Edition 8
w e n he
T
Friday, January 8, 2021
Blackmore Vale
Fortnightly
FREE
TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Michael Farrow at the Blackmore Vale Filling Station and inset, the garage in the 90s
It’s been a gas – but we can’t carry on By Steve Keenan sport@blackmorevale.net
The Farrow family have hung up their fuel hoses at the legendary Blackmore Vale Filling Station after 55 years in charge. In an age of DIY and selfservice, BVFS customers
always found attendants on hand to help fill the tank, check the oil, water and tyres and wash the windscreen. But with costs rising and customer numbers declining, owner Michael Farrow has turned off the pumps and shut up shop. “The volume of passengers
recently has just made it uneconomic for us to open,” he said. “Our customers were primarily elderly or disabled people. It was a big thing for us and it has been a pleasure to serve them – but the throughput was just not making sense. I had to make
a decision because of the wages.” His four staff have been paid off but Michael is not leaving the Sherborne Causeway site, which his parents Fred and Joan bought in 1966 as a filling station and adjoining café. n Turn to pages 72 and 73
