0:00:02 > 0:00:03- Ah!- Is it spongy?- Oh, yeah.
0:00:03 > 0:00:05Yes, it's very comfortable.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It is, yes.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Do you like that one?
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Yeah. It's lovely. Yes.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Yes, I think that one's got a lever on it, hasn't it?
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Oh, this has a whatsit, yeah. Oh!
0:00:18 > 0:00:21THEY LAUGH
0:00:21 > 0:00:26'Years ago, most towns had their own independent department stores.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28'But now, many are closing down.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'These charming old emporiums
0:00:31 > 0:00:35'can't compete with big out of town retail parks.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36'I think that's sad.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40'For a nation obsessed with shopping, where has our choice gone?
0:00:40 > 0:00:46'So I set out to visit three of the stores refusing to shut up shop.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49'I wanted to know if they could still survive
0:00:49 > 0:00:52'in the cut-throat world of modern retailing.'
0:00:58 > 0:01:00'In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02'there's a charming little family business
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'which has been passed from one generation to another.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14'Milners is a department store spread over two floors
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'in the small town of Leyburn.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21'Upstairs is David Milner's domain.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24'It sells furniture, carpets and rugs.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'For 40 years, David has also been fitting blinds and curtains
0:01:29 > 0:01:32'for the people of the Dales.'
0:01:32 > 0:01:33What is it you're doing?
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Making sure the mechanism works all right.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44'But this year he turns 65, and he's going to hand the business over
0:01:44 > 0:01:47'to his daughter and her husband.'
0:01:47 > 0:01:48What is it you're doing?
0:01:48 > 0:01:53Just exercising my back and bottom of my body.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56'Downstairs,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59'Milners specialises in fashions for ladies of a certain age,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02'as well as menswear and children's wear.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Are you ever going to do any work, David?
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'This is where David's wife, Linda, occasionally helps out.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11'Linda is a retired primary school teacher,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'and hopes, once David is retired,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'they'll spend more time on long holidays.'
0:02:16 > 0:02:21I'm a do-er. He's a stand and stare.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23This is what he does better than anything else...
0:02:23 > 0:02:25yakking to the customers.
0:02:25 > 0:02:32David has worked here 40 odd years, and he's done very well.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34But the world has moved on.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36We're in the 21st century now.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And it took a while to get David into the 20th century,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41let alone the 21st century!
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Spotted something that shouldn't be there, because it's the wrong range.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47'Taking Milners into the 21st century
0:02:47 > 0:02:51'is David and Linda's daughter, Leonie, and her husband, Keith.'
0:02:51 > 0:02:56You've got to remember we are a fashion shop for your 50-plus lady.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Which is, I would say, the 50-plus lady is a forgotten age.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'But Leonie believes 50-plus women
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'should be offered more fashionable attire.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08You've got this denim skirt,
0:03:08 > 0:03:15which we actually have sold to 50-plus ladies... It works.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23'Upstairs, Leonie's husband Keith shares the furniture department
0:03:23 > 0:03:25'with his father-in-law.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28'He's traded in a high paid job in the south
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'for more time with his family.'
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Oh... Oh, that's nice.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Oh, yes, I think that's very good.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40This is something that really wouldn't have happened 18 months ago
0:03:40 > 0:03:42when I was down in London.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45This is part of the reason why we wanted to move,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48because getting wrapped up in the rat race,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50you can forget about this.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55This is probably what I realised was more important to me
0:03:55 > 0:04:00than careers and money and living that type of life.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- Being with your kids? - Yeah. Being with the kids,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06being closer to Leonie, keeping it all closer together.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Doesn't it look fabulous?
0:04:16 > 0:04:18'When I arrived at Milners, Keith and Leonie
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'had just spent £18,000 on a new shop front.'
0:04:21 > 0:04:23It finishes it off, doesn't it?
0:04:23 > 0:04:25'David hadn't wanted to spend the money,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27'but the family had ganged up on him.'
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'And inside the shop it was a similar story.'
0:04:33 > 0:04:36You painted this colour and you say it's green...
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'Leonie was convinced downstairs needed a total makeover.'
0:04:39 > 0:04:41It needs to be a warm colour.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- We want it to be something pale, off-white.- But the lights...
0:04:45 > 0:04:47The lights need changing.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50It's far too harsh, is this.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53These lights are going to stay exactly as they are.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55I think we spent enough money on this.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57We changed them five years ago, and these were
0:04:57 > 0:05:01the top of the range lights for showing the colours of the clothes.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- Since when have you sold ladies' clothes?- If you start putting
0:05:04 > 0:05:08little circles of light in there, you're going to make the whole
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- of this floor...- No, you won't. You want spotlights.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I don't like circles on the ground, it's wrong.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16They're looking at the clothes, not the ground.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19It would be all right in an ironmongers' shop or something
0:05:19 > 0:05:22but not in a ladies' dress shop. You want to have spots.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Hidden lighting, concealed lighting.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Keith and I will discuss this
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and it will be a decision between ourselves.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- I think Keith agrees with us actually.- Does he?- Yes.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34You're going to have to get your head round it,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- and that's what we'll do. - I disagree entirely.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- I am not going...- Oh, come on, David, don't be so stupid!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41No, I'm not going to.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Well, we'll continue this...
0:05:43 > 0:05:45THEY LAUGH
0:05:45 > 0:05:48'Leonie was looking forward to David's retirement
0:05:48 > 0:05:52'because it meant she could make these changes to the shop.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'And Keith was looking forward to David's retirement
0:05:56 > 0:06:00'because it meant he could run the business the way he wanted to.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02'He'd already taken over
0:06:02 > 0:06:06'the nerve centre of the blind fitting business, David's desk.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08'And he was planning an overhaul
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'of David's old-fashioned paperwork system.'
0:06:11 > 0:06:13The filing's not quite up to scratch, is that right?
0:06:13 > 0:06:15It's not what I would do...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Basically we have a system here with paper clips.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25We've got furnishings, blinds, carpets, loose covers and curtains
0:06:25 > 0:06:30being made, items awaiting delivery, and then jobs to be worked out.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34It's a system that I suppose David's dad used, which
0:06:34 > 0:06:38David's used and adopted and probably hasn't changed since then.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41That's out, that's out, that's out...
0:06:41 > 0:06:44'Keith had made sure that in the six months before he retired,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47'David would be out of the way on the road,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50'constantly fitting blinds and curtains.'
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- Is Keith working very hard these days?- Yes, of course he is.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54He's in the office.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I'm the one that's doing the legwork outside at the moment.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I quite enjoy doing the legwork outside,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03it keeps me occupied. I'm not ready for retiring yet...
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Right!
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'That was strange.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11'It hadn't occurred to me that David didn't want to retire.'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14He just said that he's not ready for retirement yet.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25'David had been driving around the Dales for 40 years,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27'fitting blinds and curtains.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'Today, he was heading to the village of Harmby.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'But as always, he was running late.'
