0:00:14 > 0:00:17After 29 years of selling designer shoes,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19we've decided to call it a day.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32If a customer comes in through the door,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37they either walk towards my wife or they walk towards me.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54We came here in 1984 and we were the second shop in the Avenue.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Annabel were here first and we opened next.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01They were the fashion shop and we were the accessories.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And it worked extremely well. What about something like that?
0:01:07 > 0:01:11It's a silver kid on a silver beautifully shaped heel.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Sandal style. Peep toe.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Bloomfield Avenue was known as the Bond Street of Belfast
0:01:24 > 0:01:28with all its high-class shops carrying the best of stuff.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32We didn't know what to call the shop when we were opening it.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34We were having dinner that night with friends of ours,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38who live in London, and Shirley came up with a couple of names
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and then she said, I know, "Arabesque."
0:01:42 > 0:01:45That would just see the whole thing perfectly.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Also, if you've been to Tunisia, the bird cages in Tunisia,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58which are circular.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03- They're not really circular, John. - Little bits of wire and so forth.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- Filigree work. - That called arabesque.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09That's called arabesque work, very fine detail and craftsmanship.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13- So we got one of these and we put it in the window.- Yes.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17With shoes coming out of it. Little doors on the side.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21It was very attractive looking.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25But the number of people who came in that wanted to buy the cage...
0:02:25 > 0:02:28- Not the shoes! - So, I had to take it out.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38We would have a record of every shoe we sold in the shop over 28 years.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Everybody has a card with what they've bought on it and when they bought it.
0:02:44 > 0:02:51- Some customers have maybe six cards, on both sides.- That's right, yeah.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55When she was 18, our daughter, Candy, started modelling for us.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59When we opened up and then for a few years after that.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Well, the summery ones were always taken in the winter,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07so it was freezing or snowing outside and I was sitting there.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It must taken a good two hours?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- Maybe more.- I had to sit and we'd change poses.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Maybe we changed what I was wearing, or not, as the case may be.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19They were my ideas really, weren't they?
0:03:19 > 0:03:24I think they were. You brought the shoes and you arranged the shoes.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30This one was - the background was - a very old satin quilt cover
0:03:30 > 0:03:34of my elderly aunt. That I had. It was very good.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38- It worked very well for the background for that.- It did, it did.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Probably fell to pieces afterwards.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53We're used to people coming in to buy a pair of shoes.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57They come in for a specific thing.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Nowadays, they're just in to look and handle - throw down.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04A different thing altogether.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08They're not used to being attended to in the shop.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11People just don't have manners any more.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They come in with their mobile phones.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17They'll answer calls when you're attending to them.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19They'll wander about with their phone.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It's only manners for us not to speak while they're on the phone.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27So, everything stops, while they have a silly conversation.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31People have no manners any more.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It's a very, very sad world we're living in.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38We've the odd customer who comes in now,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42who appreciates what they're being offered.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46It's quite low. Here's the mirror.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48That's wonderful.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53- Enjoy them!- Bye.- Bye-bye.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57But that's only one out of half a dozen.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10You get people that we know over the years, who come in
0:05:10 > 0:05:14not to buy shoes necessarily but to come in and have a yarn with you.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17This is her social life as well. Her friends come here.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18They come for coffee.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21It has always been a social shop.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23That's the way the Avenue used to be.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25For mum, she's never been at home.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29We're used to talking all day - quite used to that.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34- That's what we're going to miss. - Thank you very much, Heather.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37As always. We had three days off at Easter.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41It was good to be back on Wednesday morning.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Granted, the weather was very poor over Easter,
0:05:45 > 0:05:50so it was mostly being confined to the house.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It wasn't me.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58It gave us pleasure to be able to get a pair of shoes to fit
0:05:58 > 0:06:01somebody who has a problem trying to get shoes.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05We had a family come in and they needed silver shoes.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07When I went to put them on,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I then discovered she had a false leg.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16So, it's difficult.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It's difficult enough if you've a false foot for the window
0:06:19 > 0:06:23to get a shoe on to it, let alone a false leg.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27I was afraid to push, in case I would hurt the woman.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30So then I had a bright idea that,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I turned to her husband and said,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35"Perhaps, Sir, you're more accustomed
0:06:35 > 0:06:38"to doing this than I am, perhaps you'd like to try it."
