The village shop sells everything you could ever need, Robbie says, and a large amount of it is sourced from local suppliers. There’s bread, cakes, brownies and Portuguese tarts from three different village bakeries, beers brewed within three miles of the outlet and fish caught fresh on the Suffolk coast. Then there’s a “second-hand bookshop, and a card room where local artists can show their work,” Robbie says. 

It’s no wonder then that the shop has become “the hub of the village” as Robbie puts it. He supplies the local pub with apple juice and the local church with food for its foodbank, and knows almost everyone in the village by first name. Not only this, but the Garboldisham shop’s Post Office provides a “full banking service as well as postal service” in an area where in-person banking is harder to access than ever. 

If that wasn’t enough, the shop has become something of a destination for those in neighbouring villages too “as we sell a lot of artisan products” and at the weekends there’s a barista coffee pop-up “with artisan coffee, entry level coffees and cheaper coffee too” – something for everyone. 

Does Robbie miss the London rat race? “After working in quite an intense corporate world and commuting every day, my stress levels were through the roof, and I’d always get this feeling of dread going to work on a Sunday night,” he says.

“With this job I never get that – I spring up and opening the shop is a delight and my working life is bliss. There’s more time for us as a family too, to have breakfast together and see each other for dinner every day.”

Fittleworth Village Stores

In name, Toni Humphrey, 45, is the manager of Fittleworth Village Stores in the South Downs. In reality though, she has a much bigger role in the local community. 

“We really go above and beyond to help our customers, who are almost all from the local area,” Toni says. “We’ve had situations where one of our customers has fallen over and their carers can’t get to them, so we’ve stepped in to help – if one of our locals needs help then all they need to do is ring and we’ll do as much as we can,” she says.