A first hand look inside a Whitehaven business at Christmas

Or was it a bright idea after all? 

I volunteered to help in Richardson's, one of the smallest and busiest shops in the town stores at this time of the year, and here's how I got on. 

As I walked into the store I was taken aback by the number of customers and how busy the staff were. 

Gerard Richardson, who owns the shop, was being helped by his assistant Louise and a man called Aaron who had come in to help over the festive period. 

The shop sells a range of fine wines and spirits along with coffee, chocolate, biscuits, and a range of other items. 

People seemed to buy everything that the store had to offer but hampers seemed to be one of the most popular items. 

Gerard preparing one of the hampers (Image: Newsquest)

Customers could choose what they wanted in them, and Gerard would hand-wrap them himself giving them their own unique touch. 

I had a go at wrapping one hamper myself and whilst I struggled at first, I seemed to eventually get the hang of it. 

One of the hampers made up and ready for a customer to buy (Image: Newsquest)

One of the unique things about the store and something that makes it that little bit quirkier is that they roast their own coffee. 

I was shown how the machine worked and given the opportunity to fill it up with fresh coffee beans ready to be roasted. 

Our reporter Brandon Mawson putting coffee into the roaster (Image: Newsquest)

After a while, they came out and turned from a dull white colour to a rich brown. 

Whilst I was in the shop someone came to buy coffee which was weighed out and ground to request. 

The freshly roasted coffee beans (Image: Newsquest)

It was shocking to see how many people came into the store at what Gerard described as the busiest time of the year. 

Throughout the time I spent on the shop floor there never seemed to be a dull moment and as one customer left another would come through the doors. 

I was told that shortly before I arrived there had been queues of around twelve people waiting to get inside.

Gerard with two bottles of wine, gift wrapped and ready for the customer to buy (Image: Newsquest)

Personally, I found that the experience helped me to get into the Christmas spirit and to be given a first-hand look at how a small, independent, business operated at Christmas time was a truly one-of-a-kind day at the office.