0:06:38 > 0:06:41"Oh," he says. "Yes, give it to me."
0:06:41 > 0:06:45He got it and he hit it as hard as he could hit it
0:06:45 > 0:06:50to get it to go on and he got it on all right.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54They weren't so worried about that. "We'll have those."
0:06:54 > 0:06:59- So, they went out as happy as Larry. - A shoe like that with a low heel.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04Which was giving her glamour where she couldn't really show a leg.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09But those were the days when you could smoke in the shop.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12A good many of our customers were smokers.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16They came in to relax, have a chat, make their purchase.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20It was their outing. But, when the no smoking came,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24they were quicker in and out, weren't they?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- Yes. That's true.- Yes.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36A woman comes in on a flat shoe, or a low-heeled shoes,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39puts on a high heel and she stands up straight.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45Her shoulders go back and her tummy goes in. She looks 20 years younger.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47That's right. That is right.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Then there are people who put shoes on,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and they stand with their handbag like that.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I go round, and I say, "No look!"
0:07:56 > 0:07:58This photograph will never be repeated,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01so, get your handbag round there,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05your tummy goes in, your head goes up
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and the hat looks better.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14And it does. I say, "Go home and practise in the mirror."
0:08:14 > 0:08:19If you deliberately do that, the difference it makes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22You see, a photographer will push them all together,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26so they're all standing with their handbags like this.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28We see some funny photographs when they come in.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31So many of the ladies prefer a man to fit their shoes
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and admire them on them and say what they think.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Of course, John will always come up with the right answer.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43What I think's the right answer, you mean.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47John's opinion is valued in the shop.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- Can you sit down now?- Oh, yes. I can sit down.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Take the weight off for a wee bit.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07I was a guy who could do everything.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Now I can do nothing because of problems with my knee.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16So, when I put weight on it, I know about it. So...
0:09:19 > 0:09:23..that's why I sit down every chance I get.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25The lease has run out
0:09:25 > 0:09:29and we don't feel like signing up again for a further lease.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33So, it's a good time, with the recession and so forth,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35it was a good time just to close.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40And it's nearly 29 years since we opened. Six days a week.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43It becomes very difficult.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- We had quite a change of circumstances.- A long time.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56It will take us quite a while to get used to doing nothing. I hope.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05I don't like to think about that.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10- Heather's not looking forward to it. - No.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12My mother will be very upset, I think.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16She does not want to be at home. She loves the shop.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19When I was small, my mum always worked. It was just...
0:10:19 > 0:10:22that's just her life.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25And I think it will be very difficult for her to be at home.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It's the end of an era. It really is.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I think it's sad. I think it will be very sad.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45We've decided to mark the occasion by having a closing-down party.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49With everyone who used to work in the Avenue with us.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Rosie, my dear!- How are you?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It would be lovely to have everybody back together again
0:10:56 > 0:10:59for a good old matter.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02And see how they all look and how they're feeling
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and enjoying their retirement.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12It's like old times again really.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16We were all in and out in a nice way - of the different shops -
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and we knew the families and what was happening.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22We used to send people over to you for the magic knickers,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24so they'd look better in their outfits.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29There's been nothing like that for years now.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32I don't know if I'll ever adapt. I really don't.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36When you've been coming out to business
0:11:36 > 0:11:39every day for so many years...
0:11:39 > 0:11:43You'll maybe take up line dancing or something, Heather?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49It will never be the same again.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52You have your own little clique. Once that breaks up,
0:11:52 > 0:11:57- it's just not the same - not the same.- Bye-bye.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09She's always been in business.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I think she'll feel quite cut off when she's at home.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It won't be the same for her. More than daddy, definitely.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22There are plenty of beautiful shoes but they're all ornaments now.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26We don't know another shop of this type.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41It breaks my heart because they're all our babies.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Somebody said, "Take it home and put it in the garage."
0:12:45 > 0:12:49What's the point of that?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52We just don't know.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12We're just playing it day by day.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Week by week.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Till one of us drops.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- Bye.- Ta ra.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd