Lanark shopkeeper set to retire after 41 years at the counter

The well-known Lanark shopkeeper and his wife Nahid, more commonly known as John and Anna, first set up shop in the town in May 1982.

Their move from Bristol was prompted by Naseem’s mum, dad, brother and two sisters moving to Coatbridge. With two young children at that time, Naseem and Nahid decided to move to Scotland.

Initially, they lived in Coatbridge – meaning very early starts to open their grocery story in Lanark’s Castlegate every day to catch workers at the Glenmuir and Macdougall factories.

A year later, the couple set up home in Stanmore Crescent, later moving to Howacre and then their current home at Hillhouse Farm Gate.

The couple’s three children – Vaseem (45), Misbahanna (39) and Nadia (30) – all attended Robert Owen Primary, before moving on to Hamilton College and Lanark Grammar Schools.

After ten years in Castlegate, Naseem and Nahid took over the newsagents in Bloomgate from the Skillen family and have called this business their own for the last 31 years.

However, after missing out on his own children growing up, Naseem has finally decided to call it a day to spend more time with his family and five grandchildren.

The 69-year-old said: “It was not an easy decision as I’ll really miss the people who welcomed us into this community and have been loyal to us for many years.

"However, your body tells you when it’s time to call it a day and after 41 years of early mornings and working six or seven days a week, with one holiday a year, I think it’s now time to have a rest!”

While Naseem has officially retired, he will still be seen in the shop for next few months as he’s helping the new owner, Siba, find his feet.

After that, though, Naseem plans to make the most of his retirement.

He added: “Runing the shop, I missed out on our children growing up and now our grandchildren are growing, we want to spend more time with them. We’ve already got a family holiday booked!

"I will miss our customers from all over Clydesdale who took us to their hearts; I’d like to thank all of them for their custom, loyalty and friendship over the years.”