
Etcetera
I wonder how many of you will agree that this week’s place is hidden? It’s definitely a Wisbech Gem, but many people have used it regularly for some years!
I will try to entice new customers in to have a look. We can get used to the multiples: supermarkets, cafes, chainstores; we know what we’re getting and are wary of places we haven’t been to before. So let me assure you, Etcetera on York Row (at the end of the High Street) is a really useful shop. It’s “like a little department store” according to a customer. I have used the shop for a while, mainly to buy pegs to make peg dolls! But also for gifts and all the other household products that you just can’t get anywhere else; proper dishwashing mops, door curtains, wooden nail brushes. Old-fashioned, or vintage? These products are still around for a reason – they’re useful, practical and in Etcetera a good price! (You’d pay a lot more for a “vintage style” item in a big department store!) Etcetera also sell a wide range of cooking equipment, cake decorating products, cards and unique gifts including hand-made Russian Dolls and Wisbech homewares and books. They will order products in for you, which is a service you don’t get in most places. They have visitors from abroad return again and again as they love the shop so much – that has to be a recommendation!
The Post Office is well established, certainly better in the town centre than moved away to a superstore, and the café provides a peaceful respite from the busy street – a hidden gem in itself, great menu and lovely patio area.
This all makes Etcetera like a community hub, supporting and working with the town beautifully. As well as running it all with wife Jan and staff, Ray Wicks is a member of organisations that are really strengthening what our town offers to locals and tourists.
For more details of this and other places, go to RedBarnCreative.org.uk . Also details of beginner craft classes and a new club for women in creative businesses.