Is it possible for a person to enjoy doing the same job for 28 years?

For the Bermuda Police service tailor, everyday has proved a new and gratifying experience.

James Manasseh Archibald has stitched a lasting impression into many uniforms of new and old Police officers who have walked into his roomy, fabric-filled office.

Mr. Archibald, who will turn 82 just before he retires at the end of the month, sat down with The Royal Gazette to reminisce about his long-time service with the Police Service.

"I don't know if I should call it a retirement," Mr. Archibald said adding that he isn't leaving entirely because of his age.

Instead, the soft spoken man explained, his wife has been suffering from arthritis and was forced to move back to their native West Indian island of St. Kitt's due to Bermuda's fluctuating weather.

Mr. Archibald moved to Bermuda in 1963 with no more than and elementary school education. Even though his family was unable to provide him with a higher education, he was persuaded by his mother to find a trade that he would enjoy.

"Only schooling I ever had was elementary; my family wasn't able to send me to high school or college and when I set out to find work my mother instead encouraged me to learn a trade."

In those days, he said, you worked as an apprentice to learn the ins and outs of the trade.

"You get to learn so much when it's hands on and you see you're mistakes. You learn that when you make a mistake how to rectify it. I had a boss who told me that whenever you make a mistake you have to rectify it," he said.

In the beginning it was tough for Mr. Archibald to find a job as a tailor in Bermuda and instead he had to work as a construction worker.

"It was terrible," he said rubbing his hands together. "It's a much different experience for your hands. I used to have to soak my hands in salt and hot water every night."

Mr. Archibald was given the chance to work with a needle and thread again in December of 1975 when he was offered a job to work with the Police, the job he continues to do today.

Although his Prospect workplace has been moved around a lot, his fondest memory is of his first day in his current workspace.

"I was working in a little space under the then Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques LeMay who came down and asked why I was working in such a small room. He moved me to this space here and had it painted up and fixed up for me.

"On the first day I was here he came in and left me with a coffee pot and told me he was going to come back for it. When he did, he brought all these people and a cake and we celebrated.

"He used to come in here often and we used to talk; he was real down to earth," he added.

And of course, there are the many Police officers whose uniforms he has altered and fashioned, including the recent uniform of a fairly large cop who couldn't find pants to fit.

"I had to make them from scratch," Mr. Archibald said, holding up the large trousers. "Now it fits him perfectly."

He has also dealt with the rising of women's skirts, but said he has to keep with the uniform regulation even though many female officers request a shorter length. He said the Police have to look presentable and he feels gratified when people recognise the work he has done.

"I love it when people are pleased with what I do - I feel satisfied. But sometimes if it doesn't look right I redo it over so that it looks presentable.

"When Policemen and women look smart it makes me feel gratified."

And he said he couldn't do it without his trusty thimble that he slips on his finger while beside him sits the sewing machine he said he "met" when he first started working with the Police service.

The awards that hang on the walls of his workspace are reminders of how faithful he has been to his trade and also for the enjoyment he has received from doing something for which he is completely passionate about.

"That's one of the things that is lacking in so many young people today," Mr. Archibald said about finding enjoyment in one's work.

"They used to bring school children to Prospect and I spoke to some of them one day and I told them they should learn to sew and one little girl asked me how much did I make."

But Mr. Archibald attributes the changing attitude about work to the changing times.

"Things aren't the same as they used to be, the discipline is not what it used to be. We were able to sleep with our windows and doors open and no harm was done. You could sleep out on your front porch if you wanted. Today you can't do that.

"I personally feel when a country is too prosperous they forget their values. I think that is one of the things that has happened here today."

He added that St. Kitt's is considered less prosperous and the values are different from Bermuda.

He said: "After you've been away from a place for a while you just have to work your way in gradually."

Before he leaves for St. Kitt's he has about 12 or 13 recruits' uniforms he must finish altering and as long as he sticks to the same plan he has used for the last 28 years it should be easy.

"I have to work on my own initiative. Some people have a book but my book is in my head," he said pointing to his head.

And even though he has put 28 years into his work he said he is not prepared to start working again when he gets to St. Kitt's.

"I haven't planned to do much and I think I've had enough, but the last 28 years have been good. It will always be part of me."