It's great to be back!
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BACK to serve the community and its good causes – that was the message from one Buckie store as businesses in the town began to reawaken from their lockdown slumber.
Last Monday saw many non-essential businesses of all kinds – which had been shut since the imposition of the coronavirus lockdown on March 23 – open their doors for the first time in 100 days.
One of those re-emerging into a very changed world was Buckie Community Shop on West Church Street, which had only opened last October as a novel initiative aiming to plough its profits back into local charities, groups and good causes in the form of grants.
For store founder and manager Jane Murray along with her dedicated team of volunteers, being open for business does not mean a complete return to normality, with a whole host of measures in place to ensure the safety of customers and staff.
Social distancing, limiting the number of customers in the shop at many one time, hand sanitisers at the entrance on top of a rigorous cleaning regime and a 72-hour quarantine for items donated before being disinfected are just some of the many measures in place.
However, when the doors finally were unlocked at 10am on Monday, June 29 after what often seemed an interminable wait, it was all worth it for Mrs Murray and her team.
"It's wonderful to be back open and have a bit of normality after being shut for 13 weeks, although it's been a bit weird, too with all the safety measures we have had to put in place," she said.
"We've been busy from the start and there was a queue in the street outside the shop waiting for us to open on Monday.
"I think people are glad to get back to at least some form of normality now that a lot of the shops are open again.
"Our customers have been really good and understanding with the restrictions we've had to put in place. Unfortunately we can only allow a maximum of three customers in the shop at any one time to ensure proper social distancing.
"We've also reduced our daily opening hours and aren't open on a Saturday, which gives us a chance to get donations we receive at the end of the week ready to be put out into the store on the Monday."
The joy at being open, however, belies a great deal of anxiety over the course of the last three months as to whether Buckie Community Shop would ever see the light of day again.
Mrs Murray continued: "When the lockdown started and we had to close I thought to myself 'What's going to happen here, how long are we going to be closed?'.
"There was no income but we still had bills to pay. We'd taken out a year's lease but there were many times I wondered if we'd be here for another year, how long we were going to last without any money coming in.
"When the Scottish Government announced the easing of the lockdown it was a huge relief to us all and we started preparation right away for reopening.
"This itself has meant a lot more bills – the floor stickers reminding people of the two metre social distancing rule cost £35 each, for example, and we had all the PPE and hand sanitiser gear to buy.
"However, everybody has been so, so supportive over the last three months, I can't thank them enough. I had people phoning me up during lockdown asking if they could help with donations.
"The lockdown has put paid to a lot of donations we had previously planned to make but we're still looking to support local good causes as soon as possible."
Donations from the public are still being accepted – although not toys and games, bric-a-brac, duvets/pillows or large furniture at this time due to lack of storage space – and can be left at an exterior drop-off point which can be accessed through the side.
People seeking to make larger or bulk donations are urged to phone the store in the first instance on ((01542) 835908.
Mrs Murray is also keen to hear from anyone who would be interested in volunteering some of their spare time to help at the shop.
Follow the Buckie Community Shop Facebook page for more updates and other information.
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