M I Earle's sweet shop in Old Town to close at Christmas

Rosemary Earle joined her husband Myles three years after he started the business on Newport Street in the 1970s.

The schoolteacher led lessons during the daytime and then helped Myles in the evenings.

They ran the shop together for decades and became an integral part of the community. Rose took over full-time after Myles died last autumn.

Three generations of families have popped in regularly to say hi, pick up the day's papers and grab a quarter of sweets traditionally served in a small paper bag.

Now, the 72-year-old is planning to retire after closing M. I. Earle's for good with one last hurrah.

A closing down sale will begin on December 18 as all the chocolate bars and jars of sweets need to be sold off before the shutters come down. A new owner for the building is expected to be secured by January.

SECRETS TO SUCCESS

So, after all this time, what are the secrets to running a successful sweet shop?

Rose said: "I’ve had a wonderful time in Old Town, the people are brilliant, generous, quirky and terrific. We've had a lot of ups and downs but it's been a lot of fun.

“The best business model is honesty, integrity, and value for money. You have to listen to what people want and do the best you can for your customers, then they will come back.

"My husband would always say to me and the staff to treat everyone with the same respect and kindness because you might be the only people that speak to them.

"Be professional, cheerful, respectful. Don't be snooty, use their names, take an interest, get to know them and their pets and their children.

"Give them something to lift their spirits and make sure they leave with a smile on their face thinking 'what a pleasurable experience'.

"Don’t cheat them, you can’t pawn off rubbish, you have to sell the right sweets. There's an art to what you choose and how to serve it.

"These treacle toffees are the best you can buy, and Maynard’s milk gems are a bestseller.

"We still use imperial weights - people ask how much is a quarter? It's enough to last you for a walk with a friend around Coate Water."

Rose Earle in October 1995 (Image: Newsquest)

COMMUNITY EFFORTS AND COUNCIL PROTEST

One customer said: "I’ve been going here for 25 years, I walk up all the time. We will miss her. I'm going to buy big jars of those milk gems, and hope this stays as a sweet shop."

Rose and Myles saw the shop expand to twice its size, then faced stiff competition from supermarkets, and held collections for relief efforts in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

One proud moment for the Earles came when Swindon Borough Council changed the junction connecting Newport Street and Devizes Road from a mini-roundabout into traffic lights in the early 2000s - then received so much public outcry that the roundabout was soon reinstated.

Rose added: "The lights were a disaster. There were queues of traffic in every direction and fumes polluting the street but the council would not listen, so we got organised.

"I've got a big mouth so I kept on and on about it until we got the roundabout back.

"There have been a few other problems. It's now more difficult to get the best sweets because companies are sold off and bought out, the old skills of boiling a sweet properly so that it's not sticky and tastes just right are being lost.

"It's very difficult to maintain a specialist shop as you need a backup for the quieter times, which is why we started selling newspapers."

Rose Earle successfully campaigned for a roundabout at the junction of Newport Street and Devizes Road. (Image: Newsquest)

PLANS FOR A HAPPY RETIREMENT

After a life's work, Rose explained why now she's drawing things to a close  - and how she plans to spend all her newfound free time.

She said: "Running a small sweet shop is a lifestyle choice and I shall really miss it so much, but it's time for me to move on. I have lots of ideas but no energy to do them all.

"I've got a life to live. I'd like to see more of my grandchildren, do more gardening, walk the Ridgeway - which I've wanted to do since I've lived in Swindon.

"And, as a self-indulgent treat, I'm becoming a member of the Hampshire County Cricket Club. I've watched them since I was a little girl

"I want to get more involved in volunteer work to give back to the community that has been so good to me and means so much to me.

"Myles and I moved home 40 years ago but never got around to re-decorating, it needs some TLC."

REMEMBERING MYLES

Myles and Rose Earle outside their newsagents in 2005 (Image: Newsquest)

Myles used to be an accountant before he managed a sweet shop on Drove Road with his first wife in 1965. He then started M I Earle and bought his ex-partner's share of the business so that he could co-own it with Rose.

She said: "He had a good eye for detail and if you were being a total idiot, would let you know your behaviour was not appropriate.

"He disliked people who talked down to others and who discriminated on grounds of sexuality or race, we were very inclusive.

"He could be outrageous and incredibly funny. We started delivering papers and an elderly lady would collect them from him while in her dressing gown.

"One day she came into the shop and he said 'I'm not used to seeing you with your clothes on!' When he died, she remembered him and said how sorry she was."

A BITTER-SWEET DAY

Rose is keen to hear ideas on how best to spend her last days in the shop after 47 years of work. She imagines selling the last Mars Bar at 5.55pm on Christmas Eve.