A Bermudian, who was born in England and grew up in Canada, celebrated 20 years in the Bermuda retail business on Friday in her Washington Mall leather goods store, The Harbour Master.

Mrs. Sheilagh Robertson, wife of Environment Minister, Senator the Hon. Gerald Simons, was in possession of a science degree in bacteriology and immunology from the University of Western Ontario, and was employed at that time, at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, doing tissue matching for kidney transplants.

She was straight out of college and had only been employed in her first post graduate job a few months when she was here, visiting Mr. Simons, her college sweetheart, in 1971.

There was a chance meeting at the airport with Mr. F.S. Furbert, then principal of Berkeley Institute and one of the Island's most respected educators.

A week into the school year, Mr. Furbert found himself short a science teacher. An adventuresome Miss Robertson was up for the challenge.

She had already spent time in cold London, even more the Canadian University town than it is today. She had worked in the allergy laboratory and was then doing work in the renal laboratory.

She reflected, laughing,"My response to the job offer was well I'd never taught sciences before, but opportunity only knocks once.

"I taught at Berkeley for three years, general science, biology, human biology and whatever else they wanted me to teach. But after three years I decided that it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

"The job opportunities in my specific field were limited in Bermuda, possibly apart from being a lab technician.

"I had been involved with the JCs and we had a meeting when the subject of `starting your own business' came up. At some point Gerald and I were discussing the idea -- we had married in 1972 -- and I thought a luggage and leather goods business was a good idea.

"There was clearly an opportunity in the market for such a business. Twenty years ago the retail scene in Bermuda was far less developed. The growth in retailing in Bermuda in the last 20 years has been phenomenal in terms of small businesses and different types of stores.

"Any business that survives for 20 years has to be a success. It's provided a living for me and about a half a dozen staff for that long. It's been profitable.'' Every day she can still be found in the office that adjoins the 1,000-square-foot store, attending to the bookkeeping and other administrative matters.

The store was originally upstairs. After a year Mrs. Robertson took over the downstairs location where she is at present. It increased exposure considerably.

"It was a much better location downstairs. That was 1976, and then in 1978 we doubled the size of the store. In 1985, I opened a branch store at the Southampton Princess Hotel, which we kept for three years.

"The hotel went through a period of closing for the winter, which was not helpful. We opened a branch store on the corner of Reid and Queen Street in October 1992, the Harbour Master branch store in the Gibbons Building.'' There are no further plans for expansion at the moment. The main store underwent changes in March 1993.

"That was a major project in terms of investment, time and energy. So I think that I will wait awhile before I tackle anything else.'' The Simons family has two sons Duncan, 15, and 13-year-old Andrew. They are both at Berkeley Institute.

She was asked about the 20-year celebration and to reflect on the last two decades.

She said, "It sort of marks a period. You reach a stage after you have done something for a long period of time and you start contemplating where do you go, now.

"You reach a certain age, where you start thinking about retirement and where do you want to go for the next 20 years? Do I want to be doing the same thing after another 20 years? Do I want to retire? Do I want to expand into other areas?'' When asked if she had reached any conclusions, she responded, "Not really.

Not yet, but it is worth thinking about.

"But one of the things about having your own business is that in one sense you have a great deal of freedom. But the opposite to that is that you are extremely tied down. There are advantages and disadvantages.

"It limits your ability to travel for any extensive period. As my children get older, you start to think about some of these other possibilities. But I certainly haven't come to any conclusions yet,'' she adds, laughing.

She has been a member of the Bermuda Philharmonic Society since 1971. She had been president and treasurer for many years. She stepped down from the committee a year ago.

She is a director of the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), work she finds especially interesting.

She was involved in the scholarship and education committees of the Chamber for many years, as well as several other committees.

She is still involved to some degree with the Adult Education School, after being the first chairman of the board of Governors from the end of the 1970s to the middle of the 1980s.

The board of Governors was set up to benefit the school, which had been started decades ago by Mrs. Merle Brock Swan Williams.

The Adult Education School and its founder and long-time operator educated thousands of adults and young people into better jobs.

Facing possible closure, the Board of Governors was formed and it set about getting the school incorporated. It also helped get it better recognised and associated with the Bermuda College, preserving an institution that had helped so many people who had fallen through the cracks of the educational system.

Mrs. Robertson said, "It was facing certain closure. It was a major accomplishment keeping it open. And today, the school has its own building and is chugging along quite nicely.

"It is an established institution that serves a valuable role in the community. It was a major accomplishment.'' While thinking about her 20 years and retail, she said suddenly, "I think that I need more time for myself. I'm currently studying Spanish and there are other things that I would like to do. My goal is to find more recreational time for myself. I want to take some steps in the business to release me from the day-to-day involvement.'' SUCCESSFUL CAREER -- Mrs. Sheilagh Robertson