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A popular and hard-working couple are retiring after 26 years running Post Barn Post Office, Chatham. Earlier this year, Ameet and Parita Patel also retired from running Gillingham Post Office.
However, the customers they know so well needn’t worry, the couple will continue to work part-time at both branches during semi-retirement.
The Patels took on Gillingham Post Office in 2022 when Parita’s brother Pradip, sadly died unexpectedly just before he was due to open a Post Office within Wards newsagents, which he had run for 30 years.
Pradip had been proud he was restoring Post Office services to the town after the closure of WHSmith, where the Post Office had been based. He had carried out an extensive refurbishment of his High Street shop.
Ameet and Parita did not want to let down the community and wanted to honour Pradip’s memory, so Parita took on the extra branch in Gillingham with the help of Pradip’s wife, Falgun.
Parita was already familiar with Wards newsagents as she had started working there in the 1980s before taking on the Chatham Post Office and shop in Scotteswood Avenue in August 1996.
The couple have now reached the stage of their lives where they want to slow down, but they don’t want to stop working altogether, so will continue to work on a part-time basis, supporting the new postmasters at both branches.
Postmaster Ameet said: “Parita has been semi-retired for the past few months and I will be soon too. Neither of us were ready to fully retire, but we wanted to have time for new hobbies and to relax.
“This will allow us the best of both worlds as we will still get to serve the customers that we have got to know so well, and we can help the new owners to settle in.”
“The best thing about being a postmaster is serving customers and getting to know them well. We are pleased that we have found suitable new owners for both branches.
“Our regular customers were dismayed that we were selling, but they are pleased that we will still be here part-time.”
Post Office area manager Michele Davies, said: “I want to sincerely thank Ameet and Parita Patel for running Post Barn Post Office for 26 years and for coming to the rescue of Gillingham Post Office at a very difficult time for the family.
“This clearly demonstrates how community-minded they are. I wish them both well-earned semi-retirements.”
The new postmaster for Post Barn Post Office is Sinthujah Vinothan who started on September 19. Nallaikumaran Sivarajah is the new postmaster for Gillingham, and he took over in April.
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