My Shop in the market and on the High Street

Stamp shop in Plymouth

I was very proud of this shop. Sheila helped with the layout.  The stamps and catalogues were naturally colourful making the shop really stand out.

Although it's a little hard to see I used to sit behind this counter and serve.  I really enjoyed working in the shop but someday's it was a little too much for me.

This was the other side of the shop and as you can see there were seats for customers to sit and relax while they consider what to buy.

Although a friend of mine used to stand in for me if I was away most of the time I worked alone.  Sometimes if the shop was really busy it was hard work.  Most of the time it was a nice steady flow of customers.

Because collecting stamps is a hobby I used to have a lot of regular customers.  Over the years I got to know their names and members of their family.  It often did not feel like work however that's not to say it was not tiring. 

As time went on it did get harder for me as my back and legs were usually hurting bad by about Thursday and it was hard to finish the week.  It was always a relief by the time Saturday came.  It then meant two full days off before opening again on Tuesday.  Two Mondays a month I also sat all day as a magistrate.

When I was offered an operation on my back to help with the pain in my legs it meant closing the shop.  Recovery was going to be 18 months so this was the end of paid work for me.

This was a sad time as running my shop had been like a dream come true.

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