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Adulthood Non-fiction Special moments

New Moulton Stores

People always say how they hate January. You hear of the January blues, dark gloomy days, blue Monday – which can I add is a total myth made up by the travel companies to make money, it was on the news the other day! I always went along with this but recently I have noticed that actually I don’t hate January at all.

Yes, the dark nights aren’t ideal, but I think January can be a very positive month. The end of January is when you start to really notice the lighter evenings. Sunny, gorgeous (but cold), winter days are the best. Everything is calm post the Christmas madness. It really isn’t that bad.

At the shop this positivity has shone through in charity.

The Christmas Draw raised a fabulous £225 for the charity Suffolk Mind in memory of our dear friend and customer, Gerry. Cards made by another generous and talented customer raised £50.40 for Cancer Research. The Hedgehog Hospital total stands at £835 since Feb 2020. The other boxes fill too fast for us to keep up and the Improving Moulton tub gets heavier and heavier each day. From now until the summer, the money raised in this pot will be put towards funding our Platinum Jubilee celebrations so please, pop your change in if you can. It will all add up to create a memorable occasion for everyone.

Our days get brighter still with good comments from customers. One lady said she travels from Fordham to us, passing many Post Offices along the way, for a smile. ‘Don’t change’, she said, ‘it is so lovely coming here.’ Another customer dashed in while we were closing up one day recently and stopped to say: ‘It is always happy in here.’ We were serving ‘the best Lattes in Newmarket and surrounding areas’, according to another customer who gets coffee in a lot of places! Observations like these keep us strong and wanting to continue to provide the service, keep the place alive and do best by our loyal customers.       

It’s not ‘goodbye’ it’s ‘see you soon’

As hard as it is to write and as many tears we have all cried, yes, Mike and Kathy have moved on to begin real retirement a little while later than planned. From all at New Moulton Stores we cannot thank the two of them enough for sharing their expertise with the business as we grow and expand.

The business wouldn’t be what it is today without Mike and Kathy. The energy, hard work, commitment, ideas, warmth and so much more has led to the huge positive reputation that the business has held for years. Fortnum and Mason as one customer refers to us, a little London Deli, a special place. Everything that they have put into the business over the past sixteen years gleams through in the dedicated customers, the quality goods and service, the friendly atmosphere, and the popularity of the place. The fact that these two absolute diamonds stayed on to continue their loyalty to the shop is a bonus that Hugo, Martin and myself will be forever grateful for.

While we are sad to see them go, we fully back their decision in retiring full time and enjoying some well-earned time out.

So, as we come down from the sadness and shock of this news, we would like everyone to (virtually) raise a glass to this wonderful couple with thanks for everything that they have given to Moulton Shop and, for almost two years longer – New Moulton Stores.

They will always be treasured in the spirit of this business and, though they are moving on, they will be here with us too. Mike is a regular topic when people spot the photo above the Red Wine shelf where he is jumping to head the ball, alongside Pelé…

It wasn’t just the shop…

Not only that but Mike and Kathy gave everything, all of the time, to everyone. Whether it was a story around the ever-growing table in the Packhorse garden during summertime and a good laugh too, or it might have been cooking up dinner and delivering a few portions to those who were eating alone for whatever reason. If somebody needed company, they thought of them and opened their door. They thought of everyone. Often if we didn’t stock something in the shop Kathy would have just the thing at home or not even shop related, she would have something that would help, and she would gladly give it away.

On telling people the news that they would be leaving, so many came back with memories. All were filled with goodness. So many people told me how the Dillons’ had helped them out of a really dark time or been there just when they needed it. You all know how close I am to these two beautiful people and each time I’ve cried missing them and while seeing them go I thought: how lucky am I to have a bond so strong that makes this so hard? And I’m sure many others are with me on that.

Endless good deeds, brilliant fun, unique characters, the life and soul. They weren’t just running the village shop, but they were great friends to so many, friendships built so strong that a little bit of sea in between won’t change nothin’!

While we all miss them so much, they will be back to visit for sure. So many have panicked to me worrying that they never got chance to say goodbye. I say to them…we’ll be partying before you know it!

So thank you, Mike and Kathy, for everything (I will make sure they get a copy of this Moulton Matters) from the bottom of our hearts. Moulton won’t be the same without you both physically here, but you will always be a huge part of our village.

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