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I don't know what time, but Keith put morning and that's basically...
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I thought, well, she's taken the day off,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43she's not going to worry too much if we're a few minutes late.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45'David thought Marge, the customer,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48'wouldn't mind him turning up an hour late.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49'But he was wrong.'
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I've taken the day off work for this, David.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55'He had a whole house to fit with blinds and curtains.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58'But after an hour, he'd only put up one pole.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02'Mind you, he'd built his business proudly on the premise
0:08:02 > 0:08:05'that good timekeeping was not important.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:06I was never really on time.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I was always known for being a little bit on the late side.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12But in the Dales you don't worry too much about it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15If they know you're coming for the carpet, they'll expect you.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Oh look, have I made that a bit tosh?
0:08:17 > 0:08:21I've just realised, there's that flaming box in the corner.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25I forgot it was there. I didn't look at it.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28It's the same colour. Argh! Sod's Law!
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- Oh, Marge!- What? - There's a box in the corner.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34I've started at the wrong window.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36- Sorry?- I'm just putting the job back a little bit.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I'll keep on going till we're finished.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- It's going to be midnight by the time you've finished!- Don't worry.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I am not happy.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'Marge's fears were well founded.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'By the end of the day, David had not finished the job.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54'A couple of nights later in Leyburn,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57'the four directors of Milners got together for a board meeting
0:08:57 > 0:09:00'in the unlikely setting of Leonie's kitchen.'
0:09:00 > 0:09:01How are you doing?
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Those who can do the job, do it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'Here, they were planning the handover of the business
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'from David to his daughter and Keith in five months' time.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13'But on this occasion, David came under attack
0:09:13 > 0:09:15'for his late timekeeping with Marge.'
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I specifically booked an AM appointment
0:09:19 > 0:09:21because she knows what you're like.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24An AM appointment. Then I get a phone call, "Where is he?"
0:09:24 > 0:09:26She was all right when I got down to see her.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- But David, cause you sweet talk her. - That's right.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31So what do I say to them on the phone at the time?
0:09:31 > 0:09:35"I shall see if I can find Mr Milner for you", and just leave it at that.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Excuse me,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39that is the last thing I would do.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42She looks at me, does this one, as if I should not be doing this.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I've run the business for 40 years.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- You're going back to the past, aren't you?- No, I'm not.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49We've always dealt with them.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53It goes back to the days when I used to do a whole village,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55and I had 14, 15 customers.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59And they knew that I would arrive sometime during the day.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02But that was 40 years ago!
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It's not now. We're not living in the 19th century.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07We're in the time of the internet now,
0:10:07 > 0:10:08not the time of the cart and horse.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10People have things they have to do.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13If a customer says they've got to be somewhere at 10 o'clock...
0:10:13 > 0:10:16This is why I've got a big strong back, isn't it?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20No, it's not. It's not. You're rude. You're thick-skinned and it's rude.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25I know for having lived with it for...for 40 years.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It really is infuriating to be standing around
0:10:28 > 0:10:31when somebody saunters up.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34This is why I don't want to go to church with you anymore,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36because I hate walking in late.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'The battle between old and new at Milners
0:10:50 > 0:10:52'was not just being waged against David.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56'A few days later, Leonie and the window dresser, Margaret,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58'were preparing the shop's swish new frontage.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01'Leonie wanted to use the displays
0:11:01 > 0:11:04'to change the fuddy duddy image of Milners.'
0:11:04 > 0:11:06I suppose when I was growing up,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Milners had a bit of a stigma about it.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It had really. It's probably been a bit old fashioned.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13That was the word, yes.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19Whereas me coming into the business now, I can actually prove to people
0:11:19 > 0:11:21that that's not what we're about.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23That's partly what we're about,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27but we are trying to bring it up to date and I can do that personally.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29So do you two not always see eye to eye?
0:11:29 > 0:11:34Not always. Not always. Leonie probably thinks so, but I don't.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38I tend to eat humble pie a little bit and don't say a lot.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40I could just walk out, you see.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It doesn't worry me whether I work or I don't.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45So I'm at a good advantage.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48If she says go, I would walk out and no questions asked.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50But I wouldn't say go, would I, Margaret?
0:11:50 > 0:11:54She's been here... She's part of the furniture here, aren't you, Margaret?
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Part of the family.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I mean would that go over...
0:11:57 > 0:12:00'When they did disagree, Margaret could depend
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'on the support of one person in particular.'
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- I don't think it goes.- It doesn't go. - You're outnumbered, Leonie.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09That goes with it, but that doesn't.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11No, I wasn't thinking that with that.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12- You were!- Was I?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- Yes. - Yes, you were. Yes, you were.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Can I just have a quiet word with you dear, please?
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Not on camera!
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Because I wasn't terribly enthused about it.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Because it's young, I was told.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29- It's Margaret's job to do it. - I know!- She's good with colours.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32She doesn't need telling, and it rather offends her when you do that.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34So please, let her do it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37She's done it for years. Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40They're our staff and we value them...
0:12:40 > 0:12:45- I know!- ..so please don't offend. - OK.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47'I could see that Linda's interference
0:12:47 > 0:12:50'had infuriated her daughter, and Leonie had a fight on her hands
0:12:50 > 0:12:53'with the older generation to make her mark.'
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Nobody else knows the stock as well as me, because I buy it.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59When it comes in, I open it up, I price it up,
0:12:59 > 0:13:00I get on the shop floor.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04There's nobody else who knows it as well as I do.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08So, surely then it's up to me to sell it.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- Is it spongy?- Oh, yeah.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Yes, it's very comfortable. Isn't it?
0:13:15 > 0:13:17It is, yes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Did you like that one?
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Yeah. Oh, it's lovely. Yes.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23And you like that one, do you?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Yes.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Yes. It's quite good.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30I think that one's got a lever on it, hasn't it?
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Oh, this has a whatsit, yes. Oh!
0:13:32 > 0:13:34THEY LAUGH
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Do you prefer that?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Yes. It's quite...
0:13:43 > 0:13:45It's comfy.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51It's stuck. I can't get it down!
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Which way do you do it?
0:13:57 > 0:14:01'Upstairs at Milners, Keith had appointed a trainee called James.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05'James had given up working as a postman
0:14:05 > 0:14:08'because he wanted to do something a bit more demanding.'
0:14:11 > 0:14:14How have you made the transition from being a postman
0:14:14 > 0:14:17to working here?
0:14:17 > 0:14:24In terms of the actual hours I'm working, it's a fairly big change.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27So, just getting used to the...
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Working all afternoon has been a bit of a... you know,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33a steep learning curve, I suppose.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39'Keith had asked him to learn all there was to know about carpets.'
0:14:39 > 0:14:42If you've got a tighter twist, which means there's more...
