St Ives-a new millennium - Flipbook - Page 60
St Ives-a new millennium
4/10/02
3:50 pm
Page 58
Below: Nita Luxford, writer
Photo: Stuart Littlewood/Pentax MX
Nita, a freelance journalist, spent her early life
in the mining community of Durham. She
trained as an infant teacher and came to St
Ives in the early 1960s, marrying Brian Luxford
who runs the garage business Purser &
Luxford in the town. They moved to
Hemingford Grey in 1968.
After retiring from teaching Nita began writing
articles for country magazines and is now a
regular contributor. Here, she is in the library
signing copies of her first book A Working Life
on the Great Ouse, a unique record of a
vanished way of life. It tells the story of the
Metcalfs and the Arnolds of Holywell - three
generations of the same family who made their
living from the river by punt-gunning, shooting,
fishing, eel-catching and rush-cutting.
Above: John Bryant
Photo: Stuart Littlewood/Pentax MX
John’s great-grandfather started the Bridge Street department store of John Bryant & Son, drapers and furnishers, in
1887. His father, David, retired from the business in 1996 and John and his sister Jane took over. Jane sadly died of
breast cancer in 1998.
A bit of a rebel, John went to work as a welder when he left school, then joined the Army for 5 years working in REME on
long-range guns. He returned to St Ives in 1987 to learn the family business. He recently took Bryants into ‘e-tailing’: the
store has its own website which will soon be developed to accept online orders and payment. He has 3 children and is a
passionate gardener.
In the controversy surrounding the refurbishment of the town centre, John was involved in discussions with the District
Council from the start but felt that the opinions of traders were ignored if not in tune with official proposals. Along with
many other shopkeepers he disagreed with the stance of the Chamber of Trade on the issue.
He is pictured here beseiged by construction work, which obstructed shopping in Bridge Street for months.
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