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Tom Henshaw´s Winning smile has contributed to his success Tom always enjoyed sunny climates
Tomorrow The True Story
BY SOPHIE SADLER
As the Tomorrow Team celebrates the 100th edition, we unveil the true story behind its glossy covers. With a long list of characters, plot twists and cliffhangers, it is the Western Algarve’s very own soap opera. Still, there is no doubt the key to its high ratings is its leading man, Tom Henshaw. It may surprise many to learn that media mogul, Tom, began his career in furniture in Stoke on Trent. His company, Henshaws, dealt in retail, manufacturing and removals and was where the ZIT chair was conceived. This dazzling new concept involved picking the elements of a chair off a wrack including the frame, material and colour. It was launched to the market with a glitzy party at the Ritz Hotel, hosted by renowned TV presenter and newsreader, Jan Leaming. Why you may wonder have you never heard of it? "It was a disaster, we sold nothing," explains Tom. Unperturbed Tom went on to import polished wood furniture from Taiwan, which he discovered wasn’t kiln dried and so in the damp English climate absorbed water. This sadly resulted in the closure of the Henshaws furniture empire.
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Like every hero, Tom faced adversity with a smile and as the saying says, you can’t keep a good man down. After a spell working for Courts Furniture, he was posted overseas to Bali and then Fiji. He had to return to the UK after a coup in Fiji. Still, the expat lifestyle rubbed off on Tom and together with his now exwife, Margaret, they decided they wanted to live abroad. As fate would have it, Margaret’s daughter was living in Lagos with a boyfriend, and so they decided to move to the Algarve and bought a house in Bensafrim. After a period as a labourer, he lost a lot of weight, but decided he needed a different challenge and applied for the Sales Manager position at the Algarve Resident. This began his career in the Algarve media world, and he has never looked back. When Sheena Rawcliffe returned to the Resident after a spell working at AFPOP, Tom’s position became redundant. He worked for a short time on the Portugal News and then moved onto work on the Apolonia catalogue.
Flyer from Tom's furniture company, Henshaws, where the ZIT chair was conceived.
