In the blue corner we have Barclays Bank, you know, the bank that was fined a record £284million for rigging Libor rates, allegedly laundered FIFA bribes and had its knuckles rapped by the FSA for mis-selling financial products to small business.
And in the red corner we have the Muswell Hill institution: Andrew's, the Jewellery Exchange, 225, the antique shop, the junk shop ... it goes by many names, but I think we'd all agree it's a local treasure.
What I didn't know until I read the petition outside this shop, is that it only exists because when Barclays wanted to expand sometime back in the Seventies or Eighties, long before a lot of us lived here.
In those days the council used to protect the high street and refused to let Barclays take out over another shopfront.
So a compromise was struck which involved splitting the shop next to the branch so Barclays could expand behind the scenes, but Muswell Hill retained a shop, albeit a very small one.
Now, for some reason Barclays is trying to change the lease to remove some of the legal protections Andrew now has, back-date some bitsof the and insert a break clause which makes it easier to chuck him out.
Why?
There are only two reasons why they would want this. Barclays is planning to close the branch and wants their tenant out.
Or they want to take expand and take over his shopfront.
Replies
Now that is a relief - thanks for letting us know. In my experience, the people who run this shop give good advice (and pay decent prices) if you wish to sell any bits of old jewellery. Or if you have an item that they aren't necessarily interested in themselves, they will suggest people you can go to who may well be interested.
I agree, the Jewellery Exchange is a great little shop - I always stop to look at what he's got on display. Didn't know about this - has he or somebody else got a petition going?