While Odd Bins is not technically an independent, Mike is a huge part of the local business community and so it felt right to include him. He cares so much about the community and has been chairing the local Traders Association meetings, trying to help business in our area. The wine shop is a lovely place to visit, Mike and Ste both offer a lot of knowledge and advice for selecting wines, including wine pairings. Mike has been arranging wine tasting nights with The Reader at Calderstones park, which were sadly interrupted with lockdown. He has a talent for words as well as a great sense of humour. Mike says:

“These businesses are not just about shopping. They are the warp and weft of the community; its eyes and ears and lungs, its memories, ghosts and hopes. its immutable roots and its rising sap, its dowagers and its whippersnappers. Somewhere you can gossip and laugh and banter, where you can pick brains and read minds, where the past and the future greet you on the way into the warm heart and open arms of the present. And you can do some shopping as well, if you wish…”

By Kat Monaghan