Goodbye Mrs Chips!

Vivian Pickering, 63, was a waitress for the whole of her nearly four decades at Graveleys, the family-run fish ‘n’ chip shop and seafood restaurant situated on Cheltenham Parade.

Management gave this incredible stalwart a grand send-off with flowers and presents and paid tribute to both her loyalty and character.

Amelia Guinness, restaurant manager at Graveleys, said: “Vivian is such a sweetheart. She was our longest-serving staff member. All the customers loved her.

“She was a lovely lady and very loyal. She either loved Graveleys or fish ‘n’ chips!”

Graveleys has become a bit of a Harrogate institution over the years, thanks partl to staff like Vivian.

Amelia said: “Graveleys is very famous locally but we’re not too commercial, we’re still a local chip shop.

“We have prospered because of returning customers.”

This popular ‘chippie’ will survive Vivian’s retirement but even Amelia is shocked than an era has come to an end.

She said: “We couldn’t believe it when she said she was going to retire. We were very surprised.”