A Caithness couple have devoted more than a decade of their life in service to the Lybster community.
Duncan and Gail Winfield have been at the helm of Lybster Post Office for more than two decades.
The pair stepped forward to take on the role of postmaster in 1999 with the sole objective of serving their community.
Two decades on, the couple’s dedication remains undeterred as they mark their 25th anniversary.
Celebrating the milestone occasion, they shared two images with The Press and Journal – one of them standing outside the Main Street branch in 1999 and the other in the present day.
‘We’ve enjoyed every minute of it’
Mr Winfield said they have enjoyed meeting new and regular customers while providing a valued service to their community.
“It has been 25 years of being a part of a rural coastal community in the north of Scotland and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.
“It is a far-flung but close-knit community. We have seen a lot of changes and alterations, certainly in the way people shop and the way technology has altered people’s buying and shopping habits.
“When we started, we used to work Monday to Saturday, open at 9am and shut at 5.30pm, and the Post Office used to shut half-day holiday on a Thursday. On a Saturday, the counter used to shut at one o’clock. Now, we’re open seven days a week.”
He added: “We love meeting all the various people, both people in the local community and visitors. You never really know what each day is going to bring. Some people you know, and things are going to be the same and other days, things are totally different.
“You must encompass the change and work with it as far as you can while trying to maintain your traditional values.
“Try and remember that you are serving a wider community and not just the people in the street.
“We’ve had people come from as far away as Berridale and Wick. I say to folk, I probably see everybody in a five-mile radius at least once a year.”
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