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To reduce any fears the French may have had before the planned War against England, Napolean 1 said to his people “L’Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers.”

‘England is a nation of Shopkeepers’.

Maybe not altogether so, for centuries it certainly has been one of our strength’s. The Shops in Towns and Villages were a meeting place for the Community. Even in my lifetime, a walk to the Village Shops took three times as long as the walk should have done because you spent so much time stopping for a chat with someone.
Everyone knew everyone else. There was a sense of community along with a sense of ownership.

In the Village I was born in and spent the first 11 years of my life, there was a Butchers, a Bakers, an Ironmongers Stores, Post Office, Sweet shop, Haberdashery, Vegetable Shop and three Pubs. Now there is one Pub and an Indian Restaurant.
What was a walk down the Shops is now a Car ride to Town or the inevitable out of town Supermarkets, DIY Stores and other.
Back then, the Town was known as ‘The Big Shops’ and was a special event Bus Ride. But, again, then there were two Buses an hour, now there are none and the little Village Railway Station which served Westerham to Dunton Green in Kent is now the M25, forming it’s stranglulating ring of pollution around London.

Change has to happen, we all accept that. The population increases, the technology gathers speed and most of all, to not have a Car is a disaster!
We have come to accept things which to my Parents, struggling to make a life after six years of War, would have seen as something only the very wealthy could afford.

In almost all parts of the UK, the Village has died and just become a Town suburb and the green fields which once partitioned them from the Town are being replaced by new Houses being built in roads where if you closed your eye’s and opened them again, you could be anywhere.

As for the Towns, where have all the local and independant Shops gone.? In most cases it’s ‘they came and they went’, unable to keep abreast of the Supermarket and Superstore prices.

Napolean’s phrase would now become “L’Angleterre est une nation de Mega boutiquiers.”

Some towns, those with populations of more than about 50,000 can sustain some sort of a High Street, but most of the Shops are now Banks with the big name Stores going into their Shopping Centre with space for 500 cars. Go to one of those and there’s not much need to venture out of the shelter of one.

Now, even the Big names of the High Street are in decline. Only in the last few weeks we have heard about the almost certain closure of all the Woolworth Stores. Many of us can go back to recall the days of the highly polished floors, the cheap Embassy label cover version records and the rumage through the Toy section.
What a sad sad day, especially for those loyal staff who’ve been with them for so many years. A part of their life is going and each time the till rings to another Clearance Item, they know they are one button closer to losing their job.

Is there an answer? I don’t know, but we have to accept that ‘modern human’ wants to shop as quickly as possible for the least amount of money and with the overheads of Town Centre Premises, this is almost impossible to the enthusiastic and hopeful newbie to Retail.

Take that and the amazing up-swing in online shopping, which after all is the ultimate easiest and cheapest form of shopping, the end is nigh.
The end is nigh not only to property / Infrastructure though, the end is there for a part of our heritage and culture.

Another 30 years – blimey it’s scarey !


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