Milners The Department Store

-Ah!

-Is it spongy?

-Oh, yeah.

Yes, it's very comfortable.

It is, yes.

Do you like that one?

Yeah. It's lovely. Yes.

Yes, I think that one's got a lever on it, hasn't it?

Oh, this has a whatsit, yeah. Oh!

THEY LAUGH

'Years ago, most towns had their own independent department stores.

'But now, many are closing down.

'These charming old emporiums

'can't compete with big out of town retail parks.

'I think that's sad.

'For a nation obsessed with shopping, where has our choice gone?

'So I set out to visit three of the stores refusing to shut up shop.

'I wanted to know if they could still survive

'in the cut-throat world of modern retailing.'

'In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales,

'there's a charming little family business

'which has been passed from one generation to another.

'Milners is a department store spread over two floors

'in the small town of Leyburn.

'Upstairs is David Milner's domain.

'It sells furniture, carpets and rugs.

'For 40 years, David has also been fitting blinds and curtains

'for the people of the Dales.'

What is it you're doing?

Making sure the mechanism works all right.

'But this year he turns 65, and he's going to hand the business over

'to his daughter and her husband.'

What is it you're doing?

Just exercising my back and bottom of my body.

'Downstairs,

'Milners specialises in fashions for ladies of a certain age,

'as well as menswear and children's wear.

Are you ever going to do any work, David?

'This is where David's wife, Linda, occasionally helps out.

'Linda is a retired primary school teacher,

'and hopes, once David is retired,

'they'll spend more time on long holidays.'

I'm a do-er. He's a stand and stare.

This is what he does better than anything else...

yakking to the customers.

David has worked here 40 odd years, and he's done very well.

But the world has moved on.

We're in the 21st century now.

And it took a while to get David into the 20th century,

let alone the 21st century!

Spotted something that shouldn't be there, because it's the wrong range.

'Taking Milners into the 21st century

'is David and Linda's daughter, Leonie, and her husband, Keith.'

You've got to remember we are a fashion shop for your 50-plus lady.

Which is, I would say, the 50-plus lady is a forgotten age.

'But Leonie believes 50-plus women

'should be offered more fashionable attire.

You've got this denim skirt,

which we actually have sold to 50-plus ladies... It works.

'Upstairs, Leonie's husband Keith shares the furniture department

'with his father-in-law.

'He's traded in a high paid job in the south

'for more time with his family.'

Oh... Oh, that's nice.

Oh, yes, I think that's very good.

This is something that really wouldn't have happened 18 months ago

when I was down in London.

This is part of the reason why we wanted to move,

because getting wrapped up in the rat race,

you can forget about this.

This is probably what I realised was more important to me

than careers and money and living that type of life.

-Being with your kids?

-Yeah. Being with the kids,

being closer to Leonie, keeping it all closer together.

Doesn't it look fabulous?

'When I arrived at Milners, Keith and Leonie

'had just spent £18,000 on a new shop front.'

It finishes it off, doesn't it?

'David hadn't wanted to spend the money,

'but the family had ganged up on him.'

'And inside the shop it was a similar story.'

You painted this colour and you say it's green...

'Leonie was convinced downstairs needed a total makeover.'

It needs to be a warm colour.

-We want it to be something pale, off-white.

-But the lights...

The lights need changing.

It's far too harsh, is this.

These lights are going to stay exactly as they are.

I think we spent enough money on this.

We changed them five years ago, and these were

the top of the range lights for showing the colours of the clothes.

-Since when have you sold ladies' clothes?

-If you start putting

little circles of light in there, you're going to make the whole

-of this floor...

-No, you won't. You want spotlights.

I don't like circles on the ground, it's wrong.

They're looking at the clothes, not the ground.

It would be all right in an ironmongers' shop or something

but not in a ladies' dress shop. You want to have spots.

Hidden lighting, concealed lighting.

Keith and I will discuss this

and it will be a decision between ourselves.

-I think Keith agrees with us actually.

-Does he?

-Yes.

You're going to have to get your head round it,

-and that's what we'll do.

-I disagree entirely.

-I am not going...

-Oh, come on, David, don't be so stupid!

No, I'm not going to.

Well, we'll continue this...

THEY LAUGH

'Leonie was looking forward to David's retirement

'because it meant she could make these changes to the shop.

'And Keith was looking forward to David's retirement

'because it meant he could run the business the way he wanted to.

'He'd already taken over

'the nerve centre of the blind fitting business, David's desk.

'And he was planning an overhaul

'of David's old-fashioned paperwork system.'

The filing's not quite up to scratch, is that right?

It's not what I would do...

Basically we have a system here with paper clips.

We've got furnishings, blinds, carpets, loose covers and curtains

being made, items awaiting delivery, and then jobs to be worked out.

It's a system that I suppose David's dad used, which

David's used and adopted and probably hasn't changed since then.

That's out, that's out, that's out...

'Keith had made sure that in the six months before he retired,

'David would be out of the way on the road,

'constantly fitting blinds and curtains.'

-Is Keith working very hard these days?

-Yes, of course he is.

He's in the office.

I'm the one that's doing the legwork outside at the moment.

I quite enjoy doing the legwork outside,

it keeps me occupied. I'm not ready for retiring yet...

