S E Waite & Son Variety Store

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When I first walked into S.E. Waite & Son at Norwood, many years ago, as a short-cut from a car park at its rear through to The Parade, I was struck by the odd selection of items available for sale.



This family business, started in the 1920s and now in its fourth generation, has over 230 individual suppliers for its store content.

Having begun its life as a second-hand furniture store, it has gradually expanded its stocked lines and, along the way, has evolved into its current eclectic range of merchandise.



Now the furniture is new, and it also has hardware, kitchen-ware and a variety of bits and pieces. I have purchased items as diverse as drill bits and casserole dishes here. Someone might pop in for a photo frame, but also leave with a DVD rack they spotted down the back of the shop. Need one of those things, whatever they are called, that you pop up like an umbrella and sit over a plate to keep the flies off? Well, you can get one of those, too.



It's the kind of place you just can't help browsing in, and the seemingly endless supply of knick-knacks is fascinating. And browse people do, wandering among the choc-a-bloc shelves or, in the same way I had paid my first visit, taking that short-cut but noticing something on the way through and thinking, "I might just have a look at that on the way back."

And that something might be an Esky, or an oven mitt, or a set of drawers for the bedroom. You may spot an unusual lampshade, or a doll, or a wicker basket. There are frying pans, flower vases, and fruit bowls. Candles, cake tins, and coffee pots.

Similar to an old-style country general store, there just are not too many shops like this around the place - a local bazaar. That, if nothing else, makes it worth popping in for a look around.

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