A family business at the heart of a community

Paul's grandfather opened the butcher's shop after the Second World War. Generations later, the Graves family are still behind the counter, serving families they've known for years. And those relationships extend well beyond the shop.

Every morning, Paul puts on his bike helmet and delivers newspapers around Briston. Because he knows the people on his round, he also knows their routines. If somebody doesn't appear when they normally would, he notices. And he checks they're alright.

The shop receives calls asking whether someone can pop round to check on an elderly resident who has fallen, needs help or simply hasn't been seen. There's no formal community programme behind it. It's simply what they do.

More than a butcher's shop

The Graves family's story is about what can happen when a family business stays in one place for generations.

Customers become familiar faces. Familiar faces become relationships. And gradually, a shop becomes part of the history of the place it serves.

This is a film about family business and village life in Norfolk.

But more than anything, it's about the quiet, everyday relationships that make a community feel like home.

Explore more films about the relationships that shape us.