Right!

'That was strange.

'It hadn't occurred to me that David didn't want to retire.'

He just said that he's not ready for retirement yet.

'David had been driving around the Dales for 40 years,

'fitting blinds and curtains.

'Today, he was heading to the village of Harmby.

'But as always, he was running late.'

I don't know what time, but Keith put morning and that's basically...

I thought, well, she's taken the day off,

she's not going to worry too much if we're a few minutes late.

'David thought Marge, the customer,

'wouldn't mind him turning up an hour late.

'But he was wrong.'

I've taken the day off work for this, David.

'He had a whole house to fit with blinds and curtains.

'But after an hour, he'd only put up one pole.

'Mind you, he'd built his business proudly on the premise

'that good timekeeping was not important.'

I was never really on time.

I was always known for being a little bit on the late side.

But in the Dales you don't worry too much about it.

If they know you're coming for the carpet, they'll expect you.

Oh look, have I made that a bit tosh?

I've just realised, there's that flaming box in the corner.

I forgot it was there. I didn't look at it.

It's the same colour. Argh! Sod's Law!

-Oh, Marge!

-What?

-There's a box in the corner.

I've started at the wrong window.

-Sorry?

-I'm just putting the job back a little bit.

I'll keep on going till we're finished.

-It's going to be midnight by the time you've finished!

-Don't worry.

I am not happy.

'Marge's fears were well founded.

'By the end of the day, David had not finished the job.

'A couple of nights later in Leyburn,

'the four directors of Milners got together for a board meeting

'in the unlikely setting of Leonie's kitchen.'

How are you doing?

Those who can do the job, do it.

'Here, they were planning the handover of the business

'from David to his daughter and Keith in five months' time.

'But on this occasion, David came under attack

'for his late timekeeping with Marge.'

I specifically booked an AM appointment

because she knows what you're like.

An AM appointment. Then I get a phone call, "Where is he?"

She was all right when I got down to see her.

-But David, cause you sweet talk her.

-That's right.

So what do I say to them on the phone at the time?

"I shall see if I can find Mr Milner for you", and just leave it at that.

Excuse me,

that is the last thing I would do.

She looks at me, does this one, as if I should not be doing this.

I've run the business for 40 years.

-You're going back to the past, aren't you?

-No, I'm not.

We've always dealt with them.

It goes back to the days when I used to do a whole village,

and I had 14, 15 customers.

And they knew that I would arrive sometime during the day.

But that was 40 years ago!

It's not now. We're not living in the 19th century.

We're in the time of the internet now,

not the time of the cart and horse.

People have things they have to do.

If a customer says they've got to be somewhere at 10 o'clock...

This is why I've got a big strong back, isn't it?

No, it's not. It's not. You're rude. You're thick-skinned and it's rude.

I know for having lived with it for...for 40 years.

It really is infuriating to be standing around

when somebody saunters up.

This is why I don't want to go to church with you anymore,

because I hate walking in late.

'The battle between old and new at Milners

'was not just being waged against David.

'A few days later, Leonie and the window dresser, Margaret,

'were preparing the shop's swish new frontage.

'Leonie wanted to use the displays

'to change the fuddy duddy image of Milners.'

I suppose when I was growing up,

Milners had a bit of a stigma about it.

It had really. It's probably been a bit old fashioned.

That was the word, yes.

Whereas me coming into the business now, I can actually prove to people

that that's not what we're about.

That's partly what we're about,

but we are trying to bring it up to date and I can do that personally.

So do you two not always see eye to eye?

Not always. Not always. Leonie probably thinks so, but I don't.

I tend to eat humble pie a little bit and don't say a lot.

I could just walk out, you see.

It doesn't worry me whether I work or I don't.

So I'm at a good advantage.

If she says go, I would walk out and no questions asked.

But I wouldn't say go, would I, Margaret?

She's been here... She's part of the furniture here, aren't you, Margaret?

Part of the family.

I mean would that go over...

'When they did disagree, Margaret could depend

'on the support of one person in particular.'

-I don't think it goes.

-It doesn't go.

-You're outnumbered, Leonie.

That goes with it, but that doesn't.

No, I wasn't thinking that with that.

-You were!

-Was I?

-Yes.

-Yes, you were. Yes, you were.

Can I just have a quiet word with you dear, please?

Not on camera!

Because I wasn't terribly enthused about it.

Because it's young, I was told.

-It's Margaret's job to do it.

-I know!

-She's good with colours.

She doesn't need telling, and it rather offends her when you do that.

So please, let her do it.

She's done it for years. Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs.

They're our staff and we value them...

-I know!

-..so please don't offend.

-OK.

'I could see that Linda's interference

'had infuriated her daughter, and Leonie had a fight on her hands

'with the older generation to make her mark.'

Nobody else knows the stock as well as me, because I buy it.

When it comes in, I open it up, I price it up,

I get on the shop floor.

There's nobody else who knows it as well as I do.

So, surely then it's up to me to sell it.

-Is it spongy?

-Oh, yeah.

Yes, it's very comfortable. Isn't it?

It is, yes.

Did you like that one?

Yeah. Oh, it's lovely. Yes.

And you like that one, do you?

Yes.

Yes. It's quite good.

