Leaf and Groove closed today (28 July)

Saturday record buying plans thwarted by a “sorry we’re closed” sign. Hope all ok?

It was open this morning

Was open yesterday. Someone probably popped to get some lunch and put the wrong sign in the window.saying closed rather than back in 5 mins.

All is well and was open today as normal too.

We closed early yesterday, the builder was working in the basement and created an unexpected dust cloud so thick that it pervaded the shop too and poor Julia who was on duty could hardly breathe. The shop was closed early and the first job this morning was dusting!

Good! Getting paranoid with all this closures. I’ll get my vinyl fix next weekend instead!

A couple of posts were merged into an existing topic: Sugar Mountain

Closed yesterday (Saturday) - Gone Drinkin’

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Thankfully another shop took my donation

I took some books yesterday, not happy about this and will look into it!

I won’t put my name to someting that is not giving all to the library.

@Simon ?

Guess I should tell all that I was voted off the board because I spoke my opinion on behalf of the community from @michael @V22 and @Simon

I spoke my mind on behalf of the community and was shot down because I spoke the truth.

Remember I was the one that instigated taking on the library & my friend @JohnRussell

Myself and John have now taken a step back.

Though will question anything we think might be amiss.

Whoa!!!

Not so much WHOA Mr this happened a while ago, you know I always go with what’s right and what I believe is right, not everyone else does though xx

I still open and close the librRy most days, but I don’t have to agree with small time politics while doing this for our community xx

Crikey Pauline! Hope this blows over soon - you’re all awesome people and you have so much in common via the community work you do.

Me too xx

Hi Pauline

I’b be interested to hear what’s going on, but if you don’t want to post here, I’ll pop in to your shop sometime if that’s OK

If the library were closed due to the gin festival i would be worried (it wasn’t). The library doesn’t run Leaf and Groove but it does benefit from all the donations / sales.

The closure of the shop for a day or two will have no significant impact on the financing of the library. But if anybody is concerned you can pop in over the week and buy some extra books. And don’t forget to support all the other lovely shops in Dartmouth Road while the traffic is reduced (making parking easier and the road more pleasant for visiting on foot).

If anybody has any concerns about Leaf and Groove they can take it up with @simon. If anybody has feedback on the library both @simon and I would be happy to hear from you privately, on this forum or in any other way.

For me it’s no big deal, I just took my books elsewhere, just a little disappointed that my contribution won’t support the library.

Where did you take them?

https://www.aldlife.org/shop/charity-shops/forest-hill/

My first respone to this was: well, fine.

My second was: hang on, I and many others crowdfunded Leaf and Groove to support the library, not help run gin festivals.

My third was: just put a sign in the window saying closed due to staff shortage. It wasn’t Leaf and Groove as an entity that went off to do something else, it was whoever should have been running the shop taking off their Leaf and Groove hat for the day, I assume.

If on the other hand, Leaf and Groove’s name appears somewhere on the gin festival’s PR as a sponsor or co-organiser or some such, that’s another matter (although it could be argued it’s good publicity for the shop).

Leaf and Groove is not connected to the gin festival any more than the library is connected to my place of employment (although I was allowed to take some old keyboards and mice from the office to the library). I think I can say with confidence that the finances for Leaf and Groove and the Gin festival are entirely separate.

I think I’m going to coin a new term - ‘Shut Shaming’

Sorry, we probably should have phrased the sign better, my fault entirely.

Alas Leaf & Groove is what it is and Charlotte and I (and several other volunteers) don’t get paid for our time manning the shop. We do occasionally need to feed the children and that involves doing other things, Catford Gin Fest being one of them. The sign was an attempt to alert people to the fact it was happening, but ham-fisted to say the least, so apologies for that.

oh, and we’ll be back open today from around 1pm, normal hours without ginteruptions for the rest of the year I hope!

I also put my £250 in to help Leaf & Groove set up this shop because it does positive work for our library. I have also donated hundreds of books to the cause. Loads of people have done this and more. Simon, MIchael, Pauline and countless others have spent a lot of their own time for the library - and I have great admiration and gratitude for all of them because of their selflessness. In this instance, L&G chose to do something else on that day and they were honest enough to put an explanitory note on the door. Okay, so DF wasn’t able to contribute their donation to the cause and I dare say there might have been others who were frustrated by this but, in the scheme of things, do I feel let down [in general] by L&G? No I don’t! I appreciate whatever time they choose to offer their charitable services and, from a more selfish point of view, I appreciate the fact that they’ve taken on a long-term empty eyesore shop, which has improved that part of the road and the prospect of neighbouring shops.

@Anotherjohn Just to be clear, we are in agreement.

I know, @RachaelDunlop, I was reinforcing some of your comments and adding a few of my own.

Hello. I don’t come on here often but I thought I’d comment as this thread made me flipping angry. I wrote the bloody sign that’s caused the fuss and put it on @Leaf & Groove. I did it in a rush whilst trying to open my cafe. I received a second hand message from @Simon (who was understandably busy) asking me to put up a sign mentioning the gin festival and I know it’s not my best work but I was also busy. @Simon has been my best friend for 35 years because he is the the decent kind person that he is. And I know how bloody hard he works doing all the stuff that no one sees as well as the stuff that they do. And I’m extremely upset at this thread that seems to imply that something wrong has been done. He is trying to earn a living to support his family and there are just sometimes that you can’t get staff or be in two places at once. It’s unfortunate if people couldn’t drop off their donations and I know that @Leaf & Groove will be sad that they and in turn the library missed out. I wish people would think a bit more about the human beings behind the shopfronts before they type.

Zoe I like you a lot, I don’t think there is anything to say otherwise.

I also respect you as a person but you have never sat on the library board or heard our discussions

There will always be disagreements with any group, and most probably someones feelings will always be hurt inthis kind of situation.

These were certainly mine for speaking my mind which always gets me in trouble!.

Though I have no hard feelings towards anyone else and even organised the D Road Street Party with @Michael after this.