End of an era

I’ve just sat down in front of my computer to start telling you all about our wild camping adventure this last weekend. However, my mind had other ideas and for most of the day it’s been wandering…not amongst the Cilento countryside but along St Marys Street in Stamford, England. More specifically to number 4 which was home to the independent retailer Robinson’s of Stamford. The reason for this mental intrusion is due to the fact that today, after a two year long, drawn out process, my Mum hands over the keys to this gorgeous Georgian property. I won’t bore you with the details but the fact that it’s taken so long to sell the property prompted a celebratory reaction upon hearing the news of exchange of contracts last week with completion to happen today. Congratulatory comments were passed and glasses raised in joy. However, I wasn’t expecting to feel how I feel today. To say it’s a mixture of emotions is an understatement.

For those of you who don’t know us or our little double-fronted shop, let me fill you in on the background. We bought number 4 St Marys Street, Stamford in 1979. Stamford is a beautiful, Georgian town in South Lincolnshire and it was the chosen location for the new branch of T&C Robinson, my family’s saddlery business established in 1905. One particular day forty two years ago, Mum, Grandma and Grandpa were actually on their way to view another property in town when Grandpa saw number 4 and decided that was the one! For years it was a saddlery business but later we diversified in to leathergoods, country clothing and gifts. For a combination of reasons, in July 2019 we closed our doors for the last time.

So you’re probably thinking, so what? It’s only a building, there’s plenty of those around. To some degree you’d be right, on the surface it’s just bricks and mortar that served it’s role as a retail unit and is now to become someone’s home. However, after quite a lot of contemplation today I’ve realised it isn’t just a pile of bricks. It’s the one building I’ve spent most of my life in. We lived there when I was born, I played in the cute little walled garden out the back, even when we had moved out if I was sent home from school poorly it was to the shop I’d go and be put to bed upstairs on a pile of horse rugs! It was on the pavement outside that a gaggle of old ladies could be seen waving and cooing at the upstairs window, where as a toddler in my cot my little chubby face could often be seen peering down on the world below. It’s where I’d go everyday after school, where I’d spend my Saturdays working my first job, where friends of both Mum and I would always call in for a cup of tea. It was in this building that I received a call to say my Nanny had passed away and a few years later the call to say my little dog had a spine crushing tumour. I was there when I found out I’d been accepted to my university of choice and also where I was surprised by my now husband returning from overseas on my birthday. All these memories and milestones will forever be tied to this building.

Of course it’s not all about the moments that affected just me, it’s also the relationships that were built and nurtured under that roof. Like the wonderful manageress Margaret who worked there when I was born and who, over the subsequent 24 years became like a Grandma to me before she was sadly taken from us too early. The other employees I shared so many hours with who became true friends and not just work colleagues. The wonderful suppliers who we saw year in, year out on our regular buying trips and who, were so kind and a real joy to work with. The fellow retailers on our wonderful little street who could always be relied upon if you found yourself in need; two of who in particular have become lifelong friends. The fabulous little lady called June who lives in a little cottage down the alley opposite our shop, who’s constantly beaming smile so often greeted us as we walked up and down day after day. Also the wonderfully loyal customers who we’d happily chat to over the counter, some of who would just come in to say hello. We are so grateful to all those who supported our business over the years.

But most of all it was the time I spent with my Mum; the hours of being sat across the table from her, each of us working in companionable silence (actually there wasn’t too much of that!) Or belting out our favourite songs at the start of the day. The time I’d spend looking for the biscuits at coffee time because she hid them from me so I wouldn’t eat them all! During our crazily busy times we could effortlessly work around each other always knowing what the other needed and never getting in each other’s way. We wouldn’t have to finish sentences or ask for items to be passed, they’d just be silently preempted and handed over. It’s the hours of music filled car journeys to trade shows that will be missed, where once there we’d always be on the same page when it came to what items to order. Then I’d always fall asleep in the car on the way home, regressing 30 years!

If it wasn’t for this collection of bricks we wouldn’t have forged these friendships, experienced the highs and lows and we wouldn’t have these wonderful memories. This morning all I felt was sadness but after reflecting on the years spent there I’ve decided the tangible needs to be let go of. It’s time for the lovely little building, with it’s creaky stairs, leaky roof, narrow front door, to make happy memories for someone else. Whilst it may not be ours anymore the memories always will be and that’s what matters. Goodbye number 4, thank you for all the good times.