Irish Linen Shop

Once upon a time...
Towards the end of the last century, two little sisters, Armine & Frances Gosling, played at their favourite game-"SHOP"-buying & selling, folding & packing. They loved it.
     The years flew by, the sisters parted, had children & grandchildren, but found themselves together again when Frances and Nigel bought the cottage next door to Armine & Duncan’s 18^th century house, "Torwood".
     It was 1949 and the pace of life in Somerset, Bermuda was leisurely-Golf, Tennis, Bridge & the usual round of parties. But, boredom set in. Armine had a large cellar, lots of fascinating old cedar beamed rooms & an open fireplace, Frances had connections in the Irish Linen business. What could be more fun than to revert to their childhood game? The fact that none of them had ever sold anything didn’t stop them.
     The Irish Linen Shop was born when huge wooden cases arrived, crammed with the finest old-fashioned linens, traditional Double Damask, heavy linen sheets, everything classic, correct & proper. But it was straight stuff, nothing fancy, embroidered or printed. Daughter Jane and her son Jeremy (born the same year as the shop) were to liven things up later.
     Friends stopped laughing. Business boomed. Two faithful salesladies from the village pitched in and Jane & her friends-in tennis shorts-took care of customers between sets. Finances were simple. The linens were sold at whatever the owners felt was a fair price, even the wooden cases sold for a pound each to local farmers for rabbit hutches & chicken coops. The staff got ten pounds a week. The owners got nothing but gave themselves the most luxurious transatlantic voyages they could find, occasionally doing the odd bit of "buying". Duncan hated buying and was once heard to say "Now girls, these are the Christmas Handerkerchiefs. Don’t sell them too fast. I don’t want to have to order any more!".      continued...