A BUTCHER who has been in business for more than five decades has hung up his apron.
Trevor Norman, 68, joined a butcher’s shop in Princes Avenue, west Hull, 51 years ago as a trainee.
Trevor Norman outside his shop in Princes Avenue, west Hull
.He worked his way up to professional butcher and took over the business 34 years ago.
But now, the man who has stood behind the counter at TL Norman’s butchers for all those years has retired.
Trevor, who did his last shift last week, said: “I got my job with a chap called Doug Johnson, who was one of five butchers on the avenue at the time.
“I was 17 and heard there was a job going, so came as an errand lad and trainee.
“I only came as a trial, so I didn’t know how long I’d be there.
“But then I stayed, took over the business and I’ve been working here 51 years.”
Trevor, who lives in Hessle, says the avenue has changed dramatically since he first started work.
He has seen it evolve from a bustling shopping quarter to a café bar culture.
Trevor said: “When I was younger there were five butchers down the avenue but now we’re the only one.
“All the buildings were shops and there wasn’t a licensed premises in the entire street.
“The first one with a licence was Pier Luigi’s, and then Linnet and Lark came along and it went from there.
“As the shops closed, the café bars opened. Shopping down here now isn’t a patch on what it used to be.”
Trevor has handed over the reins to Craig Kipling, who officially took over the butchers today.
But although he has retired, Trevor says he will still be returning to make the shop’s special-recipe sausages.
He said: “I’m still going to come in to make the sausages to our own recipe.
“We’ve been making the same sausages for 50-odd years, so I’ll keep doing them for Craig for a while.
“We don’t put any preservatives or additives in them and we want to keep that tradition going.”
Trevor, who is a father and grandfather, celebrated his retirement with a family night out three weeks ago.
He says retirement will give him more time to spend with his grandchildren.
He said: “I’ll be looking after the grandkids and messing about with my 1953 Morris Oxford.
“I like the challenge of going for a ride in it. I drove one when I was younger so I like going out in it.
“I’ll also go out in the caravan.
“I’ll miss all the customers though – they were nearly all regulars as we don’t get many strangers in.
“I hope they continue to support Craig.”
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