Manchester's oldest pub cleaner says she has no plans of retiring anytime soon
A Manchester woman might be Britain’s oldest pub cleaner after nearly fifty years in the business.
Nora Jones, 81, has been working at Joseph Holt's Waggon & Horses in Gorton since 1977.
Nora says she enjoys her job more than ever, has no intention of retiring anytime soon and and she’s not called in sick once during her four decades of service.
“My friends and family know better than to ask when I might give up work", said Nora.
She's worked for the Joseph Holt brewery-owned pub under 16 different sets of landlords and landladies.
She added: “But what do I want to retire for? To stay at home and look at the four walls?
"I love work so much - I'm always here early and raring to go.
“I remember when I turned 60 being very worried that I'd have to retire because of my age.
"But the landlord at the time said there was no reason why I should retire if I didn't want to. I've kept on going ever since and never asked the question again.”
Nora is the longest serving employee at the brewery’s 127 pubs across the North West.
Nora’s husband, Ernest, died 11 years ago and they even celebrated their wedding and engagement at the pub.
There’s also a photograph of Ernst, who worked on the railways, hanging in the pub. Nora says “good morning” to him everyday.
She is a grandmother and great-grandmother and started working at the Waggon & Horses when her two children, Paul, 53 and Maria, 51, were at school.
But she says her duties have changed since she first began working at the pub.
Nora said: “I remember when there were coal fires in each room and one of my jobs was to clean the ashes out of the fireplaces and then prepare the fires to be lit again,” says Nora who now works at the pub three days a week.
The current landlady of Waggon & Horses, Julie Fazakerley, said she got to know Nora when she took over the pub last October.
Julie said: "She’s really good. She does the hoovering, she takes pride in her brass, she’s absolutely adorable.
“In fact, Nora is what convinced me to take on this pub rather than others I was offered.
“I’m a strong believer in family values and continuity.
“When I saw that the Waggon & Horses had an 81-year-old cleaner who had no intention of retiring it made the job all the more attractive.”
The Joseph Holt brewery has also been in the same family for six generations.
“I love every minute of this job. Why on earth would I ever want to give it up?” says Nora.
“I can’t tell you why I love it because I do. I can’t give you an answer, I just can’t. I’ve loved every minute of it from the day I started.”
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