Mo Kitchen: Grimsby's 'oldest mechanic' retires after 63 years

After 63 years mending cars in the same Grimsby garage, 77-year-old Mo Kitchen is about to hang up his tools for good.

Believed to be the town's oldest mechanic, he tells BBC News' Kevin Shoesmith how his love for the job has shaped his life.

"It's a 14-plate," a customer tells Mr Kitchen, referring to the Citroen parked outside Coy's Garage, on the edge of town.

The man thinks it'll need a new clutch, adding: "It probably won't be worth it..."

"Course it is!" retorts the mechanic, with a twinkle in his eye. "It's only nine years old. Now, you're not going to go and get yourself one of those electric cars, are you?"

The regular customer assures him he's not, which is met with an approving nod and a grin.

Since December 1960, Mr Kitchen has been mending cars at his Grimsby garage that still bears the name of his late employer, Tom Coy. The signage above the shutters still carries the town's old 0472 telephone area code.

On 18 August, though, the great grandfather-of-seven will bring down the shutters for good; retirement prompted, he says, by ailing health, including two recent heart attacks and a "worn-out shoulder".

"The brain's working," he says. "But the body isn't."

He tells me he has enjoyed the job "immensely".

"Hard work gives you focus," he says. "I'm up at 5 o'clock every day - even on weekends. I don't even have an alarm. It's built in."

Mr Kitchen, who hails from a deep-sea fishing family, can still recall how it all began.

"I was 15," he says. "My stepfather said to me, 'I want you to go out and get a job and don't come back until you have done'. I tried the docks, but I was 15 and slightly built. They wouldn't have me.

"Mr Coy happened to be standing on the front and I said to him, 'Have you got any jobs going?' He said, 'Aye. Come back on Monday. You can have a start, temporary. Well, 63 years later I'm still here."

Mr Kitchen is helped by his daughter Joanne "who does the accounts".

"We've had other mechanics," he says. "But they've not lasted as long as I have - it's probably the long hours. And the cold."

Mr Kitchen is proud to call himself "old school". He reaches into a metal drawer and pulls out a "timing light".

"Very few mechanics still use these," he says. "It's all diagnostic machines now, which cost thousands of pounds."

Compared with modern cars, with their abundance of electronics, it was "straightforward" fixing cars such as Morris Minors and Austin 7s, he tells me.

"My favourite car is a 1964, 3L Austin-Healey," he says. "The owner still has it. I love working on it. A proper car."

Despite his own vintage, there's a boyish sparkle about him. Taped to the side of a wooden cabinet, I spy a home-made sign that reads, "Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."

But he admits he's taken his fair share of knocks.

His beloved wife Margaret died in May 2011, just as he was contemplating retirement.

"I was lost," he says.

Mr Kitchen, in oil-splattered overalls, glances at the family photographs hanging from the walls; a timeline in pictures of his life .

"I didn't know what to do, so I carried on doing what I love. This place. I needed to be here."

Work helped him to find love again, he tells me. He's been in a relationship with Sue Marshall, a customer, for the past decade.

"Others will tell you she had her eyes on me for years!" he chuckles. "She's a lovely girl, she really is."

Chris Dawson, a driving instructor who has been using Mr Kitchen's services for years, calls in with a retirement card.

He says: "Mo is old school. A proper mechanic. He's a really nice fella as well."

Mr Kitchen cranks open a drawer and takes out a few dog biscuits.

"And my dog likes him as well," Mr Dawson adds.

More customers appear carrying cards and gifts. Before I leave, I ask him what he thinks the future will look like.

"People won't own cars," he predicts. "They'll all be electric. People won't be able to afford them, so they'll be leased."

As for Mr Kitchen and Sue, they're planning a few days' "peace and quiet" in their caravan to mark the milestone.

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