I think that one's got a lever on it, hasn't it?

Oh, this has a whatsit, yes. Oh!

THEY LAUGH

Do you prefer that?

Yes. It's quite...

It's comfy.

It's stuck. I can't get it down!

Which way do you do it?

'Upstairs at Milners, Keith had appointed a trainee called James.

'James had given up working as a postman

'because he wanted to do something a bit more demanding.'

How have you made the transition from being a postman

to working here?

In terms of the actual hours I'm working, it's a fairly big change.

So, just getting used to the...

Working all afternoon has been a bit of a... you know,

a steep learning curve, I suppose.

'Keith had asked him to learn all there was to know about carpets.'

If you've got a tighter twist, which means there's more...

there's more of these in closer proximity, it means that the chance,

the chance of wearing is less.

Whereas if you've got less of these,

you've got a twist that's not as tight, then your chance of...

The abrasion will cause it to wear more quickly.

It's so detailed, isn't it?

Well, exactly.

'Keith's plan over the coming months was to train James up

'in the art of carpet fitting, as well as blinds and curtains.'

Has it been reverse rolled?

-Yes, it is, isn't it? Sorry, no, it's not, no.

-No?

-Sure about that?

-No, sorry, no, it's not.

-Are you sure about that?

I'm sure. Yeah. Well, let's have a think about this.

If it's gonna go up like that...

-That's not reverse rolled then, is it?

-No.

'When David retired in April, James would take over his job.'

Sorry about this being in here, I'm doing another job.

'While out on another job,

'I asked David what he thought about James, the new trainee.'

I'm not too worried.

It's Keith who's going to have to deal with him.

I'm just the dogsbody now. I'm quite happy.

Keith's got to work out the finances of whether he's...

justified...to have him.

I mean, Keith and I can manage quite well on our own.

I can do all the outside work.

I've got all the tools, I've got all the gear.

-Yeah, but you are meant to be retiring.

-I know.

But you've got to have someone who can do the work that I'm doing.

I very much hope that it'll work out,

but it isn't a five-minute transition period.

I'm going to have to wait

till he comes in here with his muck spreader.

'Once again, David had indicated to me that he wouldn't be retiring

'on his 65th birthday.

'Maybe he thought he just couldn't be replaced.

'Most lunchtimes, David headed back to his house

'for a ritual of bread and cheese and homemade chutney.'

So do you often prepare something for David

when he comes home for lunch?

Well, if I don't prepare it, who else will?

-So he's not left to fend for himself?

-Oh, no...

GENTLE BUZZING

He's an old fashioned man.

He waits for me to do it.

What's that noise?

David's cushion.

That. It's a vibrator.

-What?!

-It's a vibrator.

It's a vibrating cushion!

Inside there, there's a battery.

Can you hear?

Let me feel that.

Oh. Crikey.

'David wanted to show me his plans

'for a six-week holiday of a lifetime to Canada with Linda.

'And it was booked for just a few weeks after his 65th birthday.'

This is the holiday which we have...got planned.

Leaving Manchester at 11.25 on 18th May. Flying into Vancouver...

'David had planned it with all the precision

'of a well organised military exercise.'

..100 Mile House, William Lake...

'As he described the trip to me, I felt a bit confused.

'If he wasn't going to retire, why plan such a long holiday?

'Was the trip just an elaborate ruse

'to make Linda think he would retire?'

Do you get the feeling David's not embracing the idea of retirement

as much as he should do?

I think David does not quite know WHAT he wants.

I do! I want to go, but I want to make sure that what I'm leaving

is on a good footing.

But, you see, when will it be on a good footing?

Who's going to be able to say that?

When we are away... I mean, we have sat,

having a cup of coffee in France,

out in the sun, and he said,

"Oh, I do wish we didn't have to go home, I do wish I was retired,

"I'm going to retire."

And then when he gets back here... it's plan B.

-Which is?

-"I won't retire".

I mean, this house needs a lot of work doing to it.

I mean, we've been here 25 years and it's not finished yet.

-What?

-I shouldn't say that.

-Well.

'I'd been at Milners now for a month,

'and preparations were beginning for the busiest time of year, Christmas.

CHRISTMAS CHOIR MUSIC

'The festive season is make or break for any retailer,

'but Leonie and Keith had increased sales by 20% since taking over.

'There was a sense of optimism in Milners.

'The store was busy.

'And their new recruit was beginning to find his feet.

'James had been trained by Keith

'and also by David, albeit a bit reluctantly.

-It's about there.

-It isn't, the bath fits in the reveal.

'James was proving very good with customers.'

Remind me what we have to do.

'But at times he was easily distracted.'

That is damn precision.

Ah!

'But the highlight of this time of year, for the Milner family

'and all the shop's staff was its annual Christmas dinner.

I knocked it over.

'Spirits were high.

'David was eulogising to me about married life with Linda.'

As long as she keeps on making my dinners for me

and lying next to me in bed, that's all right.

-Do you know, you are going to be taken outside and thumped.

-Am I?

HE LAUGHS

'Each year, David makes a speech.'

Well, can I start and say how lovely all your ladies

are looking this evening in their fine attire.

'Surely in this year's speech he would have to mention

'his impending retirement.'

