Greener pastures for Rustington’s retiring Hannah

Hannah, who took over the shop, in The Street, with her late husband Michael, in 1976, will be closing the business for good, later this month.

However, for the well-known proprietor, the experience of working in the village and interacting with her customers will be something she will treasure for the rest of her life.

“When I first moved into Rustington from having worked in the city of London, it was a completely different pace of life.

“Everything was so quiet and nice, everyone was so laid back and friendly. I had no idea whatsoever about retail and I found it very challenging.

“But everyone in the village welcomed me and my husband with open arms. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to work.”

During her time at the store, Hannah helped rally the community in the village to dig deep and support the monumental, international relief effort that was undertaken following 2004’s devastating Boxing Day tsunami, in Asia, which left countless dead and millions homeless.

After hearing about the disaster, Hannah and her staff opened the store and donated all their takings from a special fund-raising day – more than £2,000 – to helping the overseas aid work.

“I just kept thinking, ‘What if someone I knew had been affected by it?’ I had the urge to help. I watched the news everyday and saw just how much damage the catastrophe had caused. I thought that we were so lucky to be living in this country. So we put up notices in the shop window, asking for donations, and the response from customers was extremely generous. The donations kept pouring in. It was very emotional to see just how much the customers supported us.

“The staff, too, were totally behind me. They worked for nothing during the entire day. It was a very proud moment for me,” she said.

On Saturday, the store moved temporarily into the former Edlows bookshop, in The Street, where it will stay for a further three weeks until closing for good.

Clarkes stationery supplies will be moving into the Ronald Edwards site, later in July, with all 10 staff at the current store offered jobs at Clarkes.

Hannah thanked all her staff, customers and landlords for all their help and support over the years and wished the new owners all the best for the future. She now hopes to go travelling and see the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, in Peru, as well as visiting her home city of Stuttgart, in Germany.