A POPULAR postmistress has received a first class send off as she retires after 32 years.

Betty Darke, aged 74, took over Glazebrook Post Office in 1967 after moving to the area from Bolton. The shop's regular customers gave the jolly lady their stamp of approval with a lunch party at Little Woolden Hall restaurant and a cheque for £642 collected from residents in the village.

At the age of 74, Betty says she will be glad of a little rest and relaxation, but she will be sorry to leave the shop which has been her home.

"I love meeting people," she said, "and I have enjoyed my time here so much.

"These days I'm on Christian name terms with most of the people who come in which makes it very easy to spot outsiders."

Crime-wise, things have been fairly quiet at the post office in the sleepy village, but Betty did escape a frightening robbery several years ago.

"They had a hold up when I was on holiday," she said. "But luckily they didn't get anything."

Customer Jacqueline Dickinson, who helped organise Betty's leaving bash, says the villagers will be sorry to see her go.

"She was always very helpful with forms and paperwork," she said.

But modest Betty says it's all part of the service.

And although Betty's retirement means she has to move house, she isn't going far. She is moving to neighbouring Cadishead, which has a convenient footbridge leading to the rear of Glazebrook Post Office.

She added: "The only thing I have to decide now is how to spend my money!"

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.