0:14:44 > 0:14:51there's more of these in closer proximity, it means that the chance,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55the chance of wearing is less.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Whereas if you've got less of these,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02you've got a twist that's not as tight, then your chance of...
0:15:04 > 0:15:09The abrasion will cause it to wear more quickly.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10It's so detailed, isn't it?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Well, exactly.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17'Keith's plan over the coming months was to train James up
0:15:17 > 0:15:21'in the art of carpet fitting, as well as blinds and curtains.'
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Has it been reverse rolled?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- Yes, it is, isn't it? Sorry, no, it's not, no.- No?
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- Sure about that?- No, sorry, no, it's not.- Are you sure about that?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32I'm sure. Yeah. Well, let's have a think about this.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33If it's gonna go up like that...
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- That's not reverse rolled then, is it?- No.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41'When David retired in April, James would take over his job.'
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Sorry about this being in here, I'm doing another job.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50'While out on another job,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54'I asked David what he thought about James, the new trainee.'
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I'm not too worried.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58It's Keith who's going to have to deal with him.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01I'm just the dogsbody now. I'm quite happy.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Keith's got to work out the finances of whether he's...
0:16:04 > 0:16:08justified...to have him.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10I mean, Keith and I can manage quite well on our own.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12I can do all the outside work.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14I've got all the tools, I've got all the gear.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- Yeah, but you are meant to be retiring.- I know.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21But you've got to have someone who can do the work that I'm doing.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23I very much hope that it'll work out,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27but it isn't a five-minute transition period.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28I'm going to have to wait
0:16:28 > 0:16:31till he comes in here with his muck spreader.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36'Once again, David had indicated to me that he wouldn't be retiring
0:16:36 > 0:16:37'on his 65th birthday.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40'Maybe he thought he just couldn't be replaced.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54'Most lunchtimes, David headed back to his house
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'for a ritual of bread and cheese and homemade chutney.'
0:16:57 > 0:16:59So do you often prepare something for David
0:16:59 > 0:17:01when he comes home for lunch?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Well, if I don't prepare it, who else will?
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- So he's not left to fend for himself?- Oh, no...
0:17:06 > 0:17:07GENTLE BUZZING
0:17:07 > 0:17:08He's an old fashioned man.
0:17:10 > 0:17:11He waits for me to do it.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13What's that noise?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15David's cushion.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16That. It's a vibrator.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- What?!- It's a vibrator.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22It's a vibrating cushion!
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Inside there, there's a battery.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26Can you hear?
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Let me feel that.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Oh. Crikey.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36'David wanted to show me his plans
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'for a six-week holiday of a lifetime to Canada with Linda.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44'And it was booked for just a few weeks after his 65th birthday.'
0:17:44 > 0:17:49This is the holiday which we have...got planned.
0:17:49 > 0:17:55Leaving Manchester at 11.25 on 18th May. Flying into Vancouver...
0:17:55 > 0:17:58'David had planned it with all the precision
0:17:58 > 0:18:01'of a well organised military exercise.'
0:18:01 > 0:18:04..100 Mile House, William Lake...
0:18:04 > 0:18:07'As he described the trip to me, I felt a bit confused.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12'If he wasn't going to retire, why plan such a long holiday?
0:18:12 > 0:18:14'Was the trip just an elaborate ruse
0:18:14 > 0:18:17'to make Linda think he would retire?'
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Do you get the feeling David's not embracing the idea of retirement
0:18:20 > 0:18:21as much as he should do?
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I think David does not quite know WHAT he wants.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28I do! I want to go, but I want to make sure that what I'm leaving
0:18:28 > 0:18:30is on a good footing.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33But, you see, when will it be on a good footing?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Who's going to be able to say that?
0:18:35 > 0:18:38When we are away... I mean, we have sat,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41having a cup of coffee in France,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43out in the sun, and he said,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46"Oh, I do wish we didn't have to go home, I do wish I was retired,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48"I'm going to retire."
0:18:49 > 0:18:53And then when he gets back here... it's plan B.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- Which is?- "I won't retire".
0:18:57 > 0:19:02I mean, this house needs a lot of work doing to it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07I mean, we've been here 25 years and it's not finished yet.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- What?- I shouldn't say that.- Well.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12'I'd been at Milners now for a month,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16'and preparations were beginning for the busiest time of year, Christmas.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20CHRISTMAS CHOIR MUSIC
0:19:20 > 0:19:24'The festive season is make or break for any retailer,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29'but Leonie and Keith had increased sales by 20% since taking over.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33'There was a sense of optimism in Milners.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35'The store was busy.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42'And their new recruit was beginning to find his feet.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48'James had been trained by Keith
0:19:48 > 0:19:51'and also by David, albeit a bit reluctantly.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- It's about there.- It isn't, the bath fits in the reveal.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58'James was proving very good with customers.'
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Remind me what we have to do.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05'But at times he was easily distracted.'
0:20:05 > 0:20:07That is damn precision.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12Ah!
0:20:18 > 0:20:21'But the highlight of this time of year, for the Milner family
0:20:21 > 0:20:26'and all the shop's staff was its annual Christmas dinner.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31I knocked it over.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33'Spirits were high.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38'David was eulogising to me about married life with Linda.'
0:20:38 > 0:20:41As long as she keeps on making my dinners for me
0:20:41 > 0:20:45and lying next to me in bed, that's all right.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- Do you know, you are going to be taken outside and thumped.- Am I?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50HE LAUGHS
0:20:50 > 0:20:53'Each year, David makes a speech.'
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Well, can I start and say how lovely all your ladies
0:20:56 > 0:20:59are looking this evening in their fine attire.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03'Surely in this year's speech he would have to mention
0:21:03 > 0:21:05'his impending retirement.'
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Linda and I are looking for more time to do what we want to do
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and it will be nice not to work the six days a week which
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I have done for the last 40 years.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17I would like to thank all my members of staff for
0:21:17 > 0:21:23the very hard work, help and support and I hope the business in Leyburn
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and you will continue under the new leadership of Keith and Leoni.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29- Can we clap?- If you want to.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34'But it wasn't quite as clear cut as that.'
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It was there from the horse's mouth then, you will be going?
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Apparently so... I read it.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42You wrote it, didn't you?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Yes, I wrote it, of course I wrote it.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Who else writes for me?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53The words were yours.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- Did you write it, Linda? - Well, who do you think writes it?
0:21:57 > 0:21:58He wrote his own last night.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00'Linda then read David's speech
0:22:00 > 0:22:03'which she'd banned him from delivering.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:05"It is the annual staff dinner time again and I wish to say
0:22:05 > 0:22:07"a few words to express my thoughts."
0:22:07 > 0:22:10'It was very different in tone.'
0:22:10 > 0:22:13'More descriptive of David's achievements and seemed to point
0:22:13 > 0:22:17'to a Milners of the future that could not operate without him.'
