Portslade: End of an era as Tica closes after 51 years

Tica, in Boundary Road, will shut on September 30, ending a chapter that began in 1975 when businessman Harold Harris opened it as a general store selling homeware, cleaning products, greeting cards and other everyday essentials.

The shop's future changed in 1981 when Harold's son-in-law, Sharl Pitimson, took over the business.

Despite knowing little about battery watches at the time, Sharl gradually transformed Tica into a specialist watch and battery repair shop, becoming a familiar and trusted face for generations of customers.

Current owner Kenny George said Mr Pitimson's talent for repairs stemmed from a lifelong fascination with how things worked.

"He's a tinkerer, he's always loved taking things apart and putting them back together," Kenny said.

"He took his mother's vacuum cleaner apart when he was 11 or 12 and put it back together again."

Now 78, Sharl has spent 45 years working at the shop. Although he retired and sold the business to Kenny 13 years ago, he never strayed far, initially returning one day a week before increasing that to two.

Kenny, 71, was trained by Sharl and said the pair had been discussing closure for the past couple of years.

"But we kept postponing it," he said. "The customers are wonderful, the conversations you have are wonderful.

"This shop is an anchor point in the local community going back generations."

Since news of the closure began to spread, customers have been calling in to share memories of the business and the people behind it.

Among them is local resident Anne Wells, who said the shop's closure would be felt across the community.

"I think it's going to be a place that's missed," she said.

"He has such patience and knowledge, and he's a nice person too.

"I've been here 38 years and I can't remember a time it wasn't there."

Kenny said the decision to close was driven partly by age but also by the pressures facing independent retailers.

"It's the basic challenges most High Street shops face," he said.

He added that the Government had "no understanding of small businesses" and "dumps a lot of unnecessary admin" on the shop.

While Sharl is looking forward to enjoying retirement, Kenny plans to take a year off before deciding what to do next.

For both men, however, leaving the customers behind will be the hardest part.

"The biggest thing we'll miss is coming into the shop and talking to the customers," Kenny said.