Linda and I are looking for more time to do what we want to do

and it will be nice not to work the six days a week which

I have done for the last 40 years.

I would like to thank all my members of staff for

the very hard work, help and support and I hope the business in Leyburn

and you will continue under the new leadership of Keith and Leoni.

-Can we clap?

-If you want to.

'But it wasn't quite as clear cut as that.'

It was there from the horse's mouth then, you will be going?

Apparently so... I read it.

You wrote it, didn't you?

Yes, I wrote it, of course I wrote it.

Who else writes for me?

The words were yours.

-Did you write it, Linda?

-Well, who do you think writes it?

He wrote his own last night.

'Linda then read David's speech

'which she'd banned him from delivering.'

"It is the annual staff dinner time again and I wish to say

"a few words to express my thoughts."

'It was very different in tone.'

'More descriptive of David's achievements and seemed to point

'to a Milners of the future that could not operate without him.'

"It will be hard for the first few years for them to get to know

"their way around but I shall be on hand to give any advice.

"We both realised that he was going to be on a steep learning curve

"but the fact that I have 40 years of local knowledge of the area

"and know so many people up and down the Dales and I'm able

"to pass on this information to him should be of great help to him."

The last bit he's told you, because that was in his.

-Right?

-That was good. That's what we like.

-Down-to-earth.

-Well done.

-Well done, mate.

'As the evening came to an end I was left wondering

'if David really was going to retire.'

'In the new year, I headed back to Yorkshire.

'I'd arranged to meet Leoni and her mother Linda at a hotel,

'just off the A1 near Wetherby.

'They'd come to a clothes fair where they were buying the fashions

'for the next season in the shop. Leonie was hoping to tempt

'her loyal, older customers with something

'a bit younger, which she would then showcase with a special fashion show

'in the spring.'

We haven't got enough tops at the moment.

Let's look at the trousers first. One, two, three.

There's a cord... there's a soft...

That one sells well.

-We need...

-We need some bingo trousers.

Do you want to explain to Richard what bingo trousers are?

What the old ladies who go playing bingo would wear.

They're just pull-on trousers.

Do you play bingo?

I would not answer that question.

I should think it would be obvious!

Not many of us play bingo because there's nowhere in Leyburn to play.

What was your mum like about clothes when you were a teenager?

-Oh, God, she wouldn't let me wear anything.

-Really?

I think my mum wanted two boys because she wouldn't let me

grow my hair and she would dress me like a little boy, until I was 16.

How many little boys have you seen in dresses?

I can show you photographs of her in dresses. She lies.

What was she like as a teenager, then?

She could get a bit bolshie

but then they all can, but I think generally she was...

fairly good. Except... Except...

No, no, no. You don't need to...

-She was one for the boys.

-Was she?

She liked the boys, yes.

And what's wrong with liking the boys?

Well, nothing as long as you get on with your work as well.

You're not using that at all.

What, liking boys?

Yeah, you're not using it though.

Oh, it's you two again, is it?

Hi, Richard. How do?

Right, excuse me if I dash.

'In the soft furnishings department of Milners,

'things were getting very busy but they were not going smoothly.

'The busy Christmas period had left David with a backlog of curtains

'and blinds to fit. He was getting angry about mistakes

'with the order book and he felt Keith was to blame.'

-Is Keith there?

-Yeah.

He's made a bill out...

it doesn't say he's made a bill out.

Do you want me to pass it on?

I don't need that. I need that.

But basically you want to finish that off,

make sure that it's finished off. Right.

Make sure before all the paperwork comes to me that everything

has actually been finished and it's all clear.

Yeah, I will.

Keith, sorry.

'Watching David, I couldn't help thinking

'that he wanted Keith and James to fail.

'He seemed to be keen to show that they couldn't function without him.'

-Finished?

-What's wrong with it?

You haven't actually made that you've entered it. You have, haven't you?

I have now but that was written before.

You hadn't done anything relating to where the order had come from either.

So it's just that bit?

It's all paperwork. You've got to remember, Keith, that is important.

-The important part of doing these.

-I'm not the only one though, am I?

No, but I did it for 30 years without any problems.

It seems that we've three people, we can't do it now.

It's not wrong, but I think it's a bit petty at times, but there we go.

'But before he left, David was determined to have the last word.'

You're not putting the facts and the date you're ordering them.

I think it's important. I mean, I'm going to be out shortly but...

What I'm saying is that I'm not the only one.

No, but you should be the leader and make sure

that it's right if you're going to take over and do this job.

Point made?

'This was just one of several clashes over the paperwork.'

There's that jacket.

It looked quite... Oh.

Yeah.

What's funny about that jacket?

Nothing. We saw it in the window but it's not what we wanted.

Are you two sisters?

No! We're always getting asked that but we're not.

Friends. Yeah.

Oh, now, that's quite nice.

Yeah, I saw that jacket.

It's rather nice.

'A few days after the argument with David, James had his appraisal.

'Keith was anxious not to give David any more room

'to criticise him over the paperwork.'

So how do you feel about things?

Pretty good, over all.

The paperwork you're getting to grips with, but you must discipline,

it's the most fundamental part of the business.

If David can't find something that should be in a file or something,

we're stuffed.

