When Kathiravan Ramajayam took over running Ablewell Convenience Store and Jet forecourt, he had quite a task ahead of him. The site in Walsall near Birmingham had a reputation for card cloning, its shop offer was way out of date and people in the area preferred to shop at the cut-price local supermarkets. Added to this, Ramajayam was living in London and had very little experience of the forecourt industry.

As the successful partnership between Marks and Spencer and BP reached its centenary last month with the opening of the 100th Simply Food concept in a BP Connect store, the oil company announced a potentially exciting development, which could see the M&S brand installed across many dealer forecourts.

On September 23 Scottish retailer Jean Allardyce will go before her local licensing board to fight to retain the alcohol licence at her forecourt. And despite 30 years in the business, she believes this will be one of her hardest fights yet. And worryingly, it's one she says many of her fellow retailers in the area have already given up on.

Total has not looked back since calling time on its long-running Tops promotion 18 months ago, and believes its current creative programme of short-term promotions is proving far more effective than its loyalty scheme in driving up sales and capturing the interest of motorists.

The lorry driver has a worried look on his face, will his truck fit under the low canopy on the Esso the forecourt?

June 6 will be a big day in the Dearing household. It will mark the end of an era for Mike and Julie as they hand over the keys of the service station which they have nurtured to success for the past 14 years. Following much discussion with close family, including their 14-year-old son Joshua,

Having a Tesco Express open just down the road from your site would have most independent retailers running for the hills. But not Rocky Leach. Rather than sit back and watch the competition start chipping away at his business, he started to make changes at his West Yorkshire site and show that - just like his Hollywood namesake - he wasn't going down without a fight.

Keith Mowbray is one of the old school petrol retailers. Modern technology may have changed the industry almost beyond recognition since he first started selling fuel, but Keith doesn't believe in mobile phones, the internet or email. Walking into his office at his site is a bit like stepping back in time

Phil Tout knows that stocking his store's shelves with healthier products equals one thing - healthier sales. When Phil decided to knock down his Esso forecourt in Nailsea, north Somerset, and build a much bigger and more modern version, increasing the amount of fresh and premium food and drink was a priority. And the 4,000 sq ft Budgens store, which opened in November, has certainly not

A bigger presence in petrol retailing and on-site convenience stores is at the heart of a continuing strategy of growth and consolidation announced last month by Dennis Woods, chief executive of Petrol Express, part of the GNE Group plc.

The US town of Gainsville is all but invisible from the Lee Highway, the main artery which takes commuters between their jobs in the business hub of Washington DC and their homes in the rolling countryside of Virginia.

When a fire destroyed Brian Charlton's rural site two years ago he was left with a dilemma. After a decade in the business, should he just pack up and take early retirement or should he take the plunge and rebuild?

This time last year Pump Hill Service Station in Clacton, Essex, was in danger of becoming yet another statistic in the growing toll of forecourts that have gone out of business in recent years.

Motorway forecourts are always thought to be a different kettle of fish compared with traditional service stations. They have a captive audience after all - there's no quick way off a motorway if you're in dire need of fuel, a break or any other kind of emergency, and their reputation for astronomical fuel prices is legendary.

Brother and sister, Babu and Vijaya Sivarajah, run the Aylesford Service Station on the outskirts of Maidstone in Kent. It's on a busy road that runs onto the M20. There are many industrial units nearby, plus a huge Waitrose distribution centre.

The Car Wash Campaign Group got under way in London with its first meeting last month, with independent retailer David Charman at its helm as chairman. But the organisation fundamental to its formation was the Association of Convenience Stores, which is headed up by James Lowman, who took over as chief executive just six months ago.

Twenty-eight-year-old Nick Brown is a man with a plan, and that plan is to win the Global Convenience Industry Achievement Award when he goes to NACS in Atlanta, Georgia in the autumn.

A friendly welcome, a bit of banter and some sound purchasing advice are all part of the offer at Chaddlewood Garage in the Plympton area of Plymouth.

One of Shell's newest dealer sites, the Winford Road Garage on the outskirts of Bristol, has come a long way since 1967 when it opened as a local vehicle service centre employing just three people.

Taking a daily mid-afternoon nap is not what you might think of as normal behaviour for a Top 50 independent with six flourishing forecourts to run. But Clive Gardner manages it - and believes it is good for business.

Imagine the scene 14 years ago. A half-acre plot of land - part of the Ministry of Defence Army barracks - on the outskirts of Honiton in Devon, comes up for sale. It is surrounded by nothing more than fields and open spaces - and a minor road. Interested? Steve Parks was, and he bought it.

The Motor Fuels Group has recently become the focus of attention following its year-long, two-site trial of BP's Connect and Wild Bean franchise - and more especially because with these sites now running successfully, the company is ready to sign up two more.

Top 50 indies retailer Kenny Webster recently confirmed his company's status as the biggest independent retailer in Scotland following a £3.5m deal to acquire eight former Fuelforce sites it had previously been operating.

As Spar announces its intention to boost its forecourt estate to 600 stores over the next two years, you could be forgiven for thinking that one of its wholesalers, Capper and Co, is trying to achieve that single-handedly.

Rather than tear his hair out trying to think of new ways to boost his business, Steve Jones of Nuns' Bridges Filling station on the A134 in Thetford, Norfolk, has decided to have it cut instead. Last month he opened a barber's salon in his 1,800sq ft Spar store, which includes a Post Office, off licence, bakery and dry cleaning service (as well as a very posh loo).

The Green Welly Stop has become a traditional and popular stopping point for travellers heading out of Glasgow towards Fort William and the Highlands. Situated on the A82 at Tyndrum, Perthshire, in one of the most beautiful parts of the British Isles, it was formerly known as Clifton Service Station. The name change came from the introduction of a specialist outdoor clothing shop on the premises some years ago - green Wellington boots were, and still are, an integral part of its range.

They're a demanding bunch those consumers - not only do they want a their c-store to offer a comprehensive product range and long trading hours, they also want things like ATMs and PayPoint. Indeed, according to new research from HIM's Convenience Tracking Programme*, 66% of shoppers expect their local c-store to have a cash machine.