Everything for the Home at BIA

BIA has a long history and an even longer list of goods in stock, which broadly come under the heading of household goods — but does that include lead soldiers, or Harbour country clothing, which are also found there? There are lit erally thousands of items on dis play in the big shop, which has been in business since 1946, al though the family's roots in the hardware trade go back to the 1880s when A.Ferrary sold guns,ammu nition, cement, incandescent bulbs for electric lights and a host of other items.

Although it's been one of my fa vourite shops for 20 years(I always seemed to end up there when I couldn't find what 1 wanted any where else, so nowadays 1 just go straight there) on this occasion 1 wasbeing shown around by Arthur John Ferrary and his son Andrew.

'When we started British Indus trial Agencies just after the war,' said Arthur, who was an anti-air craft gunner during the hostilities and later became Lieutenant Colo nel in charge of the Gibraltar Regi ment,'we had two sides to the busi ness: contracting, and the shop in John Mackintosh Square, when?the Emporium is now.The contracting side was a busy business, but then in 1969 the border closed and over night we lost about 150 Spanish workers - plumbers, electricians, joiners and three professional engi neers. All very good tradesmen but, overnight, gone; and so was the

BIA - If fM itaofvriten else, you'll probably fiM H boro contracting business.'

However, BIA's shop kept on trading, and in the mid-1990s moved to its present location in Irish Town.(You can't miss it; it's the one with all the garden furni ture and porters' trolleys outside). The reluctant move from their 50 year base was due to the expiry of the lease followed by a rocketing rise in the rent.

The present premises had been a supermarket but before that it was a tobacco warehouse whose stock went up in smoke prematurely in a fire in 1934,The premises wore con nected by family to Arthur and son Andrew,so it was a logical place to move to—especially given its size, which BIA's enormous stock needed.

BIA has always concentrated on houseware and are agents and stockists for many well known brands, such as Salter kitchen and bathroom scales. Cole & Mason pepper grinders,Typhoon oriental kitchenware, Victorinox (the Swiss Army Knife people)kitchen knives, and Thermos flasks. Everything from a wooden spoon to a 12v/ mains fridge that holds up to 27 cans of beer.

English garden tools, barbecues ,and charcoal), Ewbank carpet sweepers, electrical fittings, camp ing and beach goods... the list is almost endless.Suffice it to say that if it's for the home but isn't furni ture or carpets then BIA have prob ably got it. There is every modern gadget — firelighters,can openers, whisks, even a cauldron-sized stainless steel cooking pot.

You can get a similar array in the cheap 100 peseta-type shops, but otherwise there is no comparison. 'We only sell quality at a reasonable price;' Andrew emphasised as we walked past clothing dyes,'Any thing else is false economy - Chi nese tools that break as soon as you go to use them; even though they were only 50p a set,that's still 50p wasted. We couldn't sell that sort of stuff.'

Arthur — whose other local mili tary achievements were to help found the Gibraltar Regiment As sociation Club next to the police sta tion, and to have a lifetime collec tion of 22,000 lead soldiers - caught up with us on the tour of the shop, and told me that whilst most of their customers are local people they also have a fair flow of ex-pats from the Costa(like the happy lady who was leaving as I arrived), and they also have a steady number of ex-pats who live in Tangier and come for the British comforts and gadgets that don'texist in Morocco. And, surprisingly, holidaymakers from Madrid who call in before they go home to pick up one of the high quality fairly priced barbecues or a top of the range Barbour jacket for up to £256.

BIA is open in August from 9am to 6.45pm, straight through, Mon days to Fridays — their novel and popular idea ofsummer hours is to work longer days and have Satur days off, and you can pay in any currency or by most credit cards.

For enquiries (they'll probably say'yes,we've got it') phone 75188, fax 72653,or email bia®>gibraltar.gi. And there is an excellent website at www.gibraltar-shopping.com, looking at which reminded me that in December BIA are noted for their range of Christmas trees,lights and other decorations, often including some entertaining novelties.