Night had fallen, and so had inches of snow. It was 21 December 2009 and Deborah Strazza, managing director of the John Lewis department store in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, had just realised what she had to do. The now 56-year-old made her way to the store’s Tannoy system and broadcast an announcement: could the customers and staff remaining in the building please gather in the restaurant? Outside, the roads were frozen and gridlocked and a supermarket delivery lorry had jack-knifed across the car park, trapping the parked cars within. About 50 customers and 50 members of staff were now snowed in at the department store – and they were going to have to stay the night.
In front of the sports section and underneath the thrum of the yellow ceiling lights, employees set to work pulling sheets on to duvets and fluffing pillows on back-to-back rows of display beds. Someone from the electronics department set up a PlayStation to entertain the children as soft animals made their way over from the toy section into the loving arms of younger kids. Deborah made toast and coffee while a few customers popped to a nearby supermarket for toothbrushes and toothpaste (and a bottle of whisky). It was an idle fantasy made real – for many of the children, a dream come true. Except the heating was off.
