A much loved postmistress and her husband have made the sad decision to shut their post office for good. After six very rewarding years, Manvinder Virdee, 46, and her husband, Harvinder, 49, have decided to close the Iver Post Office, in Richings Park, due to being unable to facilitate longer business hours.
The couple, who will be celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary this year, made the decision to embark on the business venture together after Mr Harvinder was made redundant from his job as a pharmaceutical scientist.
Mrs Virdee, who previously worked as an accountant, said: "When we took it on it was a very small, tired Post Office and then we acquired the next door room and expanded and refurbished it. We had a small family at that time and we just wanted something that would be a nine-to-five thing so at the end of the day we would be back at home for the children."
The couple have worked very hard to make the most of the business and attribute their highlights to the wonderful community they have served. It has not always been easy however, particularly in the early days. Just three months after taking over the Post Office, Mrs Virdee's brother and sister were killed in a car accident in Africa, a crash which also left her parents seriously injured. Mr Virdee was left to man the shop on his own, with no experience of accounts, muddling his way through while his wife took care of her parents abroad.
Just a few weeks ago, the shop was the target of robbers armed with a baseball bat - leaving Mr Virdee battered and bruised and both of them very shaken.