0:22:17 > 0:22:20"It will be hard for the first few years for them to get to know
0:22:20 > 0:22:24"their way around but I shall be on hand to give any advice.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28"We both realised that he was going to be on a steep learning curve
0:22:28 > 0:22:32"but the fact that I have 40 years of local knowledge of the area
0:22:32 > 0:22:36"and know so many people up and down the Dales and I'm able
0:22:36 > 0:22:41"to pass on this information to him should be of great help to him."
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The last bit he's told you, because that was in his.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- Right?- That was good. That's what we like.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Down-to-earth.- Well done. - Well done, mate.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54'As the evening came to an end I was left wondering
0:22:54 > 0:22:58'if David really was going to retire.'
0:23:03 > 0:23:07'In the new year, I headed back to Yorkshire.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11'I'd arranged to meet Leoni and her mother Linda at a hotel,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14'just off the A1 near Wetherby.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'They'd come to a clothes fair where they were buying the fashions
0:23:18 > 0:23:22'for the next season in the shop. Leonie was hoping to tempt
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'her loyal, older customers with something
0:23:25 > 0:23:29'a bit younger, which she would then showcase with a special fashion show
0:23:29 > 0:23:30'in the spring.'
0:23:30 > 0:23:33We haven't got enough tops at the moment.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Let's look at the trousers first. One, two, three.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38There's a cord... there's a soft...
0:23:38 > 0:23:40That one sells well.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43- We need... - We need some bingo trousers.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Do you want to explain to Richard what bingo trousers are?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49What the old ladies who go playing bingo would wear.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52They're just pull-on trousers.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Do you play bingo?
0:23:55 > 0:23:57I would not answer that question.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59I should think it would be obvious!
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Not many of us play bingo because there's nowhere in Leyburn to play.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06What was your mum like about clothes when you were a teenager?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- Oh, God, she wouldn't let me wear anything.- Really?
0:24:08 > 0:24:12I think my mum wanted two boys because she wouldn't let me
0:24:12 > 0:24:15grow my hair and she would dress me like a little boy, until I was 16.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19How many little boys have you seen in dresses?
0:24:19 > 0:24:24I can show you photographs of her in dresses. She lies.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27What was she like as a teenager, then?
0:24:27 > 0:24:28She could get a bit bolshie
0:24:28 > 0:24:32but then they all can, but I think generally she was...
0:24:32 > 0:24:36fairly good. Except... Except...
0:24:36 > 0:24:38No, no, no. You don't need to...
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- She was one for the boys.- Was she?
0:24:41 > 0:24:42She liked the boys, yes.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45And what's wrong with liking the boys?
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Well, nothing as long as you get on with your work as well.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50You're not using that at all.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52What, liking boys?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Yeah, you're not using it though.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Oh, it's you two again, is it?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Hi, Richard. How do?
0:25:00 > 0:25:01Right, excuse me if I dash.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'In the soft furnishings department of Milners,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09'things were getting very busy but they were not going smoothly.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13'The busy Christmas period had left David with a backlog of curtains
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'and blinds to fit. He was getting angry about mistakes
0:25:16 > 0:25:19'with the order book and he felt Keith was to blame.'
0:25:19 > 0:25:20- Is Keith there?- Yeah.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29He's made a bill out...
0:25:29 > 0:25:30it doesn't say he's made a bill out.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Do you want me to pass it on?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I don't need that. I need that.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36But basically you want to finish that off,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39make sure that it's finished off. Right.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Make sure before all the paperwork comes to me that everything
0:25:42 > 0:25:45has actually been finished and it's all clear.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Yeah, I will.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Keith, sorry.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55'Watching David, I couldn't help thinking
0:25:55 > 0:25:58'that he wanted Keith and James to fail.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02'He seemed to be keen to show that they couldn't function without him.'
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- Finished?- What's wrong with it?
0:26:05 > 0:26:09You haven't actually made that you've entered it. You have, haven't you?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11I have now but that was written before.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15You hadn't done anything relating to where the order had come from either.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16So it's just that bit?
0:26:16 > 0:26:20It's all paperwork. You've got to remember, Keith, that is important.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25- The important part of doing these. - I'm not the only one though, am I?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28No, but I did it for 30 years without any problems.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It seems that we've three people, we can't do it now.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40It's not wrong, but I think it's a bit petty at times, but there we go.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44'But before he left, David was determined to have the last word.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:47You're not putting the facts and the date you're ordering them.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50I think it's important. I mean, I'm going to be out shortly but...
0:26:50 > 0:26:53What I'm saying is that I'm not the only one.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55No, but you should be the leader and make sure
0:26:55 > 0:26:58that it's right if you're going to take over and do this job.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Point made?
0:27:03 > 0:27:08'This was just one of several clashes over the paperwork.'
0:27:08 > 0:27:09There's that jacket.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14It looked quite... Oh.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Yeah.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19What's funny about that jacket?
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Nothing. We saw it in the window but it's not what we wanted.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Are you two sisters?
0:27:25 > 0:27:29No! We're always getting asked that but we're not.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Friends. Yeah.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Oh, now, that's quite nice.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Yeah, I saw that jacket.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39It's rather nice.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45'A few days after the argument with David, James had his appraisal.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47'Keith was anxious not to give David any more room
0:27:47 > 0:27:50'to criticise him over the paperwork.'
0:27:50 > 0:27:51So how do you feel about things?
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Pretty good, over all.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57The paperwork you're getting to grips with, but you must discipline,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59it's the most fundamental part of the business.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03If David can't find something that should be in a file or something,
0:28:03 > 0:28:04we're stuffed.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I find it a bit stressful at times when we've got a lot going on
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and David's throwing blame here, there and everywhere.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13I find that quite difficult, cos, you know...
0:28:13 > 0:28:15- You handle that very well. - Yeah, and I find sometimes
0:28:15 > 0:28:21David can be a bit, erm... well... erratic in his behaviour
0:28:21 > 0:28:25and sometimes can take things out a bit on people but you know,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27that's the way he is and I accept that.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30With my grandmother being ill for such long time it's put a...
0:28:30 > 0:28:33'James felt he was making good progress,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35'but the recent death of his grandmother
0:28:35 > 0:28:36'had taken his mind off the job.'
0:28:36 > 0:28:40I suppose at times I've not given everything I might have done.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44A few days I've been just, yeah...
0:28:44 > 0:28:45I mean from my perspective,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- just work on the things we've talked about.- OK.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52'Keith felt James's progress meant he was on course to replace David
0:28:52 > 0:28:54'in three months' time.'
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Your personality, when you come into a room, you will light up a room.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01- Yeah.- You have that type of personality. In general, mate,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03- fantastic start. Well done. - Thanks very much indeed.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06- Cheers, man. Thank you. - Good start.- Cheers, mate.
