CHEERS: Graham with Mary (right) and first sales Janet Brooks BEAT bobby Graham Davies hoped a holiday in Holland would put friends off the scent of his 40th birthday.
But his Dutch departure was no match for Singer's army store branch manager Mary Barnes. She waited until he returned.
Graham has patrolled Blackburn shopping centre for more than three years and is a familiar face for traders.
He said: "I thought I had escaped by going abroad. But Mary waited to set me up.
"I hadn't made a secret of turning 40 but didn't want too many people to know."
Mary arranged a champagne reception and hung a huge announcement in the store window.
"But she had better watch out," said Graham," I saw the funny side but will be getting my own back!"
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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