A PENARTH opticians is celebrating its 60th year of trading in the town this year.

Osmond Drake Opticians of Glebe Street is planning on hosting a number of events to mark the anniversary.

It was founded by Osmond Drake in 1958 and started out with a tiny test room the size of a broom cupboard and now has two fully equipped testing rooms.

It is now owned by Osmond’s grandson Marc Drake who joined the firm in 1995 and his wife Alison who joined in 1997.

Alison Drake said: “We still have people come in who knew Marc’s grandfather.

“Most of our patients come from recommendations including from GPs.

“Some patients know the family history and come here for a chat.

“We have really loyal customers.

“We try to offer a personal service and we know a lot of our customers by name.

“We are always there if they have any problems. We also employ local people.”

Mr Drake was born and raised in Penarth but Mrs Drake is originally from Suffolk.

She said: “Penarth has been a really nice place to move to and the people are really friendly and welcoming.

“It is a lovely place to live and bringing up a family here is excellent.”

In terms of the changes, Mrs Drake said that one of the major ones is dealing with competition on the internet.

The plan to mark the 60th anniversary is to hold a party for former members of staff and loyal customers, put on various offers throughout the year and highlight the change in the business through old photographs.

The firm is also a member of the Shop Penarth scheme and was a member of the original Shop in Penarth (SiP) scheme.

Mrs Drake said they try to vary their offers as much as possible.

She said: “It is good to be part of the scheme along with other businesses. There is a camaraderie.

“It highlights why we need to keep the town lively.

“We make sure we use local shops and our children go to local schools.

“Penarth is looking good.”

The Shop Penarth scheme was relaunched at the Gwyrddio Penarth Greening in September last year.

More than 50 businesses have signed up and the Penarth Times is supporting the scheme by highlighting the benefits to the economy and environment of shopping locally.

The scheme is run by GPG with support from the town council and other town traders.

Those wishing to join the scheme can pick up a card for life for £2 from any participating business listed on the website at shoppenarth.co.uk.