0:29:06 > 0:29:12Oh, excuse me while I... let my coffee go down.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17I don't know whether James is up to actually being given
0:29:17 > 0:29:20fabric and told go and see Mrs so-and-so because he can't drive,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24he doesn't know the area and there's so much you need to know about this.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Learning curtains is a ten-year apprenticeship.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Anyway.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36- I shall be out.- Do you think Keith is fully appreciative
0:29:36 > 0:29:41of, I suppose, the subtleties of what you do in your profession?
0:29:41 > 0:29:43I mean, he's acquired the skills obviously, but...
0:29:43 > 0:29:46He's an engineer, electrician.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51'It was February in the Yorkshire Dales.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55'But the organisation of the Milners fashion show
0:29:55 > 0:29:57'was already getting underway.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59'Even though it was Leonie's event,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03'I wasn't surprised to find Linda taking charge of things.'
0:30:03 > 0:30:04Dear, dear.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08So you're co-ordinating the fashion show with your daughter,
0:30:08 > 0:30:09is that right?
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Yes, I do the...
0:30:12 > 0:30:16I decide on what they wear... But obviously
0:30:16 > 0:30:19I run them past her to make sure she agrees.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Then I do the commentary and... Oh, dear, dear.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30And sort out the models and...whatever.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33What exactly is left for Leonie?
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Well, she's been busy pricing things up.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44'It turned out that Leonie was returning from a long lunch break
0:30:44 > 0:30:47'with a sales rep from Playtex called Phil.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50'Evidently, Leonie had a soft spot for Phil.'
0:30:52 > 0:30:54I don't know what she sees in him.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58I don't see anything in him. I've only got eyes for my husband.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Look at this, eh? Guilty conscience that is, isn't it?
0:31:01 > 0:31:03What do you think, Linda?
0:31:03 > 0:31:05I think she thinks he's wonderful.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08When she went to the, eh, whatsit exhibition...
0:31:08 > 0:31:12- Just walk this way, there's Gary. There's Gary!- He's not called Gary.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15- What?- He's not called Gary - I thought he was Gary.- Philip.- Phil.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16'Just at that moment,
0:31:16 > 0:31:21'Phil from Playtex walked in with his samples.'
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- What?- Nothing!
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Do you know...? Hello, Phil.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Hello, how are you?
0:31:35 > 0:31:40He takes her out to lunch. He knows he's got easy sales with Leonie.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43He just buys her a cup-a-soup and she's putty in his hands.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- What?- I was just saying that if Phil buys you a cup-a-soup,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48you're putty in his hands, aren't you?
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Touchy subject. Cos I tease her.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06'Towards the end of the day,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10'David set off to fit some blinds at a house in the valley.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15'At closing time, I had gone round to Linda's for a cup of tea.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17'While I was there, Keith turned up.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21'There had been another bust-up over the paperwork but this time,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24'it was between David and James.'
0:32:24 > 0:32:27..and David said, "Come back, don't you walk away from me. Come back."
0:32:27 > 0:32:31And James just lost it.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34"How dare you talk to me like that?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37And David was saying, "Well, it's my shop.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39"I can talk to who I want, how I want in my shop."
0:32:39 > 0:32:41He says, "You're not talking to me like that."
0:32:41 > 0:32:45David turned round to me and said, "Keith, give him his notice."
0:32:47 > 0:32:49And then James turned around to me and said,
0:32:49 > 0:32:52"Don't care, you can swivel on your job."
0:32:52 > 0:32:54So James has come downstairs,
0:32:54 > 0:32:56he says "I'm getting out, I've got to go,"
0:32:56 > 0:32:58And I said, "You're coming up for a coffee".
0:32:58 > 0:33:01By that time, he's calmed down a bit, "I'm really sorry". I said,
0:33:01 > 0:33:06"James, you've done the right thing. This has been brewing for a while."
0:33:06 > 0:33:08This is what David can't get his head round.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11He thinks I should be tipping my cap to him all the time.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15I've a lot of respect for your dad, but don't knock my staff down.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18- No, exactly. He's got to let you deal with staff.- James is my bloke.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22All right? I told James that this afternoon. I can't lose James.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23No, I know you can't.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27James feels that he doesn't want to come into work and I'm stuffed.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33Yes, you see, if James goes, then you're one down so David won't go.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39David then has got a reason to stay because, "Keith needs me."
0:33:39 > 0:33:42No, I don't. Because I won't work on that basis.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47I'm not having that... I'm not having it.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50- Sorry...- Go on. - Do you feel like quitting?
0:33:50 > 0:33:51Seem like you're a bit, kind-of...
0:33:51 > 0:33:54I felt like walking out because it's totally undermined
0:33:54 > 0:33:57everything I've been building in the last few months.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00I just get to the stage where I just think...
0:34:00 > 0:34:04if I'm going to have all the good work undone in five minutes
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I've been building on the last six months, I'll walk away from it.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10'I could see that Keith and Linda were now really worried
0:34:10 > 0:34:12'that David might not retire.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16'They had to make sure James did not quit.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23'The next day, I found James in menswear.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27'He seemed uncertain about his future now in the shop.'
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I don't want to upset David because he's a good man and
0:34:30 > 0:34:36if he's going to feel awkward and upset in his own environment,
0:34:36 > 0:34:41then I don't think I should be here to make him feel that way,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43- if you see what I mean.- Right, yeah.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46I sense he's a bit nervy and I don't want to...
0:34:46 > 0:34:50So, I feel like I'm...
0:34:50 > 0:34:53a bit of a...
0:34:53 > 0:34:54I don't know.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59- I feel like I might...- You feel like you might be making things worse.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Perhaps, I might be making
0:35:01 > 0:35:05a situation which is already difficult for David more so,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09if you like. I don't want to do that.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13'Keith started to try and reassure James
0:35:13 > 0:35:16'to make sure he didn't hand his notice in.'
0:35:16 > 0:35:19So, what happens when he goes in April?
0:35:19 > 0:35:25- Yeah.- Who's running the business? - Yeah, you, mate, sorry.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Who do I need to help me run the business?
0:35:28 > 0:35:29Yeah, me, but still.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32It's a terrible atmosphere at the moment.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38It's not you, it's me and it's the business and it's the retirement.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42I told you, I'm looking after you, you're my man, I'll sort you out.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46- OK?- Yeah.- Off you go, then. - All right, see you.
0:35:46 > 0:35:52'James went back to his desk...
0:35:52 > 0:35:56'but spent most of the day unhappy and unable to focus.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11'Then in the afternoon, Keith found him in the stockroom
0:36:12 > 0:36:14'in tears.'
0:36:25 > 0:36:29- We're going to over... - What time are we going?
0:36:29 > 0:36:32When David gets back, we'll go.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- All right?- Yeah, all right. I should sort myself out a bit.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40He's very delicate at the moment.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43'Later that night, Keith got the other three directors together
0:36:43 > 0:36:45'for an emergency meeting.'
