A COUPLE who have run a family bakery for 50 years said a final farewell to customers last weekend. For the residents of Kelly Bray, the smells and taste of food made by Margaret and Michael Pearce, and their family before them, at H Pearce bakery has been an important part of life since 1906. But the husband and wife team closed up on Saturday to start their retirement. 'People came in all day to wish us well for the future,' Michael said. 'We've had lots of gifts including flowers, chocolates, wine and champagne; the amount of cards we have had ran into three figures.' Michael said the couple have lots planned. 'I think that as I'm 66 and Margaret is 66 in December that it is time to take it a bit easier,' Michael said. 'I like a lot of sport and it will be nice to do some of that at weekends. We have also got grandchildren in the area and it will be great to spend some more time with them.' Along with traditional baked food like pasties and bread, the bakery was particularly well known for it's saffron cake. To create the cake's distinctive taste, Michael used a recipe that had been passed down over the years. 'The recipe for the saffron cake was left from the 1800s,' he said. 'It started off when the bakers used to deliver goods to farmers by horse and cart. Farmers used to pay for products with some of the goods they produced like milk, butter and cream which would create a very rich saffron cake. 'I carried on using the same ingredients to make the same cake for customers today.' The bakers had a band of loyal customers who will be missed by both Michael and Margaret. 'I will miss the people who came into the shop,' he said. 'When you have served them for 50 years you get to know them, their family and their news. I do not think of people who shop here as customers but as friends.' Although Michael and Margaret will no longer be working, the bakery, which has been in the family for four generations, could still stay open because it has been put up for sale. WILL DONEY