Donaldsons | Past Tenants | Friends of New Ash Green Village Centre

For the first twenty five years of New Ash Green’s existence, Donaldsons hardware shop was a major contributor to the retail life in the Shopping Centre.

Derek Hillman, the owner, traded with patience and endless enthusiasm.

He originally traded from a single unit at the junction of The Link and The Row but quickly expanded this into a double unit by taking on the adjacent unit when this ceased being the Village Hall.

His friendly nature and that of his wife and staff became a legend in New Ash Green.

If there was a D.I.Y. problem in the village, Donaldsons could be relied upon for a friendly discussion of how it might be solved.

There was also a sense of humour which manifested itself in the window displays and spilled out through the windows into The Row and The Link causing amusement and raising the spirits of those visiting and passing through the Centre.

Donaldsons
Derek demonstrates how it should be done.

	Just one of the many strange window displays - endless teapots! Does anyone know who the lady is? Another favourite display was a window full of nothing but batteries - thousands of them. Derek was very proud of his battery stock - later to become a source of friendly rivalry when Kara’s came along in the mid 80’s.

	*Donaldsons double frontage shop unit.*

*Another likeable character from Donaldsons - always willing to help find a solution to a D.I.Y. problem. We remember he had a Scottish accent but can’t remember his name.*	*Does anyone know his name so we can add it to the web site?* We now have a response from David Brazier, the local Kent County Council Councillor about our request to identify the gentleman in the picture. "The scotsman in Donaldsons was called Tom. He had a history in marine engineering and knew a great deal about triple expansion steam engines, of which there were none in New Ash Green, unfortunately. Subsequent to his retiring B&Q had an advertising campaign called "Ask Tom", although there was, of course, no connection." Our thanks to David for the reply.