When Dodgson's of Dorchester Ltd was established in 1961, never was it thought that the shop's 60th year would be celebrated with PPE, masks and hand gel.

Glenn House owns the independent hardware store, which is classed as an essential business, with his wife - and you may have seen him on BBC's Spotlight on Tuesday evening - after he worked at the shop in South Street since 1981 and took over it from Mr Dodgson in 2005.

This year marks the business' 60th year, but never did the owners think it would be like this.

Mr House said: "It's difficult to comprehend that we would be celebrating it with 'sneeze screens' across the door and also a makeshift counter, also at the entrance to the shop, but this is how it has been since the original lockdown was announced at the end of March 2020."

Mr House employs a total of eight staff and originally, everybody was furloughed in the very first lockdown, leaving him to run the shop on reduced hours. This lasted until the end of June when, gradually, the staff returned to work. PPE was available to all staff coming back and rigorous cleaning of surfaces was essential.

"We managed to all work through the short November lockdown," added Mr House, "but this latest one has resulted in more than half of my staff being furloughed, but we will carry on doing what we do best in these difficult circumstances.

"From comments I have received, I know that customers are extremely glad at the setup we are using at the moment. They feel safe enough to shop with us, and also, the staff feel that they are working in a safe environment. I can't ask for much more than that.

"Customers are also glad that they can get exactly what they need and we offer good, sound advice to back up the products we are selling.

"I am extremely fortunate to be classed as an essential business, thus being legally allowed to trade during the past two and the current lockdown.

"I do however feel for any business that is struggling at the moment and hope that they will survive when we come out the other side of this pandemic.

"The news that there are at least two vaccines currently being used to help the fight against coronavirus is something that lifts the hearts of people and gives them hope that better things are to come."

Dodgson's of Dorchester Ltd will be open from 9am to 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, 9am to 2pm Wednesday to Saturday and closed on Sundays.

For more information, visit Dodgson's of Dorchester Ltd's Facebook page

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