An apple a day...

IT was the seed of an idea that sprouted in record time. Early in November last year, Colin Dee, a builder from Coxhoe and Lisa Parr, a school dinner lady, were sitting in a bar in Durham. Over a bottle or two of something, their thoughts turned to vegetables.

What Coxhoe needed, they decided, was a proper greengrocers, with lots of interesting vegetables and everything fresh every day, a nice looking shop that people would enjoy coming to.

Maybe it was the drink, but the answer was suddenly obvious. And unlike most ideas thought up over a few drinks in a bar, this one actually worked out. Barely four weeks later - they don't hang around, these two - on December 1, they opened The Village Greengrocer on Church Street, Coxhoe.

"It was a mad rush," says Lisa, who's hardly paused for breath since. "An absolute mad rush."

But it seems to have been a successful one. As supermarkets take over the world and small businesses are dropping like flies all over the country, it seems the worst possible time to open a small shop.

Yet, a steady stream of customers - all ages, all backgrounds - pours through the shop, snapping up the pak choi, the frilly cauliflowers and baby spinach, or a sack of spuds and a few apples. All of them are enthusiastic about the new venture.

"I think it's great," says a pensioner, going out with some oranges and a cauliflower.

"It's just what we needed."

As well as the older customers, there are many young families living in the new houses going up in the village and they all appreciate being able to shop in the traditional way.

Although Lisa had once worked as a florist, neither of them knew much about the greengrocery trade. Colin now starts his day at 6am every morning heading up to the wholesale market at Team Valley.

"I go every day. It's really important to us that everything is as fresh as we can possible manage."

They're early risers at Coxhoe and Colin and Lisa like to have the shop open by 8am, "and even then we have people waiting on the doorstep".

It helps that there's a good butchers and bakers further along the street, as well as the post office, so customers can complete the set and do their shopping the old fashioned way. Their prices - as usual with greengrocers and markets - are generally cheaper than the supermarkets.

And although most of their customers walk to the shop from not far away, it also helps that there's car parking right outside - which attracts customers from further away or Durham commuters on their way home.

"That makes it much easier than trying to pop into the centre of Durham, for instance. We've been surprised at how far away some of our customers live, but it's so easy to get to and park that it's quite convenient for them," says Colin, who has made the most of the building trade's winter quiet time to put all his energies into the shop.

He is also the delivery driver, so no one has to struggle with heavy bags. They offer free delivery round Coxhoe and plenty of people take advantage of it - and not just for Colin's cheerful chat-up lines.

Naturally, he did all the building work on the shop himself - it used to be a curtain shop - and wanted it to be a bit more than a shop. So there are photos of old Coxhoe on the walls, and a display cabinet, that he rescued from a skip, that now holds little curiosities such as old Coxhoe bottles and tea, coffee and Oxo tins.

"Customers have given us things to put in there and it's just something a bit different."

As well as fruit and veg, they sell fresh fish twice a week, frozen other times, posh jams, chutneys, biscuits, local eggs.

Cross because he couldn't get fresh coriander one day, Colin is planning to grow and sell his own herbs in a nice big planter by the door.

They also sell a few ranges of cards, including some in aid of Romanian orphans.

And they have the world's classiest shopping bags. They are individually made by Jenny Walton in Coxhoe and are absolute works of art, almost too good to put your shopping in and much, much nicer than all the gimmicky designer ones that people queued up to buy but never actually use. Colin and Lisa ask for a donation of at least £2.50 in aid of Parkinson's Disease and they are worth much more.

Above all, Colin and Lisa are cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic, keen to help and eager to please.

"We're still learning what people want and trying to get anything they ask for,"

says Lisa who hasn't stopped serving all the time she's been talking to me. "It's still very new, but, yes, I think it's going to work. I hope so."

And so do their many new customers.

* The Village Greengrocer, Coxhoe.

Open 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday; 8am- 4pm Saturday.

Bouquests of the week

Thanks, Pat, for all your hard work

Dear Sharon,

I WOULD like to commend Patricia Swainston of Durham for her unceasing work for charities.

Pat lives in Sherburn Road and works at the local bingo hall and has done for several years.

For many years now she has raised several thousand pounds through raffles and collections which she has shared among a variety of charities.

She does not expect any thanks or praise for her endeavours and I would love her to receive your bouquet for all the work she has done.

Mrs J Hunter, Newton Hall, Durham.

* We know that throughout the region there are so many people who work hard raising money for charities.

So often only a very few people know how much they do, which is why we are delighted to give Pat Swainston a bit of public recognition and thanks and send her this week's bouquet.

SUE Hill of Bowburn writes, sad that Waitrose in Durham is closing in the summer. "I know it hasn't been the best Waitrose and has been limited by its size, but I've really appreciated it being there. I have particularly enjoyed the deli counter where staff are always very pleasant and helpful. Now I wait with some concern to see what will replace it."

Nicola Green emailed to say she'd been into The Body Shop in Darlington.

"First time for ages and I was pleasantly surprised. I'd forgotten how many nice things they have and the staff were really helpful without being pushy."

Sandra Newton and her daughter from Darlington recently had a car accident on the A68 between Castleside and Tow Law. "It was a very wet and windy day and we hit a large piece of piping that was rolling around in the middle of the road.

We tried to avoid it, but went into a skid and off the road and ended up with the front of the car on the verge and the back end sticking out into the carriageway.

Many thanks to other motorists who stopped to help and see if we were all right and especially to Peter Watson from St Helen's who straightened the car up for us and checked that it was all right to drive.

We were unhurt but very shaken and appreciated such kindness from strangers."

* If you want to say a public thank you for good service or to a helpful neighbour, kind stranger or efficient business, then just write with all the details to Sharon Griffiths, Bouquet of the Week, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF.

Or email sjgriff111@aol.com.

Each week the person nominated in our main letter gets a real bouquet of flowers or a box of posh chocs.