Retirement is no bitter pill for Jackie...

Mrs Holloway has retired after nearly 30 years working in Jordans Pharmacy.

Her final years of 29 behind the counter of the business in The Parade were as a dispensing technician.

She dealt with hundreds of prescriptions a day and played a vital role by selecting the medication and ensuring it was correct before being checked by a pharmacist and handed to the patients.

"I love meeting people," said Mrs Holloway. "I felt we were doing a service to them and the dispensing was interesting. I enjoyed that and there was always something new coming along."

She saw many changes since she began work at the pharmacy in 1979. Tablets now come in blister packs rather than having to be counted by hand and more emphasis is placed on prescriptions for statins and blood pressure medicines as patients' health is monitored in the community.

A recent innovation is the electronic transfer of prescriptions which is being brought in to provide a direct online service between pharmacies and doctors instead of patients taking in paper prescriptions.

Mrs Holloway (63), of The Glade, joined the pharmacy after starting her working life as a secretary.

She worked as a full-time shop assistant before moving into her current role.

She said: "I am ready to retire. I want to spend more time with my family. I have six grandchildren, three of whom live in Switzerland and three of them locally. I would also like to do some more gardening."

Chad Chadha, speaking for the pharmacy, praised Mrs Holloway.

"She is the longest-serving member of the six staff we have," she said. "We are going to miss her terribly and all the patients will as well.

"She has been a lovely, even-tempered person who has coped with all sorts of things."