POPULAR market trader Wayne Johnson who runs The Tights Bar in May Day Green is retiring after 45 years.
Wayne started working on the market in 1973 for the owner Jack Raynes and took over when he retired in 1994.
The Tights Bar will now close on October 27, and Wayne will not be taking a stall in the new market.
He said: “The decision is a perfect storm of circumstances. I’m 64 I started in the market when it opened in 1973. I was there on the first day and I will be here on the last day of this metropolitan centre. When the originally plans were first discussed about the redevelopment of the town centre, I personally thought by the time it came to fruition that I would be too old.
“That was in the year 2000. If I thought I was going to be too old in 2000, I’m definitely too old by 2018.
“The two girls who have worked for me for 45 years Mary Cant and Jean Harrison are both failing a bit health wise, but we have got 135 years between us. It would be starting again and I don’t think I want to start again at this stage.”
Wayne said news of his retirement had attracted hundreds of hits on social media, and he was pleased to see how people hold the stall in regard.
Although he is looking forward to his retirement, he said he will miss the market.
“It’s been a huge part of my life and a constant. We’ve done other things but the market has always been there when the other things have come and gone.
“I’m desperately hoping the new market is a success for the people that are going in.
“It looks fantastic and I’m just hoping we have enough of the traders to make it the success it deserves to be.
“The heart of the market is the traders. You can have the fanciest buildings and the flashiest stalls but it is the traders that people come to see.
“I just want to say thank you to all my customers who have supported us over the years.”
