Chiswick Pays Tribute To The 'Wonderful' Mr & Mrs Lad

Customers bid a very fond farewell to Bedford Corner newsagent

This Christmas will see the end of an era at Bedford Corner as Mr and Mrs Lad shut up shop to retire. With so many people wanting to bid him a fond farewell, we thought it a fitting tribute to publish Memories of Mr Lad.

For more than 30 years Mr Lad, whose real name is Kishur Mistry but assures us that Mr Lad is just fine, has been the smiling face that greets men women and children alike in his Chiswick newsagents. However, due to the expiry of his lease, he has decided to call it a day. He will be greatly missed by everyone.

Below are tributes to a couple who will be missed by everyone who had the pleasure to meet them.

Neris, Richard and Dulcie Johnson: We don't really know what we will do without Mr Lad's cheerful face greeting us every morning when we pop in to buy our papers. When my sister came to visit and I wasn't able to get back in time for her, Mr Lad gave her my front door key. Always so polite and charming. Always so helpful. He's seen our daughter grow up and she's learnt to count with him. Chiswick really won't be the same without them both and we'll miss them very much.

Annie and Tim Hutchinson: We came to Bedford Park almost 30 years ago and the idea of the Lad family no longer being there, smiling and asking after our children and later greeting our grandchildren is very sad indeed. My parents lived in the area too and towards the end of my father's life I used to get his lottery ticket from Mr. Lad every week. When he died I continued the habit, with Mr. Lad encouraging me to keep using 'Daddy's numbers' as he was sure they would win for me in the end. I am still waiting but it was always fun joking about it with him! We wish them all the very very best for the future.

Liz Shanahan: Mr Lad is one of Chiswick's treasures and will be sorely missed. Although my parents only came to visit from Ireland once, Mr Lad has never forgotten my father, in particular, and always ask after him. He is one of Chiswick's most considerate gentlemen and will be sorely missed. I have been abroad most of this year and hope to see him before he retires to say farewell personally.

Pat and Michael White, their children, Sam, Joe and Henry White, and their grandchildren, Josh (6) and Bella (3): Will all miss the Lads whom we have known since they first arrived to open their business in the distant days when the sun always shone on Green Day and the pound was still worth at least 50p. They have been unfailingly friendly and kind. In return we have not always bought as much from their shop as we might have done, having milk and papers delivered at home. But Mr and Mrs Lad's fax machine, photocopier and other high tech innovations of the past three decades have always been a comfort in emergencies. Their fireworks have enabled our young to experiment with danger every November without losing a single limb between them. As for their supply of sweeties, crisps, soft drinks, chewing gum and other temptations, sensibly located at child-eye level, they are as popular with the grandchildren as they were with their parents. Chiswick's dentists will miss the Lads too!

Zillah Bingley: The end of an era, I do hope retirement is not taking you too far from the community you helped create! I lived in Bedford Park from 1978 (2 yrs old) and knew Mr and Mrs Lad at both the post office, where I proudly opened my first Post Office Savings account, and the newsagent where I snuck out to buy sweets without my parents knowing. Still a Chiswick resident, however long I leave it between visits to the corner shop, with such an eye for faces, Mr Lad (as he will always be to me) remembers exacly the child I was (not always a good thing!) and, as an adult what I was doing when I was last in the shop. Particular occasions that I and my family had cause to be grateful to them was when my aging grandmother, suffering from senile dementia, would take a wander and they would take her in, give her a cup of tea and then bring her home. That's what I call a community! Good luck and enjoy your retirement, you will be sorely missed.

Mr & Mrs Rogers: Our tribute to one of the warmest and kindest shop owners in Chiswick: We have lived in Chiswick for nearly 20 years and Mr Lad will be really missed by our family. Our children used to go to Mr Lad's shop every Friday when they were younger to buy their weekly sweets. He always made a point of making sure they got the right amount of sweets for their weekly allowance. Great mathematics lesson! Even when the children were older he kept a keen interest in their progress at school and University and our boys loved having a chat with him when they passed by. I wish Mr Lad and his family all the best for the future and I'm sure we will see him in Chiswick soon in a different disguise!

Angie Bray MP: Mr. Lad has played a very important role in my life since we moved into South Parade. He has not only kicked off my day(s) with a usually cheerful word but he is also a pretty useful weather forecaster and that has proved handy on more than one occasion! Also nobody knows better than Mr. Lad about what is going on locally. As well as selling me my newspapers, stamps, envelopes, milk, biscuits, bread and all sorts, he and Mrs. Lad have always been kind enough to take in parcels for me when I couldn’t wait in at home for them. They play a major role in our local community and they are going to leave a huge hole when they leave us. I know they deserve a rest after 30 or more years of service to our neighbourhood but is there any chance, even now, that Mr. Lad might change his mind?!"

Doug, Katherine, Isabella and Charlie: Sad to see the retirement of another local character. Where now for my daily dose of Man City propaganda?

Andrew Kaza: As a Chiswick resident since 1994 and a Bedford Park local between 1996 and 2003, I read with much sadness about the departure of Mr. Lad from the neighbourhood. He (and his brother?) have been such a friendly fixture both there in his shop and at the former post office in South Parade - they certainly earn the description of individuals as "local institutions". I have no doubt there is not a nicer news agent anywhere in the UK and esp. rare amongst news agents was his friendly attitude even towards school children (usually the bane of every news agent's existence). My daughters (now 10 & 12) have had many a smile and pleasantries exchanged while choosing a sweet and enduring their parental unit's browsing urges amongst the periodicals. Though he looks far too young for it, here's to a very happy retirement for Mr. Lad!

Alison Miller: One of the highlights of the Bedford Park Green days has always been Mrs Lad’s samosas – the cry goes up as they are ceremoniously carried across the road and they are always delicious and sell out at once.

Mike Dixon (now of Sunset Beach Oahu, Hawaii): What sad news.... well Mr Lad you deserve some time off and a sleep in. But you will miss all of us I am sure. Of all the things I miss most out here in Hawaii is the morning walk to the news agents for the papers and a greeting. Aloha and good luck.

Richard Millar: The closure of the Bedford Park Corner shop will be a great loss, not just for the loss of a convenient newsagent selling all the basics you need, but much more for the warm welcome and friendly smile you always receive from Kishur and his wife. They are two of the nicest people in the Bedford Park area, always interested in what is going on, quietly serving their community and going much further than is required to provide a real service; helpful to strangers who call to ask the way, sharing regulars’ sporting enthusiasms alongside Kishur’s own support of Manchester City. We have seen their daughters grow up and progress through schooling and university. They will all be much missed and their departure will mark the end of an era for us who live in Bedford Park.

Ian Luciani: Great contributor to the community despite robbing my late father of his pools money for 20yrs. I have said my goodbye verbally, but I forgot to say that I really do hope Arsenal finish above Man City.

Richard & Anna Cuthbertson (now living near Henley-on-Thames): For over 20 years while we lived in Woodstock Road, Mr Lad, his wife and brother who ran the post office were an inspiration to us. Hard working, super friendly, always ready to help others, true "pillars of local society". They came to the UK and made a real success of their lives in every respect, an inspirational example of what hard work and the right attitude can achieve. Our thanks for those years Mr Lad and we wish you and your family every success and happiness in your retirement - but we're sure you'll still keep very busy!

Martine Biddle: Mr Lad, in all the years I've known him, has never looked miserable. His cheerful face was one of the joys of entering his shop. He was the first face I saw having had emotional visits to the vet next door and he made it more bearable. Bedford Corner simply wont be the same without him.

