Alnwick shopkeeper thanks loyal customers as she retires after 24 years in town

Doreen Ginger, who runs P D Quick on Bondgate Within, is retiring on Saturday, September 26, after more than two decades in the town.

The good news, however, is that its future as a photography business will continue.

Doreen said: “Although the business is finishing, I have been fortunate enough to find someone to take over, under a different name, so at least there won’t be another empty shop in Bondgate Within.

"Ken Stait, who has photography shops in Morpeth and Hexham, is buying the business so he will now have three shops in some of Northumberland’s main market towns.”

Of course, there have been huge changes in photography since P D Quick opened in 1996.

"When we started we would process over 100 rolls of film a day at busy times like Christmas,” Doreen recalls.

"We used to process film for local estate agents and the Northumberland Gazette too.

"There are still customers that we will process photographs for but there is a lot more variety in the work we do, whether it be restoration works or downloading images and video to digital formats.

"We’ve had to move with the times and do it quickly to keep up with changes in technology.”

Her husband, Phillip, has been a qualified, professional photographer since the age of 18 while Doreen has more years in printing and publishing than she is willing to admit.

Together, they established Philldor Photography specialising in wedding and portrait photography.

They opened their shop at the former Mercantile Building Society to cater for the keen amateur photographer.

Doreen turned 65 in May and decided it was time to retire rather than taking out a new lease on the shop.

“There’s part of me that would like to keep my hand in somehow but we’d also like to move on and do other things like travel, at least when we’re allowed to,” she said.

"We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years. We’ve really appreciated their loyalty and their lovely messages of support.”

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