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I agree Merc and have done for quite some time. Pretty sure if anyone looks back even when this site was wind up that was the position I was advocating. We need niche retailers to give us the footfall needed to continue as a market town because we just cannot compete with the alternatives. So lots of quite different smaller units rather than one large one. Even better if they were all under cover and we condensed the shopping offer and made it much more of an experience.

Loved round the horn, its still available to listen to. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c7q4l/episodes/player

Fanny Cradock was a huge success as a TV cook in the seventies or was it the sixties, many companies thought linking her name to its products was a sure winner Of course in the sixties and seventies we were all more naive, and the double Innuendo had not been invented .

"From being in the doldrums a decade or two ago retail looks to be one of the cutting edges to the service sector........adapt or die! " This does appear to be the case, Malcolm; personally, I reckon that in the next couple of decades the grocery shopping run will move towards online ordering and home delivery, while the High Street will become a place for niche retail outlets.

"Retail is not where it was 20 years ago." From being in the doldrums a decade or two ago retail looks to be one of the cutting edges to the service sector........adapt or die! From running a Bedlington business for many years and having the exact same thing happen time and time again you do get to the point where you wonder but and here's the kicker most people are reasonable and fair and if you give good service you get it back in longevity and being able to charge a percent or two above for your increased costs against footfall and for providing a local service.

One day an Irishman, who had been stranded on a deserted island for 10 years, saw a speck on the horizon. He thought to himself, “It’s certainly not a ship.” As the speck got closer he began to rule out even the possibilities of a small boat or a raft. Suddenly there strode from the surf a figure clad in a wet suit. Putting aside the scuba tanks and mask and zipping down the top of the wet suit stood a drop-dead gorgeous blonde woman! She walked up to the stunned Irishman and said to him, “Tell me, how long has it been since you’ve had a good cigarette?” “Ten years,” replied the amazed Irishman. With that, she unzipped a waterproof pocket on the left sleeve of her wet suit and pulled out a fresh package of cigarettes and a lighter. He took a cigarette, slowly lit it, and took a long drag. “Faith and begorrah,” said the castaway, “This is so good! I’d almost forgotten how great a smoke can be!” “And how long has it been since you’ve had a drop of good Jameson’s Irish Whiskey?” asked the blonde. Trembling, the castaway replied, “Ten years.” Hearing that, the blonde reached over to her right sleeve, unzipped a pocket there and removed a flask and handed it to him. He opened the flask and took a long drink. ‘Tis the nectar of the gods!” shouted the Irishman. “Tis truly fantastic!!” At this point the gorgeous blonde started to slowly unzip the front of her wet suit, right down the middle. She looked at the trembling man and asked, “And how long has it been since you played around?” With tears in his eyes, the Irishman fell to his knees and sobbed, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Don’t tell me that you’ve got golf clubs in there too!”