A STALWART of Haddington High Street has declared “it’s never felt like a day’s work” as he gets ready to shut up shop for the last time.

Joe Forte Sports has been a fixture of the town centre since July 27, 1985, when Joe Forte first opened its doors.

However, the countdown is on to the final whistle, with Mr Forte and wife Norma closing the doors for the last time on June 26.

He decided in November last year during lockdown that it was time for a change and told the Courier: “Life is short – there goes anybody by the grace of God – hopefully we have good health and we can enjoy a good few years of retirement.”

Mr Forte, 62, who was a professional footballer with Hibernian before moving on to Berwick Rangers, Meadowbank Thistle and Ormiston Primrose, opted to open the branch when he was 26 years old – and he still remembers his first customer!

He said: “I said to Norma that I might not have any customers on my first day and went down and there was a lad outside on his bike, John Smillie.

“He must be in his 50s now but he came in and bought shinguards.

“He has three kids now and lives in Dublin.

“Over the years, I have had great support from the people of East Lothian and it has been a real pleasure to help them over all those years.

“Haddington is unique in that it has got two family-run sports shops with myself and Leisure Time Sports. I’ve always had a really good relationship with Leisure Time, first with David Macdonald and now his son Rory has taken over.

“I remember the day before I opened I phoned up David and said I hoped we could respect each other and, from that first day, I’ve never dealt with golf or rugby and would send customers to David.

“He would send them to me for running and fitness.”

The former chairman of Blooming Haddington, the town’s business association and running club was no stranger to the town centre, though, even before opening the shop at 65 High Street.

His mum and dad ran Forte Café for more than 20 years before the sports shop opened.

It was through football and his love of sport that he decided to move into the business.

He said: “There was nothing else I knew.

“I did not know what else I could make a living out of. It has never felt like a day’s work – I was always interested in talking to runners, footballers and sports people in general.”

Mr Forte was quick to pay tribute to his members of staff from throughout the last three decades, with many now becoming “good friends” rather than colleagues.

The Haddington resident, who is a member of Gullane Golf Club, was hoping to catch up with friends over a round of golf and also “hopefully enjoy a few nice holidays with Norma”.

The premises are now on the market with Mr Forte hoping they could be sold by the end of the month, although no buyer has yet been identified.

Rory Macdonald, from nearby Leisure Time Sports on Market Street, wished Mr Forte well in his upcoming retirement.

He said: “Joe has done a great job over the years of looking after the runners and footballers in the area.

“We’ve always enjoyed a really complementary relationship between our respective businesses and I certainly wish him well in his retirement.

“I think it speaks to the strength of the sporting community in Haddington and the surrounding area that there have been two long-standing sports shops in the town all these years and we’ll certainly do our best to make sure we continue to serve this community into the future.”