She found business hard and she had problems paying some of her suppliers, so in an attempt to generate more income, she had two of the upstairs bedrooms converted into bedsits and rented them out. The first lodgers were two young clerks from the Town Hall, who only stayed a month. They were followed by Sheila Birtles and Doreen Lostock who lived there for over a year, despite Florrie's strict rules about gentlemen callers.
After the girls left, Florrie became lonely and spent many evenings playing bingo, once winning £100, only to have her handbag snatched on the way home. In 1964, she had the shop converted, moving the doorway from the windy corner, to the side next to No.13 and adding a sub-post office, complete with telephone kiosk. While Florrie sold stamps and cashed pensions, Irma Ogden ran the grocery shop, eagerly encouraging the pensioners to spend the money that they had just got from Florrie.
Jealous of her youth and popularity with men, Florrie turned on Irma and had a minor breakdown, throwing a tin of meat through the shop window, before collapsing in a sobbing heap on the floor. Despite her doctor's orders she soldiered on with the shop, but soon her past was to catch up with her as her estranged husband Norman returned seeking a divorce. Norman had a brief affair with Elsie Tanner, before he reconciled with his wife and the two of them left to start a new life in Canada where Norman had taken a job.
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