I find it a bit stressful at times when we've got a lot going on

and David's throwing blame here, there and everywhere.

I find that quite difficult, cos, you know...

-You handle that very well.

-Yeah, and I find sometimes

David can be a bit, erm... well... erratic in his behaviour

and sometimes can take things out a bit on people but you know,

that's the way he is and I accept that.

With my grandmother being ill for such long time it's put a...

'James felt he was making good progress,

'but the recent death of his grandmother

'had taken his mind off the job.'

I suppose at times I've not given everything I might have done.

A few days I've been just, yeah...

I mean from my perspective,

-just work on the things we've talked about.

-OK.

'Keith felt James's progress meant he was on course to replace David

'in three months' time.'

Your personality, when you come into a room, you will light up a room.

-Yeah.

-You have that type of personality. In general, mate,

-fantastic start. Well done.

-Thanks very much indeed.

-Cheers, man. Thank you.

-Good start.

-Cheers, mate.

Oh, excuse me while I... let my coffee go down.

I don't know whether James is up to actually being given

fabric and told go and see Mrs so-and-so because he can't drive,

he doesn't know the area and there's so much you need to know about this.

Learning curtains is a ten-year apprenticeship.

Anyway.

-I shall be out.

-Do you think Keith is fully appreciative

of, I suppose, the subtleties of what you do in your profession?

I mean, he's acquired the skills obviously, but...

He's an engineer, electrician.

'It was February in the Yorkshire Dales.

'But the organisation of the Milners fashion show

'was already getting underway.

'Even though it was Leonie's event,

'I wasn't surprised to find Linda taking charge of things.'

Dear, dear.

So you're co-ordinating the fashion show with your daughter,

is that right?

Yes, I do the...

I decide on what they wear... But obviously

I run them past her to make sure she agrees.

Then I do the commentary and... Oh, dear, dear.

And sort out the models and...whatever.

What exactly is left for Leonie?

Well, she's been busy pricing things up.

'It turned out that Leonie was returning from a long lunch break

'with a sales rep from Playtex called Phil.

'Evidently, Leonie had a soft spot for Phil.'

I don't know what she sees in him.

I don't see anything in him. I've only got eyes for my husband.

Look at this, eh? Guilty conscience that is, isn't it?

What do you think, Linda?

I think she thinks he's wonderful.

When she went to the, eh, whatsit exhibition...

-Just walk this way, there's Gary. There's Gary!

-He's not called Gary.

-What?

-He's not called Gary

-I thought he was Gary.

-Philip.

-Phil.

'Just at that moment,

'Phil from Playtex walked in with his samples.'

-What?

-Nothing!

Do you know...? Hello, Phil.

Hello, how are you?

He takes her out to lunch. He knows he's got easy sales with Leonie.

He just buys her a cup-a-soup and she's putty in his hands.

-What?

-I was just saying that if Phil buys you a cup-a-soup,

you're putty in his hands, aren't you?

Touchy subject. Cos I tease her.

'Towards the end of the day,

'David set off to fit some blinds at a house in the valley.

'At closing time, I had gone round to Linda's for a cup of tea.

'While I was there, Keith turned up.

'There had been another bust-up over the paperwork but this time,

'it was between David and James.'

..and David said, "Come back, don't you walk away from me. Come back."

And James just lost it.

"How dare you talk to me like that?

And David was saying, "Well, it's my shop.

"I can talk to who I want, how I want in my shop."

He says, "You're not talking to me like that."

David turned round to me and said, "Keith, give him his notice."

And then James turned around to me and said,

"Don't care, you can swivel on your job."

So James has come downstairs,

he says "I'm getting out, I've got to go,"

And I said, "You're coming up for a coffee".

By that time, he's calmed down a bit, "I'm really sorry". I said,

"James, you've done the right thing. This has been brewing for a while."

This is what David can't get his head round.

He thinks I should be tipping my cap to him all the time.

I've a lot of respect for your dad, but don't knock my staff down.

-No, exactly. He's got to let you deal with staff.

-James is my bloke.

All right? I told James that this afternoon. I can't lose James.

No, I know you can't.

James feels that he doesn't want to come into work and I'm stuffed.

Yes, you see, if James goes, then you're one down so David won't go.

David then has got a reason to stay because, "Keith needs me."

No, I don't. Because I won't work on that basis.

I'm not having that... I'm not having it.

-Sorry...

-Go on.

-Do you feel like quitting?

Seem like you're a bit, kind-of...

I felt like walking out because it's totally undermined

everything I've been building in the last few months.

I just get to the stage where I just think...

if I'm going to have all the good work undone in five minutes

I've been building on the last six months, I'll walk away from it.

'I could see that Keith and Linda were now really worried

'that David might not retire.

'They had to make sure James did not quit.

'The next day, I found James in menswear.

'He seemed uncertain about his future now in the shop.'

I don't want to upset David because he's a good man and

if he's going to feel awkward and upset in his own environment,

then I don't think I should be here to make him feel that way,

-if you see what I mean.

-Right, yeah.

I sense he's a bit nervy and I don't want to...

So, I feel like I'm...

a bit of a...

I don't know.

-I feel like I might...

-You feel like you might be making things worse.