0:36:45 > 0:36:50James's biggest concern is having a shouting match like that again.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52I don't want him to feel like that.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55I want him to come out with me and learn and I want him to not...
0:36:55 > 0:36:56he's put a barrier up now.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01I think the next time that David finds something has gone missing
0:37:01 > 0:37:06and James has got him, before he goes berserk, he ought to say,
0:37:06 > 0:37:10"Have I ever done this myself?" For instance, last Friday,
0:37:10 > 0:37:15I went over to the fire extinguisher and I took one of these from there
0:37:15 > 0:37:17and I said to Keith, "What's this doing here?"
0:37:17 > 0:37:22- He said, "Don't know, your husband put it there."- What was it?
0:37:22 > 0:37:26It was one of those, stuck on top of the fire extinguisher.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31- Filed. Filed. - Filed on the fire extinguisher.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38- Isn't that so?- Yes.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40I would have probably found it.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44That's not the point! It's the same thing as James.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47It's like you come flying in going, "I'm late, I'm late!
0:37:47 > 0:37:49"I need all the stuff, where is it?"
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Then you say, "I presume it's all done..."
0:37:52 > 0:37:55That's what puts anxiety on to James.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I think it's very funny, this.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00The fact you're discussing putting me under scrutiny.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04It's the hour-and-a-half lunches
0:38:04 > 0:38:06that you used to have and going to sleep.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08I didn't go, I've never had an hour.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10When I was out travelling, I was out all day every day,
0:38:10 > 0:38:16working hard, carrying cases... from farmhouse to farmhouse.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18He says he wants to give up.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23Deep down, somewhere inside, there's a little bug that is saying
0:38:23 > 0:38:28"They're taking over, they're taking this that was yours off you"
0:38:28 > 0:38:32and somehow the fact that James also has a desk there,
0:38:32 > 0:38:36this little thing in his head is saying that as well to him.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40'I think Linda could see that even if he wanted to retire,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43'there was something stopping David from doing so.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46'For some reason, he couldn't let go of the business.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52'The next day, David was in Milners early.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55'He'd been thinking about the previous night's meeting
0:38:55 > 0:38:58'and was particularly hurt by what Linda had said.'
0:38:58 > 0:39:02She's supposed to be an intelligent person and she came over last night
0:39:02 > 0:39:04as not an intelligent person by saying what she did.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08- What did she say?- You remember, it's all on your tape...
0:39:08 > 0:39:10What I mean is, what specific things?
0:39:10 > 0:39:14That I couldn't organise things and I was incapable
0:39:14 > 0:39:19of running a business. She made comments somewhere along that line.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23What makes you thinks that's not an intelligent thing to say?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Because she can't run it herself.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28If you can't run it yourself, you don't criticise somebody else.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Right, but she thinks she can run it.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Of course she could run this with both hands tied behind her back.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36That's what she thinks?
0:39:36 > 0:39:40You know Linda... You know Linda.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Just to clarify, then, so in your relationship with Linda
0:39:44 > 0:39:48you assume the power by actually rather cleverly pretending
0:39:48 > 0:39:50not to have the power and that she has got it?
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Mmm.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54But she wouldn't know that?
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Oh, she probably... I think she's cute enough to realise it.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00She knows that I'm doing this,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02but she can't really do much about it, can she?
0:40:02 > 0:40:06It's a little cat and mouse game! I quite enjoy it at times,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08and I... you know?
0:40:08 > 0:40:10It's very psychological, isn't it?
0:40:10 > 0:40:14It is. Oh, yes. I'm really enjoying it, actually, at the moment.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Actually, that was why I wanted the BBC to come,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19because I thought, I can play you all along at this
0:40:19 > 0:40:22and I can see if I could do a similar thing with you,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26but I think you're a little bit more intelligent than she is,
0:40:26 > 0:40:27cos you can see through me.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31And I can sort of see that you're a very similar person to myself.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33- Am I?- I think you would...
0:40:33 > 0:40:36You'd be a bit devious as well.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- Do you think you're devious? - No, I'm not devious,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41but I think you might be. I think you'd slip off
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and not tell your wife and do certain things that she wouldn't know about.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- You have that look about you. - Do I?!- Pardon?
0:40:48 > 0:40:50You have the eyes. By looking at your eyes,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52there's something in your eyes that tells me that
0:40:52 > 0:40:55you might have a couple of women about somewhere.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57RICHARD LAUGHS
0:40:57 > 0:40:58- You think that of me?!- Yes.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- Yes, Richard.- You don't! - You're young enough to do it.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03I'm old now, I never got round,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06cos I've never had the opportunity, living in Leyburn all my life.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Just think of the opportunities in Manchester and Leeds,
0:41:09 > 0:41:11with all these brothels and all these...
0:41:11 > 0:41:15I mean, with the internet now and all this stuff, you probably...
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Yeah, but that's quite... That's quite...
0:41:17 > 0:41:22That's quite scathing of me, to say that.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Is it? You don't mind though, do you?
0:41:24 > 0:41:27'I was surprised by this turn of events.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31'But I was getting a clearer picture now of a man
0:41:31 > 0:41:33'who liked to be in control...
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Has the bill been made out for that?
0:41:35 > 0:41:39'And enjoyed psychological games.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'Maybe I was just getting mixed up in all of that.
0:41:42 > 0:41:48'Perhaps David had actually manipulated the bust up with James.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51'The next day, Keith took a call from James.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54'He had decided to resign.'
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Do do do do do do do.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00'I happened to be on a trip fitting blinds with David
0:42:00 > 0:42:03'and I wanted to know if he had any regrets
0:42:03 > 0:42:05'about the incident with James.'
0:42:06 > 0:42:10How do you feel now about what happened between you and James?
0:42:10 > 0:42:13I'm not worried about it in the slightest.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17It was just a hiccup, which you always get in any relationship.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21- When you were James's age, were you are sensitive as him?- I don't know.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24I can't remember, it's so long ago. I wouldn't have thought so.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30You did as you're told in those days,
0:42:30 > 0:42:34we just did as we were told and we got on with it.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38I think, nowadays, people tend to sort of talk back to people
0:42:38 > 0:42:41if they feel that they're grieved in any way.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49'Four weeks before David was due to retire,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'Milners was hosting its fashion show.'
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Usually, we get people who sit in front of the... on the stool.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58'As ever, Linda was running the show
0:42:58 > 0:43:02'and she had her window dresser, Margaret, helping her.'
0:43:02 > 0:43:05- That's a good idea... - 'In three hours time they would
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'have to cram over 100 people into the downstairs of the shop.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14'In many ways, I think Leonie and Keith saw this event
0:43:14 > 0:43:18'as a chance to stake their claim on Milners, announce to the world
0:43:18 > 0:43:21'what their plans for the shop would be.'
0:43:21 > 0:43:25This is the way we are losing our "stigma",
0:43:25 > 0:43:28that I feel that we've had for a lot of years.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32You know, it's all part of the... Well, the new culture, isn't it?
