'One of a kind' market trader celebrates milestone
BBCA woman celebrating her 90th birthday says she has no plans to retire as she continues to run a city market's longest-running stall.
Karen Stear has worked at St Nicholas Market in Bristol since 1981, running the family business Grandma's Toy Shop.
Stear first launched the stall by hiring a "couple of tables" where she sold model soldiers. More than 40 years later, she has watched her customers grow up, become adults and return with their own kids.
Gemma Stear described her grandmother as "one of a kind", and praised her for never appearing tired at the end of her shift.
To celebrate Stear's birthday, Gemma hung banners and pictures of her grandmother from different moments of her life around the shop.
Gemma described her grandmother as an "absolute legend", and said she hopes to have the same drive for work when she gets to her age.
Despite being 90 years old, Stear still has to pay for her bus journeys into the city centre. She said if she waited until after 09:00, which is when her free bus pass becomes valid, she would be late for work.
"I'm not a social person. So these [customers] are my friends and I know the people that have worked here for a very long time," she said.
Stear likes to sell what she describes as traditional toys including jigsaws and brain teasers.
"We don't do anything electronic, nothing that requires batteries or screens.
"Most of the time people buy the same things now as they did when they were kids, Stear said.
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