Alex and Antonio Toscano, Marina and Gaby Vear: As a resident of Chiswick for over 26 years I would like to add my affection and thanks to Mr. Lad. My two daughters went to Chiswick and Bedford Park school along with his girls and nephew. His hop was always a port of call at drop off and collection time, he was kind and courteous at all times, took trouble to get to know you and your children and thereafter never failed to ask about them. He is an example of what David Cameron means by the Big Society – a truly active member of the community who raised service and shop keeping to a much greater level – his shop was a place of safety, a point of reference, his unfailing good humour was especially welcome and he will be extremely missed. Bedford Corner is know by us as “Mr. Lad’s” and I think it should be renamed “Lad’s Corner” in tribute to both Mr. Lad’s. We wish you well and thank you.

R&P: Dear Messrs Lad, you have both been linchpins of our our local community for so long that we shall be bereft of your kindness and smiling faces to welcome and deal with our problems and lives. One so remembers postman Lad who cared so well for pensioners and asked why they had not turned up - true pastoral care - not about today. The Lad brothers and their charming wives have added so much to all our lives THANK YOU SO MUCH and please come back and see us - we love you and wish you so much happiness in whatever you choose for the future

Jill Nissen: My fond memories of Mr.Lad and his lovely family are almost outweighed by those of my granddaughters. They live in Northumberland, and on coming to visit us in Bedford Park from being very small up to a mere 3 yrs ago when we moved to Grove Park, they insisted that we always HAD to visit the CORNER SHOP. It was part of their holiday. They live buried in the country an there is no such thing as a corner shop. And we had, undoubtedly, the very best one in the UK. Thank you, Mr. Lad. Happy memories for us and hopefully lots for you.

Raf Goovaerts: As a relative newcomer to the area, I have only recently started to pick up my FT in the morning at Mr Lad’s and it has been a real pleasure to have my first morning conversation with him before having breakfast next door at Darcau’s. He will be missed and we wish him best of luck.

Jenny and Ian Davidson: We never imagined Chiswick without Mr Lad. He has done so much more than sell newspapers. He knows us all - our children, our good news and our bad. He has never, ever, grumbled about the immensely long hours he's done for so many decades. He has always kept to his mantra - "as long as you've got your health, what is there to grumble about.'' Mr Lad has been the friendly face of Bedford Corner as long as we can remember. Buying newspapers will not be the same without him. We send Mr Lad and his family all the very best wishes for a long and happy retirement.

Phoebe and Ken Woollam: It is so, so sad that the Lad family is finally bowing out of our lives. How will we all manage without them? First the post office closed with all that meant to us and now we are to lose Mr and Mrs "Newsagent" Lad. They have been so much part of our lives since our children were little and they always ask about how they're getting on. I do hope the whole family will keep in touch with Bedford Park especially at Green Days.

Georgiana, Robert, Joe and Olivia Carter: What an immense loss to the community. One of those rare families (remember the wonderful service at the Post Office aswell?) who somehow managed to bring a community together just by being there, giving a solid, safe and welcoming presence in the area, particularly for the children. Mr. Lad and his corner shop formed part of our lives when we lived near the shop; ‘a piece of history’ as my son said. Apart from selling everything you could possibly need, he and his wife were never too busy to take time over the children and to have a chat. It is so sad to be losing that and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank them for providing such an amazing unforgettable service for the past goodness knows how many years and to wish them and their daughters all the very best for the future.

Mike & Sylvie Rivers: Our first home after getting married in 1978 was the lovely flat above the Vet and Mr.Lad's. We used to pop down for milk and a paper on a regular basis and were always met with a friendly hello from whichever member of the family happened to be in the shop. We moved to Acton in '81, but as both our children went to Chiswick & Bedford Park School we still used to buy the odd item when we picked the boys up from school. As the boys grew up we did not have much cause to be in the area and it was many years before we returned when taking our cat to the next door veterinary surgery. Much to our surprise Mr.Lad recognised me immediately and asked about our boys welfare. Amazing...what a great example of not only serving the community, but being very much a part of it. Enjoy your retirement. You truly deserve the rest!!

If you would like your tribute, memories or farewell to Mr Lad included in the article, please email editor@chiswickw4.com.

December 21, 2010