A popular, hard-working couple are to retire after 26 years at the helm of running Post Barn Post Office, Chatham.
Earlier this year, Ameet and Parita Patel, also retired from running Gillingham Post Office. However, they are going to work part-time at both branches so that they can enjoy semi-retirement and continue to serve the customers that they know so well.
The couple had taken on Gillingham Post Office in 2022 when Parita’s brother, Pradip, sadly, unexpectedly, passed away just before he was due to start providing Post Office services at his long-established Wards newsagents, which he had run for 30 years.
Pradip had been proud that he was to restore Post Office service to the town after the WHSmith branch, where the Post Office had been based, and he had undertaken a big refurbishment of the High Street store.
Ameet and Parita did not want to let the community down and Parita took on the extra branch in Gillingham with the assistance of Pradip’s wife, Falgun, in memory of Pradip.
Parita was already very familiar with the Wards newsagents shop as she had started working there in the 1980s before taking on Post Barn Post Office and shop,
The couple have now reached the stage of their lives where they want to slow down, but they do not want to stop working, so will continue to work on a part-time basis, supporting the new postmasters for both branches.
Ameet and Parita took on their branch at 5 Scotteswood Avenue, Chatham, ME4 6HB, in August 1996 and Ameet has always worked at this branch. Parita has worked there for most of that time too until taking on Gillingham branch.
Postmaster Ameet Patel said: “Parita has been semi-retired for the past few months and I will be soon too. Neither of us were ready to fully retire, but we wanted to have time for new hobbies and to relax. This will allow us the best of both worlds as we will still get to serve the customers that we have got to know so well, and we can help the new owners to settle in.
“The best thing about being a postmaster is serving customers and getting to know them well. We are pleased that we have found suitable new owners for both branches. Our regular customers were dismayed that we were selling, but they are pleased that we will still be here part-time.”
Post Office Area Manager, Michele Davies, said: “I want to sincerely thank Ameet and Parita Patel for running Post Barn Post Office for 26 years and for coming to the rescue of Gillingham Post Office at a very difficult time for the family. This clearly demonstrates how community-minded they are. I wish them both well-earned semi-retirements.”
The new postmaster for Post Barn Post Office is Sinthujah Vinothan who started on 19 September. Nallaikumaran Sivarajah is the new postmaster for Gillingham, and he took over in April.