Ex Peterborough Boots colleagues show 2020 vision by organising reunion to start decade

The group, who started work at the Boots Opticians in Queensgate, met at Dobbies in Hampton, nearly 30 years after many of them first clocked in at the firm.

Some were school leavers when they first started in the early 1990s, and while not all had remained working as opticians, some had continued on the career path, with a number still working at Boots.

The longest serving staff there was Martin Walton, who has been at Boots for around 40 years, and Gillian Marshall, who started in 1991.

Ruth Holmes said; “A lot of us started in 1992 / 1993, and went through many restructuring of our branch inside Boots The Chemist.

“On Sunday we had dispensing Opticians who started of as school leavers , then attending Uni to get their qualifications while still working, some then becoming contact lens opticians and of course our optometrists.”

While the group hold regular smaller reunions, it was the first large reunion they had held, with 15 of the former colleagues turning up.

Ruth said; “One great thing about our jobs was that we all worked as a team regardless of our role within the branch.

“We had retired staff, current staff and staff who have gone on to work in other opticians, or in different careers.

“We have still retained a great fondness for each other , regardless of our roles or background.”

Lyn Longley, who organised the event, said it had been a great success. She said: “I’ve had many messages to say that people had a wonderful time and some hadn’t seen each other for many years.”