Perhaps, I might be making

a situation which is already difficult for David more so,

if you like. I don't want to do that.

'Keith started to try and reassure James

'to make sure he didn't hand his notice in.'

So, what happens when he goes in April?

-Yeah.

-Who's running the business?

-Yeah, you, mate, sorry.

Who do I need to help me run the business?

Yeah, me, but still.

It's a terrible atmosphere at the moment.

It's not you, it's me and it's the business and it's the retirement.

I told you, I'm looking after you, you're my man, I'll sort you out.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Off you go, then.

-All right, see you.

'James went back to his desk...

'but spent most of the day unhappy and unable to focus.

'Then in the afternoon, Keith found him in the stockroom

'in tears.'

-We're going to over...

-What time are we going?

When David gets back, we'll go.

-All right?

-Yeah, all right. I should sort myself out a bit.

He's very delicate at the moment.

'Later that night, Keith got the other three directors together

'for an emergency meeting.'

James's biggest concern is having a shouting match like that again.

I don't want him to feel like that.

I want him to come out with me and learn and I want him to not...

he's put a barrier up now.

I think the next time that David finds something has gone missing

and James has got him, before he goes berserk, he ought to say,

"Have I ever done this myself?" For instance, last Friday,

I went over to the fire extinguisher and I took one of these from there

and I said to Keith, "What's this doing here?"

-He said, "Don't know, your husband put it there."

-What was it?

It was one of those, stuck on top of the fire extinguisher.

-Filed. Filed.

-Filed on the fire extinguisher.

-Isn't that so?

-Yes.

I would have probably found it.

That's not the point! It's the same thing as James.

It's like you come flying in going, "I'm late, I'm late!

"I need all the stuff, where is it?"

Then you say, "I presume it's all done..."

That's what puts anxiety on to James.

I think it's very funny, this.

The fact you're discussing putting me under scrutiny.

It's the hour-and-a-half lunches

that you used to have and going to sleep.

I didn't go, I've never had an hour.

When I was out travelling, I was out all day every day,

working hard, carrying cases... from farmhouse to farmhouse.

He says he wants to give up.

Deep down, somewhere inside, there's a little bug that is saying

"They're taking over, they're taking this that was yours off you"

and somehow the fact that James also has a desk there,

this little thing in his head is saying that as well to him.

'I think Linda could see that even if he wanted to retire,

'there was something stopping David from doing so.

'For some reason, he couldn't let go of the business.

'The next day, David was in Milners early.

'He'd been thinking about the previous night's meeting

'and was particularly hurt by what Linda had said.'

She's supposed to be an intelligent person and she came over last night

as not an intelligent person by saying what she did.

-What did she say?

-You remember, it's all on your tape...

What I mean is, what specific things?

That I couldn't organise things and I was incapable

of running a business. She made comments somewhere along that line.

What makes you thinks that's not an intelligent thing to say?

Because she can't run it herself.

If you can't run it yourself, you don't criticise somebody else.

Right, but she thinks she can run it.

Of course she could run this with both hands tied behind her back.

That's what she thinks?

You know Linda... You know Linda.

Just to clarify, then, so in your relationship with Linda

you assume the power by actually rather cleverly pretending

not to have the power and that she has got it?

Mmm.

But she wouldn't know that?

Oh, she probably... I think she's cute enough to realise it.

She knows that I'm doing this,

but she can't really do much about it, can she?

It's a little cat and mouse game! I quite enjoy it at times,

and I... you know?

It's very psychological, isn't it?

It is. Oh, yes. I'm really enjoying it, actually, at the moment.

Actually, that was why I wanted the BBC to come,

because I thought, I can play you all along at this

and I can see if I could do a similar thing with you,

but I think you're a little bit more intelligent than she is,

cos you can see through me.

And I can sort of see that you're a very similar person to myself.

-Am I?

-I think you would...

You'd be a bit devious as well.

-Do you think you're devious?

-No, I'm not devious,

but I think you might be. I think you'd slip off

and not tell your wife and do certain things that she wouldn't know about.

-You have that look about you.

-Do I?!

-Pardon?

You have the eyes. By looking at your eyes,

there's something in your eyes that tells me that

you might have a couple of women about somewhere.

RICHARD LAUGHS

-You think that of me?!

-Yes.

-Yes, Richard.

-You don't!

-You're young enough to do it.

I'm old now, I never got round,

cos I've never had the opportunity, living in Leyburn all my life.

Just think of the opportunities in Manchester and Leeds,

with all these brothels and all these...

I mean, with the internet now and all this stuff, you probably...

Yeah, but that's quite... That's quite...

That's quite scathing of me, to say that.

Is it? You don't mind though, do you?

'I was surprised by this turn of events.

'But I was getting a clearer picture now of a man

'who liked to be in control...

Has the bill been made out for that?

'And enjoyed psychological games.

'Maybe I was just getting mixed up in all of that.

'Perhaps David had actually manipulated the bust up with James.

'The next day, Keith took a call from James.

'He had decided to resign.'

Do do do do do do do.

'I happened to be on a trip fitting blinds with David

'and I wanted to know if he had any regrets

'about the incident with James.'

How do you feel now about what happened between you and James?

I'm not worried about it in the slightest.

