Monday, 2 November 2026 · Perth, PerthshireToday: Rain, then some different rain · Est. whenever

“Scotland's Finest News Source, Allegedly”

Vol. CXII · No. 4,822Late Drizzle EditionPrice: One Tablet
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Obituaries for Shops

THE IRONMONGER, Somewhere Near the Watergate (1901–1989): Sold One Screw at a Time, With Advice

Wooden drawers, brown coats and a man who knew exactly what you needed better than you did.

Old wooden drawers of the kind every ironmonger once had.

Old wooden drawers of the kind every ironmonger once had. Photo: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, “Blists Hill open air museum Ironmonger's shop window display”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

PERTH — We remember a ironmonger of the old type, which sold single screws out of tiny wooden drawers and threw in twenty minutes of advice for free.

“You’d go in for a washer,” a customer recalled. “You’d come out with a washer, a new hinge, a view on the government and a strong suggestion you were doing it wrong.”

It is survived by a lot of half-finished DIY.

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