Leading from the front issuu

TIM’S SHOP MUSINGS
I recall the old shop in Carlyle Street. It had become the
warehouse and bulk storage part of the operation. Shoppers
would go up to the flash Hastings Street shop to
choose which carpet was the most suitable to go, for instance,
up the back passage, or the bedrooms or lounge.
Back then this part of town was dingy. There was the
drone of sawdust extraction from Robert Holt and Son’s
Sawmill. Jim Gleeson’s car wreck yard was over the
road. John and I once got busted by this Napier legend
for smashing headlights in order to obtain the bulbs.
(Jim locked us up until Dad bailed us out.)
The people I recall from this era are Roy Elms: a short
man, husky smoker’s voice, close to retirement. Don
Grant: nice and easy going like his brother Peter. Good
to sit down with and ponder the big things in life, get
your breath back, after humping a roll of heavy floppy
carpet out for cutting up.
Dick Cooper, or Tick Cooper, was in charge of the
Wairoa shop. Max Regan took care of the Dannevirke
operation and at some stage there was a Hastings shop
too. When Pat was fully into the Carpet thing, he was
dynamic. I recall an Exhibition/Retail Show in a warehouse
along Pandora Rd and Pat manning a flash display,
showing the punters the latest carpet designs and
styles of the day. His team were loyal and rugby connected.
He gave a lot to the business until he became
more keen to help Napier address its wider community
shortfalls.
Kiwis loved their Axminster carpets and some still do; Advertisement — Pat, forever the salesman.
Carpets keep on rolling 47