It was just a hiccup, which you always get in any relationship.

-When you were James's age, were you are sensitive as him?

-I don't know.

I can't remember, it's so long ago. I wouldn't have thought so.

You did as you're told in those days,

we just did as we were told and we got on with it.

I think, nowadays, people tend to sort of talk back to people

if they feel that they're grieved in any way.

'Four weeks before David was due to retire,

'Milners was hosting its fashion show.'

Usually, we get people who sit in front of the... on the stool.

'As ever, Linda was running the show

'and she had her window dresser, Margaret, helping her.'

-That's a good idea...

-'In three hours time they would

'have to cram over 100 people into the downstairs of the shop.

'In many ways, I think Leonie and Keith saw this event

'as a chance to stake their claim on Milners, announce to the world

'what their plans for the shop would be.'

This is the way we are losing our "stigma",

that I feel that we've had for a lot of years.

You know, it's all part of the... Well, the new culture, isn't it?

Leonie is now, you know, firmly in control of this floor.

'As if to prove a point, Leonie started adjusting the seating...

and this upset Margaret.'

What you doing?!

-I'm just shoving them up a bit!

-We've done it, Leonie!

-There isn't not enough legroom.

-We know, we've worked it out.

I have done it. If you want to alter what I have done,

you will end up doing this fashion show on your own tonight,

because I will go out.

-Now stop it!

-Look, I'm not doing anything!

All I'm doing is putting another chair in there,

because you had space for at least two more chairs.

I've just moved them up slightly

-so that you can get another chair in there.

-Stop it!

We have just proved that the people who are sat there,

are they the blind people, the three people sat here?

Because "they can't see a thing in the shop when they're sat here!"

Well, there weren't any chairs there. I left that blank.

Yeah, but why? We've always had people here,

so why are you suddenly gonna leave a big gap?

Because...the people can see.

If they are sitting there they have...

Who wants to sit behind a pillar?!

Mum, you can still see all the way up there, you can see

when they come round here, and you can see down there.

I've proved it. I even got the BBC to sit there,

to see whether they can see, and they can.

I will tell you something, you will lose your staff, because...

D'you know, sometimes I don't care.

It's a case of respect.

You treat them well, they will do anything for you.

Yeah? Well I treat them well, but the staff don't treat me well, so...

It's about authority.

You have been out fannying about all morning.

I saw you, ten minutes you spent with Helen Jackson.

Have you got ten minutes to spend talking to Helen Jackson?

You haven't. But you were over there, yack, yack, yack.

We've been in here working. Then you come back and you change everything.

-I don't...

-Well, we don't like that.

-How do I change everything?

-Margaret, Debs and I have got

the intelligence to sort it out ourselves, thank you very much.

Certain members do.

And that's three chairs. That's a big gap, there.

Well, I hope that three extra chairs is worth two good members of staff.

I don't think Margaret would... take that...

Margaret was hurt. Margaret was hurt, then. She's just said to me.

It annoyed me when...

I've only put one extra chair in the row at the front

and the row at the back, and I've put three extra chairs there.

You ought to consider, is one extra chair worth the aggro

that you are causing for other people?

Unfortunately, Leonie, you're a Milner. You're a Milner.

OK, but in the bigger picture,

I think it's worth getting the people in

rather than turning them away.

And I can see the bigger picture.

'I felt sorry for Leonie. After all, this was her event.'

Problems in t'mill?

Who's up for the sarnies?

'I'd seen mother and daughter argue before

'but never a row as big as this.'

Too late, she cried.

'But then,

'just as they were preparing to go home and get changed,

'Leonie sought her mother out for reconciliation.'

-Yes?

-I don't think we've ever been this organised.

We?! We?!

We. Come on, we. We.

-Well, I'm always organised, aren't I?

-I better take a...

It's called age.

'Later that evening, the shop filled up with loyal customers.

'Wine and nibbles

'were offered round.

'By eight o'clock all 104 seats were taken.'

Ladies? Shhh. Good evening.

ALL: Good evening.

My husband would like to say a few words.

Welcome, ladies. It's my pleasure to welcome you all here tonight...

'At the start, David made a speech.'

..Most of you will know me...

'And just like at the staff Christmas party,

'he told the audience he was about to retire.'

As I am now approaching 65,

I have decided to hand over the business to my daughter, Leonie...

'Then again, maybe this was just another case of David reading out

'what Linda wanted him to say.'

Now I would like to hand over to Linda,

-who is ready to start the fashion show.

-Thank you, dear.

Well, it's wonderful to see so many of you,

and I hope you'll all find...

'Then Linda compered the show...

'Which went on for nearly two hours.'

..So, we're going to start with Jo...

'Linda may have been in charge

'but this was Leonie's moment of reckoning.

'What would the ladies of the Yorkshire Dales

'make of her spring collection?'

..Sizes 12 to 22, at £45.25...

..Charcoal striped jacket...

..Viscose and elastic, small to extra large at £34.95...

..100% polyester... Adjustable strap...

Now we have a bit of a change for this next round.

There is a title to it...

And it would suit my husband, because he's going to sleep!

AUDIENCE LAUGHS

It is called "And So To Bed."

Poppy motif, they're 100% cotton and they are made in England.