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Leonie is now, you know, firmly in control of this floor.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41'As if to prove a point, Leonie started adjusting the seating...
0:43:41 > 0:43:44and this upset Margaret.'
0:43:44 > 0:43:46What you doing?!
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- I'm just shoving them up a bit! - We've done it, Leonie!
0:43:49 > 0:43:53- There isn't not enough legroom. - We know, we've worked it out.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58I have done it. If you want to alter what I have done,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01you will end up doing this fashion show on your own tonight,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03because I will go out.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- Now stop it! - Look, I'm not doing anything!
0:44:05 > 0:44:08All I'm doing is putting another chair in there,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10because you had space for at least two more chairs.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12I've just moved them up slightly
0:44:12 > 0:44:15- so that you can get another chair in there.- Stop it!
0:44:15 > 0:44:17We have just proved that the people who are sat there,
0:44:17 > 0:44:21are they the blind people, the three people sat here?
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Because "they can't see a thing in the shop when they're sat here!"
0:44:24 > 0:44:27Well, there weren't any chairs there. I left that blank.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Yeah, but why? We've always had people here,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32so why are you suddenly gonna leave a big gap?
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Because...the people can see.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38If they are sitting there they have...
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Who wants to sit behind a pillar?!
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Mum, you can still see all the way up there, you can see
0:44:43 > 0:44:45when they come round here, and you can see down there.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48I've proved it. I even got the BBC to sit there,
0:44:48 > 0:44:50to see whether they can see, and they can.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53I will tell you something, you will lose your staff, because...
0:44:53 > 0:44:56D'you know, sometimes I don't care.
0:44:56 > 0:44:57It's a case of respect.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00You treat them well, they will do anything for you.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03Yeah? Well I treat them well, but the staff don't treat me well, so...
0:45:03 > 0:45:05It's about authority.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07You have been out fannying about all morning.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10I saw you, ten minutes you spent with Helen Jackson.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Have you got ten minutes to spend talking to Helen Jackson?
0:45:13 > 0:45:16You haven't. But you were over there, yack, yack, yack.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20We've been in here working. Then you come back and you change everything.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22- I don't... - Well, we don't like that.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25- How do I change everything? - Margaret, Debs and I have got
0:45:25 > 0:45:28the intelligence to sort it out ourselves, thank you very much.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Certain members do.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36And that's three chairs. That's a big gap, there.
0:45:36 > 0:45:44Well, I hope that three extra chairs is worth two good members of staff.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46I don't think Margaret would... take that...
0:45:46 > 0:45:50Margaret was hurt. Margaret was hurt, then. She's just said to me.
0:45:50 > 0:45:51It annoyed me when...
0:45:51 > 0:45:54I've only put one extra chair in the row at the front
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and the row at the back, and I've put three extra chairs there.
0:45:57 > 0:46:02You ought to consider, is one extra chair worth the aggro
0:46:02 > 0:46:04that you are causing for other people?
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Unfortunately, Leonie, you're a Milner. You're a Milner.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09OK, but in the bigger picture,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I think it's worth getting the people in
0:46:12 > 0:46:15rather than turning them away.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17And I can see the bigger picture.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25'I felt sorry for Leonie. After all, this was her event.'
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Problems in t'mill?
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Who's up for the sarnies?
0:46:37 > 0:46:40'I'd seen mother and daughter argue before
0:46:40 > 0:46:43'but never a row as big as this.'
0:46:45 > 0:46:46Too late, she cried.
0:46:46 > 0:46:47'But then,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50'just as they were preparing to go home and get changed,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53'Leonie sought her mother out for reconciliation.'
0:46:53 > 0:46:56- Yes?- I don't think we've ever been this organised.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57We?! We?!
0:46:57 > 0:47:00We. Come on, we. We.
0:47:00 > 0:47:05- Well, I'm always organised, aren't I?- I better take a...
0:47:05 > 0:47:06It's called age.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13'Later that evening, the shop filled up with loyal customers.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14'Wine and nibbles
0:47:14 > 0:47:16'were offered round.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21'By eight o'clock all 104 seats were taken.'
0:47:24 > 0:47:28Ladies? Shhh. Good evening.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30ALL: Good evening.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32My husband would like to say a few words.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36Welcome, ladies. It's my pleasure to welcome you all here tonight...
0:47:36 > 0:47:38'At the start, David made a speech.'
0:47:38 > 0:47:40..Most of you will know me...
0:47:40 > 0:47:43'And just like at the staff Christmas party,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45'he told the audience he was about to retire.'
0:47:45 > 0:47:48As I am now approaching 65,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51I have decided to hand over the business to my daughter, Leonie...
0:47:51 > 0:47:55'Then again, maybe this was just another case of David reading out
0:47:55 > 0:47:58'what Linda wanted him to say.'
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Now I would like to hand over to Linda,
0:48:00 > 0:48:05- who is ready to start the fashion show.- Thank you, dear.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Well, it's wonderful to see so many of you,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11and I hope you'll all find...
0:48:11 > 0:48:14'Then Linda compered the show...
0:48:14 > 0:48:16'Which went on for nearly two hours.'
0:48:16 > 0:48:19..So, we're going to start with Jo...
0:48:19 > 0:48:20'Linda may have been in charge
0:48:20 > 0:48:23'but this was Leonie's moment of reckoning.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26'What would the ladies of the Yorkshire Dales
0:48:26 > 0:48:28'make of her spring collection?'
0:48:28 > 0:48:31..Sizes 12 to 22, at £45.25...
0:48:33 > 0:48:36..Charcoal striped jacket...
0:48:38 > 0:48:46..Viscose and elastic, small to extra large at £34.95...
0:48:48 > 0:48:51..100% polyester... Adjustable strap...
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Now we have a bit of a change for this next round.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03There is a title to it...
0:49:03 > 0:49:07And it would suit my husband, because he's going to sleep!
0:49:07 > 0:49:11AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:49:11 > 0:49:15It is called "And So To Bed."
0:49:25 > 0:49:33Poppy motif, they're 100% cotton and they are made in England.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Small to large £36.25.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Can I ask all the models to come down?
0:49:44 > 0:49:47'When the show finally ended, there was no denying how much
0:49:47 > 0:49:50'the audience had enjoyed themselves.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55'I hoped Leonie felt vindicated.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03'Afterwards,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06'the shop was a sea of customers and the tills were ringing.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13'I asked David whether he thought the evening had been a success.'
0:50:13 > 0:50:16What are you thinking when you survey the room now
0:50:16 > 0:50:17and see all these people?
0:50:17 > 0:50:19I think it's been a good night.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Can you see me walking away from a situation like this?
