A popular Co Down barber has announced his retirement after more than 30 years in business.
Garry Jackson from Holywood said he and wife Mari would be stepping back from the long-established Garrys Barber Shop and handing over the reins to their colleague, Rafael (Raffa) Santos.
Garry has spent over 30 years in barbering, having "cut his teeth" in a traditional, long established and highly regarded barber shop in Belfast, where he worked hard to gain a good reputation and clientele before progressing to open up his own business in Holywood back in 1990.
Since then, Garrys Barber Shop has become a firm fixture on the town's High street and a true hub of the local community with Garry building long term relationships with his customers and even cutting the hair of three generations of the same families.
A respected member of the barbering community as well as a model, Garry regularly hosted events within the familiar surroundings of his shop to highlight men’s well-being alongside music nights with his singer-songwriter wife Mari.
With Mari, who is also a former nurse, Garry founded and directed Harmony Live Holywood Music Festival and the couple also organised Holywood Culture Night with support from the local business community.
But an emotional Garry, 58, said that after nearly 33 years in business, the time had come to wish everyone a fond farewell as he and Mari head off to enjoy a new life of retirement in sunny Spain.
He said: "For the best part of the last 33 years, it has been my absolute genuine privilege to come here to work every day at Garrys Barber Shop. I can honestly say it has never felt like a chore, it has always been a pleasure, looking after everybody and making you all feel better about yourselves.
"But all good things come to an end and the time has come for Mari and I to retire and we have decided to go off and live our best lives at our house in Spain. Yes we're going to retire and head off into the sunset to live in Spain.
"After an awful lot of deliberation we decided not to put the business onto the open market to sell it because we just felt that there would have been far too many changes and we didn't want that. So what we have decided to do is pass the reins and responsibility over to Raffa.
"He is a wonderful young barber - he lives and breathes barbering - and I know he will take our shop forward, looking after you all in the best way possible. He will be ably assisted by the rest of the gang so there won't be any changes really apart from the fact that I will no longer be there."
Garry added: "We have put an awful lot of thought into this. The last couple of years coming through the pandemic has put an awful lot of things into perspective for both Mari and I and we've decided that this is the time when we want to go and relax and enjoy our life.
"It is with mixed emotions that I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you - my gratitude is immense. I ask you to continue your support for Raffa and the gang."
Taking to social media, Raffa said he was "very grateful" to Garry for giving him the opportunity to take over the business, adding: "Best of luck on your new journey. We will miss you."
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