AUDIENCE CHEERS

Small to large £36.25.

Can I ask all the models to come down?

'When the show finally ended, there was no denying how much

'the audience had enjoyed themselves.

'I hoped Leonie felt vindicated.

'Afterwards,

'the shop was a sea of customers and the tills were ringing.

'I asked David whether he thought the evening had been a success.'

What are you thinking when you survey the room now

and see all these people?

I think it's been a good night.

Can you see me walking away from a situation like this?

I mean, it's official, I'm 65.

You see, Keith hasn't got a replacement for me.

You can't look after the inside of the shop upstairs with everything

that we sell and go out and fit curtains and carpets and blinds.

It's impossible.

Where is the trailer?

'By now I had got used to David telling me

'he wasn't going to retire.

'But I wasn't sure the shop couldn't survive without him.

'My time in the Dales was coming to an end,

'and yet I still felt there was a part of David I hadn't got to know.

'That part that made him refuse to let go of his business.'

Are you all right down there?

'So I talked to the person who knew him best... Linda.'

You know your way around.

I think David is anxious now... about going.

This has been his...baby, if you like, for 40-odd years.

And to let it go...is difficult... I mean, even to family.

It would be the same

even if Keith was his son, rather than his son-in-law.

Just to let it go, he...

'Then Linda mentioned David's father.'

He didn't treat David as a son... for my way of thinking.

He was just... another member of staff.

Sad to say, but it rankles with me to this day.

And I think it's caused David a lot of problems.

David is still trying to prove himself worthy...

and I don't think he has any need to, because...

he has built up this business.

How do you think his father damaged David?

Well, he wasn't a father as such.

I never knew them to speak of anything...except business.

There was none, "Did you see the match on Saturday?"

Or, "How about coming out for a game?",

because they both played golf,

"how about coming out for a game of golf?",

Or anything... It was all business.

'A few days before David's birthday,

'I arranged to film with him as he did some drawing in the Dales.

'The view outside his home was breathtaking.

'I wanted to talk to David about his father.'

Do you think he could have been a bit more loving to you as a child?

Probably. He could have been.

He wouldn't sort of... have any nonsense.

He was quite a regimented type.

Linda has suggested to me that she thinks your father

never really gave you the approval that maybe you deserved.

Maybe that's something... He held on to it right until the very end.

-The business?

-Yes. I mean, although we were partners,

he knew what he wanted and he wouldn't...

Very rarely would he back down once he made a decision on something.

'David then revealed the death of his father

'had caused him to suffer a deep depression.'

I just felt really, really rotten. I didn't know what it was.

Linda got the doctor in,

I went to the doctors and I went down to see him and he examined me

and said, "You're just under pressure", or stress, or something.

I went to the hospital and they gave me one of those new treatments...

They give you electric shock treatment in your head.

I had six weeks of that.

-Six weeks of THAT?

-Yeah, where they put an electrode

on your forehead and they give you a small electric current.

It's a treatment that a lot of people have nowadays.

It's nothing new.

It was three months before I went back.

'Hearing David talk about his depression

'helped me to understand him much more.

'It also made me think about how family-run businesses

'could pass stress on from one generation to another.

'After all, wasn't David refusing to pass on his business to Leonie

'just like his father had with him?

'I decided to ask Leonie about David when we returned to the shop.'

I don't really have a strong father-daughter relationship

with my dad.

My dad seemed to be always here, my dad seemed to be always

chasing the business and growing the business.

And I don't want that to be the centre of...our life

and I don't want the children to turn that...back to us

when we're, they're older and say,

"You were never there for us because you were always at the shop."

And that the girls don't have a relationship with Keith...

..cos he had a relationship with the business.

PHONES RING

'On the day of David's retirement party,

'I bumped into him in the market square.'

Good morning, boys.

Hello.

How did you know I was here?

-We have our ways!

-You have your ways, have you?

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you very much.

Seen the window?

Yes, it's nice, I saw them, they did it last night.

'I was struck by how relaxed David seemed.

'Which was odd, after all this was the day he was saying goodbye...

'to his beloved shop.'

-Morning, David.

-Good morning, all.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Happy birthday/retirement.

-Oh, yes!

'His family had lovingly decorated the store

'with balloons and pictures from the last 40 years.'

Didn't you want me to have a big bang?

'Old friends and customers

were invited in for a glass of champagne.'

Right, David, on behalf of all the girls,

we wish you a very happy retirement and hope you

-had a lovely 65th birthday. On Wednesday.

-Thank you very much.

All the best and we'll miss you,

-but I'm sure you'll keep popping back in.

-I'm sure I will!

'When I first started making this film,

'I thought it would be the story of a man coming to terms

'with his retirement after a lifetime dedicated to work.

'But now we had reached that point, I realised David's story

'wasn't really about whether or not he retired.

'It was more to do with the fact that, at 65,

'he still felt he had something to prove.

'I hoped that feeling would go once he settled into his retirement,

'but after a couple of hours I noticed David wasn't around.'

Do you know where David is?

Imagine he's gone to the loo.

'No-one knew where he was. But he hadn't left.

'I found him upstairs, taking an order...for some blinds.'

-Are you still working?

-Yes, I am.

Aren't you going to retire?

What do you think?

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