A leading light of the licensed trade in Morecambe is set to pull his final pint after more than 45 years of working in the town's pubs.
Nigel Pearson, licensee of the Dog and Partridge in Bare, will retire after a final shift on Tuesday.
Nigel is perhaps best known for his almost 30 years as licensee of the Kings Arms on the seafront, opposite the Eric Morecambe Statue.
He has decided to call it a day after a career in pubs which began as a teenager in the early 1980s.
Ahead of his retirement, he has been speaking to Beyond Radio about his life in the licensed trade.
LISTEN to our interview with Nigel Pearson
Nigel outside the Dog and Partridge in Bare
Nigel's first job in Morecambe pubs, aged 14, was emptying bottle bins for Eddie Ward at The Casino (later the Ranch House) at the old Morecambe Leisure Park fairground in around 1980.
"That was when Morecambe was in its heyday," he said.
"I enjoyed it. Plenty of fairground workers in there when they finished their shifts. Probably one of the best pubs around at the time. It was a busy place."
His dad was a master butcher in Yorkshire Street in Morecambe for 25 years, then entered the pub game, taking over the Imperial on Regent Road where the teenage Nigel would help him out.
The Pearsons then moved to the Kings Arms, and Nigel took the reins in 1989 aged 21.
This made him at the time, the youngest manager for the Tetley Walker chain, in one of Morecambe's biggest and most popular pubs.
"Back then you couldn't open all day, but over the years things changed," he said.
"It ended up 2am, 3am and 4am we were open until. Over the years we've had some good times."
The Kings Arms in Morecambe, where Nigel was in charge for almost 30 years
Nigel was also one of the founder members of Morecambe Pubwatch, eventually becoming chairman, leading a group of local publicans to help share information and keep an unwanted element out of the town's pubs.
In 2018, he decided to move to the Dog and Partridge in Bare village.
"As Morecambe seemed to be going a bit quieter, things were getting a bit tough, clientele not as I would like them, I started falling out of love with the game.
"I got tipped off that the Dog and Partridge was up for grabs.
"It's an addictive little pub, the people are great, it's a great place to work and I found my love again for the trade.
"My wife Penny and I moved above the pub because we like the area so much.
"I've made some good friends here and I've enjoyed it."
Nigel's retirement party will be at the Dog and Partridge on Saturday night
His final shift this Tuesday morning - for the England World Cup Round of 16 game with Mexico - will be a full circle moment.
"The day I took over was England vs Croatia, World Cup semi-final, and my last shift will be England v Mexico at one o clock in the morning," he said.
"Thank you very much England!"
Nigel said that in retirement, he will finish some work on his house, spend more time with his family including his four grandchildren, take a few months off, before finding a part-time job.
But, he says, it won't be pulling pints!
"I don't want to be doing 45-50 hours (a week) any more, that time's gone," he said.
"My replacement will be Courtney, who's worked for me for seven years, and she has been officially named the manager now. She'll take over and do well.
"It's been a fantastic career. But that's my time in pubs complete.
"If you want to come down on Saturday and have a drink, any memories, you're very welcome."
A retirement party is being thrown for Nigel at the 'D&P' on Bare Lane tomorrow night (Saturday July 4) from 9pm. The pub will be open as normal.
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