James Pellow – I applied to work at Cross Street

Simon: So that sort of got you into the early days of fashion I guess, or gentleman’s clothes?

James: Well, I suppose so. Yes, and then of course in I think ’75, Packs opened the Cross Street shop and because I lived in Ryde, it made sense to apply for that job, rather than going to Newport every day.

Simon: Right. And that was in which Department?

James: Well, first of all it was the Men’s Department, which was downstairs. Menswear Department I should say, and then after a few years, I suppose maybe because of my catering training, I transferred to the ‘Coffee Bean’ upstairs, the Coffee Shop.