By Mary Collins

Much has changed since Albert Clough founded his laundry on Sunte Avenue in 1934. Not only has the area changed significantly but, through a series of reincarnations, the laundry became a general store, competing with the likes of Tremaine’s in Lindfield. It later added a Post Office and evolved into a delicatessen and, more recently, a wholefood store. Whatever its guise, it has been a cornerstone of village life for 85 years.

Mark Clough, Albert’s grandson, is now in charge, having taken over the business in 2012 from his father David. Now in his 80s, David still helps out in the shop a few times a week. Mark says of his father: “He is remarkable and after 55 years he still loves being here – he will never give up and I will never be able to catch him up!”

Amiably chipping in on this interview, David is full of wonderful anecdotes about the shop’s former days under his own father’s management and when he ran the shop with his friends Ernie and Norman, and recalls: “My father was so hard up he only ever had very limited stock so dotted one of each can on shelves around the shop.”

Chatting more about the shop’s history, Mark says: “It certainly had a colourful past and has long been a wonderful hub for the community. My grandfather and father built up the business by delivering food to residents around the area – the business thrived and by the 90s they were making 400 deliveries a week – they were like the Ocado of their day!”

[full article printed in December 2019 Lindfield Life issue]