Local lives
The life and times of Tony Hassan, who has worked at the traditional hardware store David Penton & Son for 26 years
Interview: Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu
Images: Orlando Gili
The shop is actually called David Penton & Son, but most people know us as Penton’s. We stock everything from plumbing goods to sewing kits to sweeping brushes to paint to timber. Our customers include builders and local tradespeople, as well as residents who might pop in for light bulbs or a handful of screws. The many regulars include the local maintenance teams, who come in up to 10 times a day. They go from job to job and aren’t always able to carry all their materials around with them, so they come in and get whatever they need.
Penton’s is often referred to as an Aladdin’s cave. We try to have a bit of everything because you never know who’s going to walk through the door or what they’ll be after—they might need a tube of Polyfilla, they might need a laptop brush—so we have to cover everything. And if we don’t have the item on our shelves then we’ll do our very best to source it for them, or even point them in the direction of another shop.
My average day consists of anything from serving customers to cutting keys to ordering stock to writing invoices. At Penton’s, we pride ourselves on giving traditional customer service. The problem with many shops now is it’s all self-service and there’s nobody around to help you. Giving old-school service means listening to our customers and advising them, rather than just pointing and going: “It’s over there.” When a customer comes in and asks for glue, for example, then we’ll ask them what they’re sticking to ensure we sell them the right glue for the job. Helping customers and solving their problems is what I love most about my job.
You develop a relationship with your regulars over the years and get to know them by name. They trust your advice and that what you’re selling them is the correct product, otherwise they wouldn’t keep coming back. If you sell them the most expensive item rather than the best one for the job, you’ll make that sale but they won’t come back again. Sometimes locals just come in for advice, so this job isn’t always about selling—it’s about giving a service.
Oldest in Marylebone
David Penton & Son was established in 1841 and is the oldest shop on Marylebone Lane. Customers often mention it when they come in. We also get so many people asking for “fork handles” in reference to the famous Two Ronnies sketch. We actually sell fork candles—four metal forks with holders for birthday candles – so we are able to say: “Yes, there they are.” We decided to get them made for the shop and they’ve become a very popular seller.
When I started working here 26 years ago, Marylebone wasn’t exactly run down but it certainly wasn’t desirable, so what’s happened in the area over the last 15 years or so has been amazing. It’s brought lovely restaurants and shops to the area and really made it a go-to destination. Everybody talks about Marylebone these days, but before I started here I’d barely heard of the place. I’d seen Marylebone station on a Monopoly board, but that was about it. I think everybody knows it now.
I grew up in Stoke Newington and have always lived in Hackney. Back then, Stoke Newington was very different to how it is now and the area where I lived as a teenager was known as the Bronx. It was quite tough and run down, but now it is highly desirable. House prices have gone up, the shops are lovely and Clissold Park is one of the most beautiful parks in London. These days everybody wants to be in Stoke Newington. It was the opposite when I was a kid—people couldn’t wait to get out.
As a young boy I was into football—and that was it. My mum used to say: “All he does is live and breathe football, nothing else.” I’d get up in the morning, grab a ball and be out all day playing with my friends. I became a Tottenham Hotspur supporter when they were relegated in 1977. I liked the way that Glenn Hoddle played. I didn’t support the team at first—it was the player I liked. I’ve had years of abuse for supporting Spurs, because being from Stoke Newington all my friends are Arsenal fans, but I’ve learnt to live with it.
I played football for my school, several Sunday league teams and then for Enfield Town as a semi-professional, but I suffered an injury and couldn’t continue at that level. I still carried on playing Sunday league football but my playing days as a semi-pro were over.
Man of the match
I decided to get into coaching children. I coached a team up in Islington called Hawks Athletic. We were actually sponsored by the Caldesi restaurant, which back then was opposite our shop on Marylebone Lane. Out of that team we produced two professional footballers who are still playing— Anthony Wordsworth at AFC Wimbledon and Alfie Potter, who plays for Billericay Town. Alfie once famously scored a goal for Havant & Waterlooville in their FA Cup fourth round match against Liverpool. He was man of the match and got Steven Gerrard’s top.
Hawks Athletic were such a successful team that the scouts used to come and watch us. I ended up being approached by ex-Arsenal player Jimmy Carter to come and work for Millwall. I did a bit of coaching and scouting for them, and then became a scout for Charlton while they were in the Premiership.
I always had the desire to set up my own soccer school, to slightly change how children were being coached, to make it more fun and base it more on game play than tactics. And so 12 years ago I started Soccaroonies. Soccaroonies is based in Clissold Park, on the same blades of grass where I first learnt to play football. We are there every Saturday morning and I try to make the kids the best versions of themselves by letting them express themselves through football.
As Soccaroonies, we do a charity event every year. In the past we’ve done events for Mind and Narcolepsy UK and this year we did one for The Crib youth project. I get all my old players from Hawks Athletic to come and play a charity match against a mix of loads of different people. The Soccaroonies play a match beforehand, so they are aware of what the charity is about. We try to instil in them that it’s important to give to the community and help those less privileged than themselves.
I tend to spend the rest of my free time with my children. As a family we like to get out and do things. We go out exploring, walk around and take in everything. One of the things I taught my children from a young age is to look up at everything around you. Every time you go out you should look around, look at the buildings, look at the graffiti, look at what’s going on and look at the new shops that have opened. Too many people walk around with their heads down. But when you look up you see what beautiful things there are around you. One of the things I teach the children at Soccaroonies is that there’s tunnel vision, where you just look straight ahead, and there’s funnel vision, where you look at what’s around you. Do that, and you’ll see something different every time.