THEY WORKED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND HORIZON SCANDAL BUT HAVE TO STEP DOWN DESPITE BEING UNABLE TO FIND A BUYER
Village to be without post office as couple retire after 35 years
AN Anglesey village is set to lose its Post Office and shop as the couple who ran them both for 35 years have been unable to find a buyer before their retirement.
Rosalind and Michael Cobb took on the Llangaffo branch in 1989 and worked through most of the Covid-19 pandemic.
They are also making a historic claim over shortfalls stemming from the recent Horizon crisis.
While sorry to see then go, customers understand their decision and have wished them well.
They will however now have to travel further – perhaps to Newborough or Brynsiencyn – to post parcels and do other business.
Rosalind and Michael were running a cleaning business in Oxford when they upped sticks and headed to North Wales in 1989.
“We had a house and shop cleaning business in Oxford,” explains Rosalind. “We brought out two little girls, aged about two and four, to North Wales. We emigrated!
“There was no reason to come to North Wales particularly. It was a nice place to bring children up and have a nice life. It was a business that we could run and have our children with us.
“It [the post office] had had some people before that only lived here two years and when we moved in a lot of people thought that’s about how long we would be there!”
Rosalind, 66, and Michael, 69, worked through most of the pandemic.
Their daughters Gemma and Tiffany, who are now in their 30s, have both worked at the branch at different times.
“Michael always said he wanted to retire by the time he was 70. It’s just happened totally coincidentally.
“It has been on the market for about two years. Our personal opinion is noone wants to buy a post office. It’s long hours.
“It’s harder than you might think – when you get to our age, that’s the problem.”
Customer habits have changed over the years, especially with the demand to post and receive parcels through online retailers. There is also business and personal banking.
The Cobbs have battled through their own issues too. Rosalind has multiple sclerosis and Michael has asthma.
“We were both ill in February. Both of us ended up in hospital – at different times, luckily,” said Rosalind.
“But if ever we had ended up ill together, we’d have been totally messed up. Better to admit defeat before we have to.
“We don’t want to sell and leave the village without a post office and shop. It’s sad.”
Rosalind added that they have put in a claim for “historical shortfalls” from the Horizon scandal, although she doesn’t wish to go into details at this stage.
She thanked their customers – with some having remained loyal since their first day of trading 35 years ago – and said everyone understands their decision to retire on age and health grounds.
Rosalind added: “There are still ‘children’ coming back [into the shop]. They’re not children anymore! 100% of our customers have said ‘I’m going to miss you, but you have to go.”
The Llangaffo PO branch and shop were due to close for the final time on Saturday at 4pm.