Lockdown – 5 years on

I was reminded today that 5 years ago, we announced on our social media channels that, due to the increasing risks posed by Covid at the time, we would be closing the physical Chocolate Fayre shop for the foreseeable future, and moving entirely to online and phone ordering. I still remember the worry and concern felt by us at the time, knowing we were doing the right thing (we were 2 days ahead of the government’s national lockdown), but, like many businesses, not knowing how we would survive. The government had promised financial support for most businesses, but at this stage these were only words. Like others, we had to look after and still pay our staff team, who would be furloughed for the duration of the closure. Like others, we had to homeschool our (at the time) 3 children, and ensure their needs were met at home. We’d only opened the new Chocolate Fayre premises at 10 Horsemarket 6 months previously, and we’d invested considerably into that. It was scary staring into an unknown blackhole while having such responsibilities and still having to be the positive force to motivate and get excited and be optimistic that all would be well.

When we did announce our closure, and then Boris followed our lead a couple of days later, it was a surreal moment. We became one of the few businesses on Barnard Castle high street to still be able to operate (albeit from behind closed doors). The town was ghostly quiet for those first few weeks. No a car was parked on the cobbles which usually host the weekly market stalls. We felt fortunate to be able to still trade at all, and very grateful that we had such enthusiastic and instant support from our customers. With our postal orders and local deliveries running apace, it was hard to keep up in the busy run up to Easter. With all staff on furlough, we were in some days from 8am to 2am, just trying to get orders ready to be sent out! But then Easter passed, the weather warmed up, and chocolate orders slowed down. We were still getting great support, but not enough to cover our outgoings. We still had a mortgage to pay, energy bills, insurance, and of course furloughed staff wages. Plus we still had all of our own personal living costs to contribute to. The first government support came in the nick of time in May, when we were down to almost nothing left in the bank account.

Fortunately the second instalment of government help to want far behind, in the form of government advisor, Dominic Cummings, breaking Covid rules to allegedly test his eyesight on a drive to our town of Barnard Castle. As you may remember, this made headlines, and for a while, we became the centre of a media frenzy. There was understandable anger at a clear disregard for government policy around travel and isolation during covid lockdown, while the vast majority of us did what we felt was best for the everyone. However this escapade gave a welcome boost to our website sales, as people all over the UK discovered a place called Barnard Castle existed, and it was a lovely place, with lovely little independent businesses!

Over the next few months (6 weeks of lockdown originally suggested by the government were a distant memory by this point), we tried our best to navigate through an ever changing backdrop of lockdown levels, rules and restrictions, trying to keep ourselves and our customers safe. Our staff steadily returned, and we worked out how to work safely with the public shopping face to face again. Yellow and black tape on floors and pavements came and went, face masks came, stayed and finally went too.

Throughout this unique period in history, we were in the fortunate position to be able to be flexible, spot and create opportunities, and have the unwavering support of you – our wonderful customers! Don’t get me wrong – we can unbelievably close to running out of money on a couple of occasions during the pandemic. However we came out of the other end, a little wiser, and a lot more grateful for what we have and where we located in this wonderful community than before.

Now, with the addition of our Coffee Lounge, we are fortunate to be able to provide a lovely space for anyone to meet up together, socialise over a little tasty something or other, and relax without restrictions. We remember how challenging covid was for so many, and some of these experiences were irreversible, but we are always optimistic. Nothing is permanent and the future always has possibility, hope and happiness, no matter how bad things may seem.