0:50:23 > 0:50:24I mean, it's official, I'm 65.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27You see, Keith hasn't got a replacement for me.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31You can't look after the inside of the shop upstairs with everything
0:50:31 > 0:50:34that we sell and go out and fit curtains and carpets and blinds.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36It's impossible.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38Where is the trailer?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40'By now I had got used to David telling me
0:50:40 > 0:50:42'he wasn't going to retire.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45'But I wasn't sure the shop couldn't survive without him.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51'My time in the Dales was coming to an end,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55'and yet I still felt there was a part of David I hadn't got to know.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59'That part that made him refuse to let go of his business.'
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Are you all right down there?
0:51:01 > 0:51:05'So I talked to the person who knew him best... Linda.'
0:51:05 > 0:51:06You know your way around.
0:51:06 > 0:51:12I think David is anxious now... about going.
0:51:12 > 0:51:19This has been his...baby, if you like, for 40-odd years.
0:51:19 > 0:51:27And to let it go...is difficult... I mean, even to family.
0:51:27 > 0:51:28It would be the same
0:51:28 > 0:51:31even if Keith was his son, rather than his son-in-law.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Just to let it go, he...
0:51:35 > 0:51:39'Then Linda mentioned David's father.'
0:51:40 > 0:51:45He didn't treat David as a son... for my way of thinking.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49He was just... another member of staff.
0:51:54 > 0:51:59Sad to say, but it rankles with me to this day.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03And I think it's caused David a lot of problems.
0:52:03 > 0:52:09David is still trying to prove himself worthy...
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and I don't think he has any need to, because...
0:52:12 > 0:52:14he has built up this business.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18How do you think his father damaged David?
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Well, he wasn't a father as such.
0:52:25 > 0:52:31I never knew them to speak of anything...except business.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38There was none, "Did you see the match on Saturday?"
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Or, "How about coming out for a game?",
0:52:40 > 0:52:41because they both played golf,
0:52:41 > 0:52:43"how about coming out for a game of golf?",
0:52:43 > 0:52:47Or anything... It was all business.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54'A few days before David's birthday,
0:52:54 > 0:52:58'I arranged to film with him as he did some drawing in the Dales.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01'The view outside his home was breathtaking.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05'I wanted to talk to David about his father.'
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Do you think he could have been a bit more loving to you as a child?
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Probably. He could have been.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15He wouldn't sort of... have any nonsense.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19He was quite a regimented type.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Linda has suggested to me that she thinks your father
0:53:22 > 0:53:27never really gave you the approval that maybe you deserved.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31Maybe that's something... He held on to it right until the very end.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34- The business?- Yes. I mean, although we were partners,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37he knew what he wanted and he wouldn't...
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Very rarely would he back down once he made a decision on something.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46'David then revealed the death of his father
0:53:46 > 0:53:49'had caused him to suffer a deep depression.'
0:53:49 > 0:53:52I just felt really, really rotten. I didn't know what it was.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Linda got the doctor in,
0:53:54 > 0:53:59I went to the doctors and I went down to see him and he examined me
0:53:59 > 0:54:03and said, "You're just under pressure", or stress, or something.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08I went to the hospital and they gave me one of those new treatments...
0:54:08 > 0:54:11They give you electric shock treatment in your head.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12I had six weeks of that.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17- Six weeks of THAT? - Yeah, where they put an electrode
0:54:17 > 0:54:20on your forehead and they give you a small electric current.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24It's a treatment that a lot of people have nowadays.
0:54:24 > 0:54:25It's nothing new.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30It was three months before I went back.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35'Hearing David talk about his depression
0:54:35 > 0:54:38'helped me to understand him much more.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44'It also made me think about how family-run businesses
0:54:44 > 0:54:47'could pass stress on from one generation to another.
0:54:47 > 0:54:53'After all, wasn't David refusing to pass on his business to Leonie
0:54:53 > 0:54:55'just like his father had with him?
0:54:57 > 0:55:03'I decided to ask Leonie about David when we returned to the shop.'
0:55:03 > 0:55:06I don't really have a strong father-daughter relationship
0:55:06 > 0:55:07with my dad.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10My dad seemed to be always here, my dad seemed to be always
0:55:10 > 0:55:13chasing the business and growing the business.
0:55:13 > 0:55:18And I don't want that to be the centre of...our life
0:55:18 > 0:55:23and I don't want the children to turn that...back to us
0:55:23 > 0:55:26when we're, they're older and say,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29"You were never there for us because you were always at the shop."
0:55:29 > 0:55:32And that the girls don't have a relationship with Keith...
0:55:35 > 0:55:40..cos he had a relationship with the business.
0:55:44 > 0:55:49PHONES RING
0:56:06 > 0:56:08'On the day of David's retirement party,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11'I bumped into him in the market square.'
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Good morning, boys.
0:56:13 > 0:56:14Hello.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17How did you know I was here?
0:56:17 > 0:56:21- We have our ways! - You have your ways, have you?
0:56:21 > 0:56:24- How are you? - Very well, thank you very much.
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Seen the window?
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Yes, it's nice, I saw them, they did it last night.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34'I was struck by how relaxed David seemed.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39'Which was odd, after all this was the day he was saying goodbye...
0:56:39 > 0:56:41'to his beloved shop.'
0:56:42 > 0:56:45- Morning, David. - Good morning, all.- Good morning.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- Good morning. - Happy birthday/retirement.- Oh, yes!
0:56:49 > 0:56:53'His family had lovingly decorated the store
0:56:53 > 0:56:56'with balloons and pictures from the last 40 years.'
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Didn't you want me to have a big bang?
0:56:59 > 0:57:00'Old friends and customers
0:57:00 > 0:57:03were invited in for a glass of champagne.'
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Right, David, on behalf of all the girls,
0:57:06 > 0:57:08we wish you a very happy retirement and hope you
0:57:08 > 0:57:13- had a lovely 65th birthday. On Wednesday.- Thank you very much.
0:57:13 > 0:57:14All the best and we'll miss you,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18- but I'm sure you'll keep popping back in.- I'm sure I will!
0:57:18 > 0:57:21'When I first started making this film,
0:57:21 > 0:57:23'I thought it would be the story of a man coming to terms
0:57:23 > 0:57:27'with his retirement after a lifetime dedicated to work.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30'But now we had reached that point, I realised David's story
0:57:30 > 0:57:34'wasn't really about whether or not he retired.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36'It was more to do with the fact that, at 65,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39'he still felt he had something to prove.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43'I hoped that feeling would go once he settled into his retirement,
0:57:43 > 0:57:47'but after a couple of hours I noticed David wasn't around.'
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Do you know where David is?
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Imagine he's gone to the loo.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56'No-one knew where he was. But he hadn't left.
0:57:56 > 0:58:02'I found him upstairs, taking an order...for some blinds.'
0:58:02 > 0:58:05- Are you still working?- Yes, I am.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06Aren't you going to retire?
0:58:06 > 0:58:08What do you think?
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:36 > 0:58:39E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk