Mike Stenson

At The Time Mike Stenson

Everyone should have the opportunity to 'Smile at a Fruitcake' every day and over the 28 years spent establishing a small village 'Booze Shop' that quickly became known locally as THE OFFY in the village of Holt in North Wales, the author became the more than grateful recipient of many such occasions.

Occasions of exploding Hedgehog crisps - Sarcastic motorway police officers - Lifelike plastic parrots - Barred for being plastered - Disbelieving Magistrates - Old ladies and school kids - Doctor's orders - Shop fittings from a chicken shed - "Don't I look eighteen!" - Shin bruising wheel braces - Never eat yellow snow - "It's how much!" and many more.

Occasions that not only encouraged a thousand smiles over those 28 years but also defined a time when 'Corner Shops' were not only the hub of the community but a source of true friendship and humour.

Occasions that are not merely being lost to the faceless supermarkets of today, but occasions that are quickly being denied to our children's children, and AT THE TIME is a collection of humorous memories dedicated to those times when customers became friends and 'Fruitcakes' seemingly came in abundance!

"It's merely a little light reading as a result of my making a spectacle of myself."