'It means the world to be able to see her' – why Sarah loves working with her mum

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who's celebrating – like Kat Clark from our Isle of Wight store who works with her daughter Sarah Thompson and is one of the 17 mums at the store who work alongside their children.

Sarah, who's general merchandising section leader, says it's a treat whenever she's able to say hello to Kat at the store, particularly as it's been the only way they've been able to see each other in person during the lockdown.

She said: "My partner George and I bought our first home together in December, so I came out of Mum's bubble then. And since then we only see each other at work.

"We work on different departments, so unless I need to go to the checkouts I don't get to see her, so it's been quite hard.

"We're having to make do with smiles and two-metre distanced air hugs and we try to catch up as much as we can whenever we're in at the same time, though I'm desperate for a proper mummy hug.

"Mother's Day is going to be strange – though unlike last year when it was the start of the lockdown at least now we're starting to think about life after restrictions ease.

"Mum's always smiling behind her mask and it means the world being able to see her. She's always so positive. I can always count on my mum to lift my spirits, and just knowing she's here at work really helps.

"I like to have a wander past her till and will give Mum a wave and she'll tell whoever she's with, 'That's my youngest daughter and I'm so proud of her.'

"I thought when I moved here that it would be embarrassing working together but really it just makes me so proud."

Sarah, who's 27, says she has a lot to thank Asda for, as it's where she met her partner George Allen, who works in the store's warehouse, and her promotion to section leader meant that could afford to buy their first home together. She moved to the store from London three years ago, and Kat's been there since the store first opened.

Sarah says Kat is an inspiration for her as she tries to give her children – nine-year-old Tyler and Amelia, who's four – the best possible start in life.

She said: "Mum's taught me that every moment counts and not to sweat the small stuff. I have the best memories with Mum and it's made me reflect on my own life. We were always doing things and sharing experiences – and that's what I want to give Tyler and Amelia too."

The store's community champion Clare Jones says it's lovely to see how much joy it gives Kat and Sarah to work together.

She said: "Kat's a very bubbly person anyway but you can see the smiles they give each other when they're outside or the look in their eye when they're inside. It's wonderful to see how much it means to them to be together.

"We've always said it's like a family here, and because we're an island lots of children don't tend to move too far away, which means that for lots of us it's an actual family too!"

Others mums at the store who work with their children include Tammy Hall and her daughter Jaimie, who are both home shoppers and joined the store during the pandemic.

This is home shopping section leader Sarah with her mum Carolyn, who works at our petrol station. Clare said: "Sarah joined us as part of out family and friends recruitment drive at the beginning of the pandemic. They are always smiling whenever they are together!"

Front end colleague Kaysa Snape joined the store in 2020 and works alongside her son Shaun, who works with chilled produce, and has been at the store since it opened in 2017.

Here's bakery colleague Stef Cassford with her daughter Charlie. Stef has been at store since 2017 and Charlie joined us last March.

Our next Asda mum is Sammie Mumford, who's our George and general merchandising manager. She's been with us since 2017 and works alongside her son Keean Harris, who joined us at the start of the first lockdown and works on ambient produce.

And here's our home shopping section leader Nix Dominey with her son Jack, who has just joined as service crew in home shopping.

Pictured below is Lorna Cotton, who's a George colleague and has been here since 2017, along with her son Liam Denness who has just started as a driver.

Also working as a driver is Karen Hall, whose son Dan has just come back to work for us as service crew in the home shopping hub.

Another mother and son duo at the store is counter section leader Tina Clift and her son Danny, who joined as a driver last summer.

And here's Denise Cooke, who has worked on chilled since the store opened, and who works with her her daughter Claire, who's a home shopper:

Our counters colleague Sarah Foss and her daughter Chelsea Mealing have both worked at the store since last year:

Here's Jackie Reynolds, who's one of the store's checkout colleagues, who works with her son Sean Williams, who's section leader in home shopping and has been at the store since 2019:

Not pictured, but very much an integral part of the store's extended family, are training coordinator Karen Tizzard, whose son Adrian who is a porter and counters colleague; admin manager Samantha Jennings and her son Stephen Brookes, who joined us as a driver last summer; Amber Boon and her son Richard Norman, who both joined the store in 2020 and work in home shopping; and Trudie Pheasant and her son Luke Warde, who work nights at the store.

A very happy Mother's Day to all the Asda mums here and across the country!