Copyright manchestereveningnews
The year is 1975. The Vietnam War has just come to an end, David Bowie's Space Oddity is riding high in the charts and Tony and Christine Booth have just opened their greengrocers in Blackley . Half a century later the husband and wife are still here. Their little shop A&C Booth on Hill Lane is thought to be the last traditional greengrocers in north Manchester. But not for much longer. On November 1, the couple, both 79, will be hanging up their aprons as they finally retire. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here It will bring the shutters down on a lifetime of hard work and close a small chapter in the history of Manchester's high streets. When Tony and Christine first started out supermarkets were still a relatively new phenomenon and the big, out-of-town stores, spurred by mass car ownership, were still a few years away. Instead, most people still did their shopping locally, in traditional stores like Tony and Christine's. "We had a butchers, two bakers, two newsagents, a haberdashers, a hardware shop, a chemist and a bookies all on this parade," says Tony between customers on a quiet Wednesday afternoon. "It was fantastically busy back then." Behind him piles of fruit and veg sit on shelves above handwritten price signs and brown paper bags. On the counter there's a stack of old newspapers for wrapping up the produce. And just a couple of feet away, next to a glass cabinet holding fresh farm eggs, stands Christine, just as she's done every day for 50 years. "It's like we're joined at the hip," she says when asked what it's been like to spend five decades working side-by-side with your husband. Tony and Christine took over the shop, which is thought to have been a greengrocers for the best part of a century, when the previous owner Alf Jones retired. Tony, who used to work at the old Smithfield market when it was still at Shudehill, used to deliver there and knew they could make a decent living from it. Over a handshake they agreed to buy the thriving business for £3,000 – around £25,000 in today's money – and pay it off in instalments, which Mr Jones collected in person every week. It proved to be the best investment the couple, who have two children and two grandchildren, ever made. But it was also extremely hard work. At first the shop opened from 6am to 6pm six days a week. It meant that Tony would get out of bed at 4.30am every morning, head to Smithfield to buy the day's stock, before driving back to their home in Middleton to pick up Christine and open up. He jokes that after all the years of early rising he no longer needs an alarm – 'My alarm clock's in my head. I couldn't lie in even if I wanted to'. The long hours and early mornings were broken up by just one week's holiday a year. And the one time they splashed out and took a fortnight off in a caravan in Scarborough they admitted to spending the whole time worrying about shutting the shop for so long. But as shopping habits changed, so did their neighbours on Hill Lane. A nail bar, a Polish shop, a pound store and dog grooming parlour moved in as the traditional businesses they'd worked alongside for years struggled to compete with the likes of Tesco and Asda . But Tony and Christine kept going. "There's been about 15 different businesses next door but we've just about hung on," said Tony. "But you can't blame people [for shopping at supermarkets]. "It's easy, you can get everything you need in one crack. I'm not complaining , that's just the way it is, it's progress. But it affects small businesses because they can't soak it up like the big ones." But Tony and Christine say that progress has come at a price. They speak fondly of the community around them and of all the 'lovely' people they've met over the years. As they do so one loyal customer pops in with an early Christmas card, because she knows they won't be around closer to the big day. She spends five minutes nattering and sharing gossip and when she's left Tony tells the story of another customer from around 30 years ago, an elderly women who lived on her own, who used to visit the shop 'religiously' every Friday. When one week she didn't show up, Tony went to her home and tragically found her lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. "We were a community, that's what it was," he said. "People used to know each other very well. "We missed people if they didn't turn up and we did things for each other - the lady on the checkout has no idea who you are or what you do." Now one of the last links to that community is also set to fall by the wayside. Tony and Christine say they have no immediate plans for retirement and don't know what will become of the shop they've dedicated most of their lives to. But they do know that come 3.30pm next Saturday they will be shutting up for the final time. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE "It's a long time, but I don’t know where the years have gone," says Christine. "It's been a good living," adds Tony. "We've paid off a mortgage, raised a couple of kids – had a week in Skegness every year. "I wasn't like Del Boy - 'This time next year we'll be millionaires' - I knew I was never going to be a millionaire, but I've been happy. "I keep telling myself that in another 10 days I will pull the shutters down for the last time. It will be very emotional. I don't know what to expect."
