Sheila Burnett – Closing down

Simon: So, as far as Packs in Cross Street, when that was coming up for shutting down, do you have any memories around that at all?

Sheila: Well I can just remember the fact going in when they were closing down as regards gradually the rooms closed down, and then eventually everything was just downstairs. The Café had gone as again you went up the back stairs or down the back stairs into the Café but I used to go up the main staircase because it was a good way of obviously looking at the clothes that were up there before I went into the Café. Yeah and gradually as I say it closed right down until they’d just got a few things downstairs.

Simon: So, that’s quite a strange from being the whole building to then being …I mean that building is substantial, but it must have felt quite odd going in there and seeing it shrinking down.

Sheila: Yeah, it was a great shame.

Simon: And did it just feel like that was the time for that thing, or …?

Sheila: Did it …I was just wondering some of the clothes they had in the very last instance downstairs, did the family do that?

Simon: Don’t know. You mean recently or when they were shutting down?

Sheila: That’s when they were shutting down, ‘cos a few things were bought when they’d already closed most of the building down ‘cos they’d have something on the stairs which blocked it off. And then there were some clothes that were renewed. In other words, season, for about … I don’t know if it was a couple of years. I know I did buy one item from there then but there was basically no choice and everything just went and I must admit I don’t think I went in the last few months.

I was trying to think when I last really bought … you know I got a couple of evening dresses in there and one or two other things, so it was something different each year for these other ‘do’s’ and then I’d have various tops and things from them, and then of course I’ve still got a summer top that I still wear that I got bought from there, and that’s still going strong (laughs). And that was one of the things you would find downstairs.