In the thick of it

John Hollingsworth & Son has faced far worse than the current wave of anti-smoking legislation and survived so why shouldn’t the future be as bright as the past? Dominic Roskrow reports

Occasionally you get the feeling that some things are destined not to be.

And so it turned out with Cigar Buyer’s interview with John Withers, proprietor of John Hollingsworth & Son.

First John got stuck in traffic and the interview had to be rescheduled.

Then my car broke down and attempts to speak by phone failed.

Finally, poor phone reception led to abandoning the talk until after my holiday.

“But it will be done in time for the deadline,” I pitifully told the Editor. “It’s all set up, John’s happy to do it. It would take a major disaster or his shops burning down to stop it now.” Oh dear.

“There’s been a fire in one of the shops in Birmingham,” says John when we finally speak.

“The shop’s in the Great Western Arcade in Birmingham and it looks like someone got in through one of the shops, smashed the window of a jewellers and maybe took some stuff, then got in to the rear of the empty shop next to us and set a fire under the stairs.

“There are meters down there so the fire destroyed them and some of the wiring and burned the stairs and then it seems that the alarm in another shop went off then.

“Whoever it was turned off the stopcock and destroyed the closed circuit television cameras so they knew what they were doing. But it was stopped before it got too bad and it could have been far worse.

“The arcade is one of those 19th century constructions with one long single roof so if the fire had got in there the whole lot would have gone. As it is we are going to lose.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Cigar Buyer to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Retailer watch

Page number : 8

Published in Cigar Buyer Issue 12 on 12/09/2007.

This article is 57 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements.



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	In the thick of it John Hollingsworth & Son has faced far worse than the current wave of anti-smoking legislation and survived so why shouldn’t the future be as bright as the past? Dominic Roskrow reports Occasionally you get the feeling that some things are destined not to be. And so it turned out with Cigar Buyer’s interview with John Withers, proprietor of John Hollingsworth & Son. First John got stuck in traffic and the interview had to be rescheduled. Then my car broke down and attempts to speak by phone failed. Finally, poor phone reception led to abandoning the talk until after my holiday. “But it will be done in time for the deadline,” I pitifully told the Editor. “It’s all set up, John’s happy to do it. It would take a major disaster or his shops burning down to stop it now.” Oh dear. “There’s been a fire in one of the shops in Birmingham,” says John when we finally speak. “The shop’s in the Great Western Arcade in Birmingham and it looks like someone got in through one of the shops, smashed the window of a jewellers and maybe took some stuff, then got in to the rear of the empty shop next to us and set a fire under the stairs. “There are meters down there so the fire destroyed them and some of the wiring and burned the stairs and then it seems that the alarm in another shop went off then. “Whoever it was turned off the stopcock and destroyed the closed circuit television cameras so they knew what they were doing. But it was stopped before it got too bad and it could have been far worse. “The arcade is one of those 19th century constructions with one long single roof so if the fire had got in there the whole lot would have gone. As it is we are going to lose..... To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Cigar Buyer to have every issue delivered direct to your door. By Dominic Roskrow Section : Retailer watch Page number : 8 Published in Cigar Buyer Issue 12 on 12/09/2007. Subscribe Buy this issue More from this issue Preview other issues This article is 57 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements. Copyright Cigar Buyer © 1999-2012. All rights reserved. To use or reproduce part or all of this article please contact us for details of how you can do so legally.