Barely through the starting gate, and we seem to be encountering a few anomalies that need a sharp business skill set

Three weeks of toing and froing the site and rush in to switch off the alarm as usual, only to find its shadow on the wall. No actual alarm. Head spin moment. Where’s the alarm gone? Have we been robbed in the night? Who would break in and steal an alarm? Very unnerved initially. Then after a frantic phone call to the previous owners relieved and somewhat astonished to discover that someone had let themselves in and taken what they believed was still theirs. A fixture that apparently wasnt actually a fixture.

Not long after the alarm taking a sabbatical, driving up the road towards the pharmacy on a nice bright afternoon. Double take. There appears to be a man up a ladder painting the gable end of the pharmacy. Surely i’m mistaken? Nope. That is indeed a man up a ladder painting my wall… and where is my sign? The huge 10 foot chemist sign that has been heralding the pharmacy site at least since the 80s. Screech to a stop. Run up to said ladder man, “Excuse me, what are you doing?” “I’m painting the wall”. “Yes, I can see that. But who gave you permission to paint that wall?” “The owner.” “Well, that’s a bit difficult, because I’m the owner and I didn’t give you permission”. “Oh, I see. Well, I was told the owner had given permission.” “Well, I most certainly didn’t. So please can you stop what you are doing , climb down the ladder and get in touch with whoever gave you permission to paint my wall and tell them I don’t want it painting? And where’s my sign?” “Oh, that. I think that’s long gone”. Heart racing. Ladder man calls his boss who calls his boss who meets me on site. Apparently its all a big ‘misunderstanding’. He was renovating his business and thought our wall could do with an uplift and unfortunately my big vintage chemist sign was going to detract from his new signs underneath. A crushing example of one person’s treasure that is another man’s idea of rubbish.

How can a path lead to somewhere and nowhere at the same time? There’s a lot to understand about the boundaries at 382. Much has changed since the pharmacy was built in 1879. It’s fascinating looking at old maps and seeing the changes to the landscape surrounding it and the impact of development on the wider area. There’s a saying that ‘good fences build good neighbours’. But it’s increasingly clear after a couple of weeks owning the The Pharmacy that the various ways that the surrounding spaces have been carved up over the years and developed mean that building good relationships in the community is much more important than building fences.