After serving the local community for more than two decades, this beloved former corner shop in Salford is now up for sale.
And it could be yours for just £2.
Sharon and Stuart’s Kandy Kabin – which was once an old fashioned sweet shop that doubled as community hub on Langworthy Road and served the people of Salford for 26 years – is said to be worth in the region of £175,000, but the owners have chosen the unique method of raffling the commercial premises, with tickets costing a mere £2 each and all legal fees covered.
The family-run corner shop was owned by Stuart and Sharon Smyth, who both sadly died in 2012 and 2018 respectively.
The store closed in 2016 after Sharon started chemotherapy.
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Stuart passed away aged 49, and Sharon was 50 when she lost her battle with esophageal cancer, leaving the business in the hands of their two children Alex and Tom.
Speaking to the MEN on their decision to raffle off the business, the couple’s daughter Alex, 36, said: “My mum and dad owned the property for 28 years, and in 2018 we lost her to cancer. The shop was like her baby [and] my mum has served so many people in the community,
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“The laughing joke was once you entered Sharon’s store, you’d never leave because she kept you talking – It was so much more than your average corner shop.
“Everyone loved it and has so many fond memories of it.”
Alex and Tom – who have been trying to sell the property for years – are not able to take over the family business due to personal commitments and families of their own, and so have made the decision to raffle the property – a method of selling which has become popular during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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“It’s been on the market a while,” Alex added.
“We’ve had six offers fall through and banks aren’t borrowing for commercial mortgages.
“I think some people thought I’d take it on, but I have a young family and already run a business of my own [so] the shop would be a massive commitment.
“I watched a house raffle that happened in Manchester and after watching how successful they’ve been, we figured that we’ve got something additional to offer with the commercial property.”
Selling the property on popular website / app Raffall, the business is described as: “An ideally located commercial shop front with a three bedroom property to the rear and the first floor. To the ground there is a shop front, lounge and modern kitchen, and to the first floor are three bedrooms and a family bathroom.
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“Located very close to Salford Quay/Media City and excellent transport routes into Manchester City Centre.”
With the raffle closing on Saturday 1st January 2022 at 3:30pm (or when the last ticket is sold – whichever is sooner, Alex and Tom hope the lucky winner will be a fellow business owner who can continue serving the community.
“We want anyone that could make it a success for themselves,” Alex said.
“My mum and dad had so much success over the years, so we’d like to see somebody else continue that.”
You can grab your £2 tickets here, and follow the along Kandy Kabin Raffle journey on Facebook here.
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Drivers could be fined for using common ‘thank you gestures’ on UK roads
Emily Sergeant
Motorists are being warned that some common unspoken rules of the road could actually see them hit with a hefty fine.
Given that us Brits are known for our manners and being polite, it has become common practice for drivers across the country to use a number of popular gestures to say thank you to our fellow road users when they give way to us, let us into a junction or lane, or just generally do something to help us out on the road.
A quick wave, thumbs up, or a flash of the headlights takes just a second to do, but the kindness goes a long way and helps to keep the peace.
In fact, when another driver doesn’t say thank you, we tend to think it’s pretty rude.
To prove this point, a new study of UK drivers was conducted by National Tyres and Autocare, and it found that one in five drivers choose to flash their headlights to say thanks, while one in three like to give a classic wave, and then one in six opt for a simple thumbs up.
But did you know that some of these gestures are actually in breach of the Highway Code and could end up landing us in a bit of trouble and see us have to fork out money if we’re caught in the act?
In some cases, fines can rack up as high as £1,000.
Motorists are being warned that some common unspoken rules of the road could see them fined / Credit: Nabeel Syed (via Unsplash)
When it comes to flashing our headlights to say thank you, rule 110 of the Highway Code actually states that we should “only flash headlights to let other road users know that you are there”, and we should not do not flash them to “convey any other message or intimidate other road users”.
Using hazard lights is another common way to say thank you, but again, according to rule 116 of the Highway code: “You must not use hazard warning lights while driving or being towed unless you are on a motorway or unrestricted dual carriageway and you need to warn drivers behind you of a hazard or obstruction ahead.”
It’s stated that we should only use hazard lights “for long enough to ensure that your warning has been observed”, and nothing more.
By far the most common way to say thank you on the road during the daytime is to give a classic wave or thumbs up, but according to rule 160 of the Highway Code, once moving a vehicle you should “drive or ride with both hands on the wheel or handlebars where possible as this will help you to remain in full control of the vehicle at all times”.
It’s common practice for drivers across the UK to use gestures to say thank you / Credit: Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)
It adds: “You may use driver assistance systems while you are driving but make sure you use any system according to the manufacturer’s instructions.”
The latter of these common thank you gestures is the one that could land drivers in the most trouble if caught, as not only can fines rack up to £1,000, but being in breach of having proper control of your vehicle could also mean discretionary disqualification, and three penalty points on your licence as well.
A Manc photographer is taking beautiful on-the-spot portraits around the city
Danny Jones
There are about a hundred and one brilliant photographers taking pictures around the city centre every day, but most of them tend to focus on the macro scale of things — snapping our lovely architecture, long shots of our rain-soaked streets, parades of morning commuters and so on.
So, when we stumbled across this lovely little TikTok account showcasing some of the most simple but beautiful portraits you’ll see anywhere online, all taken around the streets of our beloved city, it understandably caught our attention.
Manc photographer Scott James, or ‘certigrammer‘ as he goes by online, makes his living doing everything from weddings and commercials shoots to music videos, taking photos for Sheffield United and more, but we happened to come across a more recent pastime of his: taking pictures of strangers.
People are clearly chiming with his casual, understated and fundamentally wholesome style. So are we, and it’s not hard to see why.
Perhaps most impressively, it seems like he’s only been at this particular kind of photography for a little over a week and is already pulling in thousands of well-earned views across his social media.
As you can see, there is a very candid nature to his approach; he snaps people just going about their business and even when he stops people on the spot and asks if they’d be willing to pose, he still manages to capture that impromptu and organic vibe.
From happy couples and randomers on the street, to complimenting an old boy on his style, he photographs people from all walks of life.
Whether it’s Northern Quarter, the more upmarket surround of King Street, or the backstreets just round the corner from the Arndale, you also get a good feel for the city we know and love.
Best of all, even in such a short space of time, Scott has managed to provide a wonderful cross-section of Manchester‘s cosmopolitan nature. That’s what it’s all about.
While this city is a veritable rainbow of colour, some of the shots we enjoy the most are his black and white photos. There’s just something about them.
It’s hard to pick a favourite but if we had to pick one, it might have to be his picture of this older gentleman about town, simply because it looks like it really made his day. You love to see it.
Emily Sergeant -
11th January 2021 
