Aaarrgghhh. There's still sweet FA in terms of food telly thanks to all the sweet FA.
I almost subjected myself to The Biggest Loser US (and, I don't mean the England-Slovenia game, hurrah!) but apologies to fans, I couldn't bring myself to watch that drivel (again, I don't mean the England-Slovenia game, hurrah!).
Instead, I broke one of my cardinal Critical Eye rules and tuned into the same series for the second time in three weeks on the grounds that it wasn't me wot wrote about it last time. Heck, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, though, because Mary Queen of Shops (BBC2, 9pm, Monday 21 June) has got to be the only other must-watch thing on the box at the mo.
This week, the consummately stylish Portas descended on Fosters, a shabby-looking family greengrocer in Hoylake, an otherwise upmarket part of Merseyside, to help out the three cheery but clueless sisters running the shop... into the ground.
It was pitiful-looking a shrivelled up aubergine here, a tired-looking courgette there and empty, battered plastic trays everywhere and its location at the end of the strip wasn't exactly helping it to compete with the shiny Sainsbury's Local nearby. But it was the total absence of a business plan ("they seem to be playing at shopkeeping," noted an exasperated Portas) and the sisters' laziness that were the real problems.
Especially Anne's. She didn't want to give up her part-time job, didn't think a box delivery scheme would work and wasn't partial to the name change to 3 Sisters. Portas was not impressed. Neither, fortunately, were Anne's sisters, and eventually she was railroaded into action, with the usual heartwarming results.
The refitted store looked fab with its rustic blue walls and beautifully merchandised fruit and veg, much of which had been sourced locally in keeping with its new 'Local. Fresh. Less.' slogan. Even the saucy pix of the "girls" half-naked and adorned in fresh produce looked tasteful.
Sell something special that the supermarkets don't and the punters will come, Portas had promised. And they did. In just a few hours after its opening, the store had raked in double the £200 it used to make in a day presumably displaying their lovely pairs helped!
More from this column
I almost subjected myself to The Biggest Loser US (and, I don't mean the England-Slovenia game, hurrah!) but apologies to fans, I couldn't bring myself to watch that drivel (again, I don't mean the England-Slovenia game, hurrah!).
Instead, I broke one of my cardinal Critical Eye rules and tuned into the same series for the second time in three weeks on the grounds that it wasn't me wot wrote about it last time. Heck, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, though, because Mary Queen of Shops (BBC2, 9pm, Monday 21 June) has got to be the only other must-watch thing on the box at the mo.
This week, the consummately stylish Portas descended on Fosters, a shabby-looking family greengrocer in Hoylake, an otherwise upmarket part of Merseyside, to help out the three cheery but clueless sisters running the shop... into the ground.
It was pitiful-looking a shrivelled up aubergine here, a tired-looking courgette there and empty, battered plastic trays everywhere and its location at the end of the strip wasn't exactly helping it to compete with the shiny Sainsbury's Local nearby. But it was the total absence of a business plan ("they seem to be playing at shopkeeping," noted an exasperated Portas) and the sisters' laziness that were the real problems.
Especially Anne's. She didn't want to give up her part-time job, didn't think a box delivery scheme would work and wasn't partial to the name change to 3 Sisters. Portas was not impressed. Neither, fortunately, were Anne's sisters, and eventually she was railroaded into action, with the usual heartwarming results.
The refitted store looked fab with its rustic blue walls and beautifully merchandised fruit and veg, much of which had been sourced locally in keeping with its new 'Local. Fresh. Less.' slogan. Even the saucy pix of the "girls" half-naked and adorned in fresh produce looked tasteful.
Sell something special that the supermarkets don't and the punters will come, Portas had promised. And they did. In just a few hours after its opening, the store had raked in double the £200 it used to make in a day presumably displaying their lovely pairs helped!
More from this column
No comments yet