WHAT a pleasure it was to read about the Swindon shopkeeper who responded to a would-be robber’s knife threat by showing him a golf club.

Golf is a great game and shopkeeping can be quite stressful, so it’s nice to hear of somebody keeping a club at hand to practice their swing during spare moments.

With a bit of luck, other shopkeepers reading the story will have been inspired to take up golf themselves and keep a club under their own counter.

Of course, golf doesn’t appeal to everybody but there are plenty of other sports and pastimes for shopkeepers and every other good person to choose from.

These hobbies offer a welcome respite from the bustle of a hard-working life and the necessary practice equipment is readily available.

There’s cricket, for example, and baseball – although I’m told that a metal baseball bat is better than a wooden one.

There’s also weightlifting. Conventional barbells and dumbbells can be a little cumbersome in a smallish shop but a couple of half-bricks or even snooker balls in rugby socks make a fine substitute.

If I had a shop, I think I’d be tempted to have lumberjacking as a hobby.

Mind you, I’d be sure to get a petrol chainsaw instead of the less versatile electric kind.