a kid and hes 60. Sol working in that shop since he was a kid and hes 60. So i worry for him. My brother hasnt had a holiday, i think he has had a holiday three times in 40 years. We didnt really get many holidays. Because again its the papers need to be done. Its seven days a week. Yeah, seven day as week. There were other reasons why the next generation were wary. The supermarkets, which had earlier abandoned the town centre, were back, muscling in on the corner shops traditional turf, the high street. It takes entrepreneurial guy to take on the Supermarket Giants and many corner shops have decided to call it a day or become part of an independent franchise like spar or nisa. This started life as a small corner shop, but a few years ago abdul was ready to shut up shop. From here you can see tesco, on the other side you have sainsburys. Five years ago i thought we would have to close and forget it. The supermarkets were getting stronger. We were weaker. We didnt have enough staff. But it now seems to have a winning formula. Luring customers with bespoke offerings from local organics to homemade curries. Come here, iwill show from local organics to homemade curries. Come here, i will show you aladdins cave. All the foods you can buy from the world, spices. People want to eat healthy. Recession can come and go. One thing people wont cut too much is on food. You have all the vegetables possibly you can get. This is what you were on about. My favourite. And the chillies. They are there. All different types. 40 years ago, if i had an english customer and there was a couple of chillies left in the basket i would say you can have it, they would say, no, we dont eat it. Today english customers will buy a kilo, people have changed. They know a lot more. They know what spices to buy. The corner shop has constantly reinvented itself since the 1940s. In the way that only small independent retailers can. Its been a Rite Of Passage for migrants who have made our community more diverse. For the past decade, we have seen the rise of polish shops, latvian delis, all selling their own specialised products. In this new brexit era there are those who would say that the corner shop and its diversity may come under threat. But i dont see it like that. The corner shop is too much a part of everyones way of life. We cant seem to get the corner shop out of our minds, its always been there for us, whether we are buying milk tray or a bag of bombay mix. Todays shopkeepers are just like mum and dad, theyre a new wave of immigrants reflecting a changing face of britain. I can see it right now, my history repeating itself. Its a special little place, a trusted friend. A place we can celebrate the local. Ijust hope that it stays for generations to come. Good afternoon. Its been a fairly chilly first few days of 2017 but we have had some sunshine out there today. As you can see, clear skies across much of the country. A few showers across parts of norfolk, into the north west of wales and parts of scotland too. Many areas have had clear conditions. This was the sun setting in middlesbrough an hour or so ago. Through the evening hours with clear skies its turning cold quickly. We could see a sharp frost and also the odd patch of ice overnight on any untreated surfaces. For Tuesday Morning if you have that trip back to work its going to be a chilly one first thing. Temperatures as low as minus four or five chilly one first thing. Temperatures as low as minus four orfive in chilly one first thing. Temperatures as low as minus four or five in the countryside, particularly through central and southern parts of england, here we will see the cold est of england, here we will see the coldest of the weather. Further north more cloud piling in, that Cloud Bringing Rain For Northern and western parts of scotland, windy here too. The odd spot of drizzle for Northern Ireland and north west england but a dry story predominantly. Not as chilly as it has been underneath the cloud. Less cloud as we move further east. For the south east of scotland, down the east coast of england, some frosty conditions. Perhaps even mistiness here and there first thing Tuesday Morning. Clear and dry across the south coast. Through the day most of us south coast. Through the day most of us staying dry. Breezy for parts of scotla nd us staying dry. Breezy for parts of scotland and windy to the northern isles. Rain for the north west of scotland, perhaps a bit of drizzle over the hills across the west of england too. To the south it should stay dry with more wintry sunshine, similarto stay dry with more wintry sunshine, similar to today. Temperatures milder, up to between 5 9. High pressure that dominates things through much of the week. We have this cold front slowly sinking south through the middle part of the week. Wednesday, that will open the doors again for wednesday, that will open the doors againfora wednesday, that will open the doors again for a plunge of colder air to come down from the arctic, particularly affecting east coasts of scotla nd particularly affecting east coasts of scotland and eastern england. Anywhere around the north sea coasts exposed to that breeze will feel chilly, perhaps the odd shower, but plenty of wintry sunshine. Further south west, perhaps more cloud for wednesday. Wherever you are, its a relatively quiet day. Temperatures between four to nine. With High Pressure staying around, thursday looks largely dry with some sunshine. By the time we get to friday, not quite as cold as we started the week, with some rain eventually in the north and the west. You can find more details on the weather for the week ahead by heading to our website. This is bbc news. The headlines at 5pm. A second girl has died following a hit and run in oldham on new years eve. Four men are being questioned by police. Funerals for victims of The Istanbul Nightclub Gun attack so called Islamic State says it was behind the shootings. Photos of the main suspect are released by istanbul police, who say theyve detained eight people. 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