Grandma's Shop ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am grateful to Darkchat David for persuading me to see this show. My reluctance was due to the relatively early start involved, as we've been priced out of Edinburgh and now commute during the Festival. The views from the train every day are spectacular and I'm certainly not complaining.

So, we set the alarm clock and started the second day of our visit to the Fringe with Grandma's Shop. This is a one woman show, written and performed by Julie Flower and is a charming exploration of the life of her eccentric grandmother, Hilda Flower.

When Julie was a child in the 1980's, her grandmother ran a second-hand clothes shop in Sheffield, raising money to feed an impressive number of stray cats and enabling locals to assemble splendid new outfits for a pound or two, at a time when money was hard to come by.

The story is told as a series of presentations to a local history society and Julie's portrayal of the club members adds a gentle extra layer of humour and we also are offered glimpses of Hilda's customers in the shop and Julie, as a child, helping out by rummaging through mountains of plastic bags.

Hilda's story is fascinating and very well researched by her granddaughter. By the end of the show we all feel we have got to know the delightful 'Auntie Hilda'.

This timely, life affirming tale perfectly illustrates how individuals can make a positive difference in their community by small acts of kindness, however bleak the world may seem, and it was definitely worth setting the alarm clock.


You can visit Grandma's shop at Theatre 3 at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall until 19th August (not 16th)