Alan Coombs

ALAN COOMBS – FLORISTRY, CHOCOLATE AND THE LAW

Wednesday 12^th August saw a historic event take place on planet Earth.

Our very own club member Alan Coombs gave the members a fascinating talk on how he started his working life as a gardener and finished as a magistrate, with lots of stuff in between……oh, and there was an almost total eclipse of the sun on 12^th August as well.

Alan started by telling us that he was born in a local country house known as Abbotswood, where his father had been head gardener.

The house was owned by none other than Sir James Ramsden, one of the founding fathers of Barrow-in-Furness.

Sadly, Sir James and the house are long gone.

Alan went on to say that the vast greenhouses no longer exist but shared a photo album of the layout and content of the various buildings as they were in the 1930s.

He also showed an original, handwritten document from December 1933 which was an employment reference for Alan’s father John, pointing out how well qualified he was in the gardening community.

After WW2, Alan, by then an accomplished gardener in his own right, showed how he built a bungalow on 3 acres of land he had bought after his father had passed away.

Due to the shortage of new timber incurred by the war, Alan built his plant and flower nursery with old ship timbers.

He lives in the same bungalow today.

Alan’s floristry retail outlet started on Barrow market, but an opportunity arose to move to larger premises in Barrow town centre. due to his reputation for quality and reliability, he moved to bigger premises in Barrow’s town centre.

Opportunities arose for a franchisee with Thorntons chocolates who were keen to open in Barrow in the 1980s.

Alan, quick to see a gap in the market, seized upon the chance to take on the challenge.

On one occasion, the shop decorated 2,500 Easter eggs in a day, and Alan told the meeting that he once sold over £5,000 of chocolate in one day. As this was many years ago, it was certainly a great sum of money.

Alan traded for 27 years until the shops closed in 2005.

In 1980, he became a local magistrate tasked with upholding the law in Barrow and the surrounding area, also issuing search warrants to police, and hearing court cases, passing judgements where required.

Alan’s son, David, has traded as a successful florist for 40 years. Sadly, Alan’s wife Marjorie, whom he met in 1954, passed away in 2014.

However, Alan made it clear to members that he believes none of this success would have happened were it not for the unwavering support of his late wife.

A vote of thanks was given by club president Peter